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| From Not a drill |
"Do you think it could come over and down?" I asked John. "Not without heavy winds." Dinner was good, we played Uno and Phase 10 with the kids and sat on grandmas balcony watching the smoke fill the valley.
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| From Not a drill |
John got a call from his sister wondering if we needed help getting things out of the house. A couple cities over, they had heard of the mandatory evacuation of our area before we had. I wondered if we ought to stay put, safely watching from across the valley. John reminded me that Tom and Sirius had to be rescued so we loaded up and headed home. This was our view as we drove across the valley TOWARDS the flames.
We could see that our house lay somewhere along that orange line of flame, but couldn't quite tell how close.
Those twenty minutes in the car were our saving grace. We calmly considered our most valuable irreplaceable items and made a plan. I called Jan to make sure it was okay to spend the night. There was some traffic getting into Herriman, flanked by horse trailers and we quickly remembered all the other pets in the city. Herriman is largely a farm and horse property community.
On approach, we turned off the kids movie and delivered instructions. Barak- get Sirius and his leashes. Eva- Get Tom into his carrier. Gracie and Isaac, grab a couple of sets of clothes, underwear, pajamas. We have five minutes to load the van. I had scribbled a list of valuables on the back of a grocery receipt. Pets. Computers. Photo Albums. Gun. Important documents folder. Food. Animal supplies. Jewelery? Our 72hour kit. We couldn't ignore the lines of traffic exiting the city and mentally noted the roads less traveled.
We loaded the van with pets, kids, and things. One glance around the house told me that everything here was completely replace-able. John stayed behind to check on our neighbors and friends. Most were already long gone. He joined us at Jan's house near midnight. Through the night facebook -of all places- kept us updated. The city regularly posted updates on facebook as well as a neighbor who had refused to evacuate.
This neighbor reminded me of a saying- Once you choose to opt out of the rules, you are left alone to decide when to opt back in.
It was pretty clear from the updates that the firemen know what they are doing. We were confident that our house was safe, and even if not, everything important to us was safe. Of the thousands evacuated, there were three houses that they were unable to save.
We returned home this morning, the threat has passed by, fire is not out yet but moved far beyond our hill. Schools were closed, I skipped work, we unpacked our valuables. It wasn't until this afternoon as we were driving to the library that I realized that I am a different person today than I was yesterday at this time. This event is post-worthy. I stayed calm. (surprisingly) We did what needed to be done. There was no time to panic. I have a clearer understanding of what matters most. I now have a real grab-and-go plan. I have the feeling that this will not be the last time we will use these new skills. For us, this was a drill. A test we got a passing score.
For others, the Firefighters, this was not a drill. They protected life and property proving their mettle. And those who lost their property, and thankfully preserved their lives. We are sorry. We will put our money and our hands where our mouths are. Point us in the right direction.
Our good friend wrote this article about his experience. What do you think, are you ready?
3 comments:
I'm so glad you guys are doing ok. I have been in hospital/medicaid/sister's wedding land and I just heard about the fire on Monday and was really anxious about you guys. Way to be prepared.
I am glad you are safe, and prepared. maybe I will stop giving Dave such a hard time when he wants to by more and more items for our ever expanding 72 hour kit......
Lots of love1
I was in Herramin on Sunday picking up Trey from his dads, when we came down old bingham highway the smoke was obvious, but how serious it was....was not. We spent a good amount of time conversing at the house, and as the sky darkened we watched the flames come over the mountain. I worried about you guys, and started hearing rumors that people were being evacuated. On our drive back to the highway it was a haunting scene......hundreds of people were pulled over and standing on the sides of the roads......just watching the inferno rage across the moutain side...and it was moving fast!! I was in awe and brought to tears at the destruction and helplessness i saw and felt. We pulled over shortly afterwards to call Grandma and ask her to check on you. I would have called you, but my old phone broke and i dont have your number stored in the new one. I was relieved to hear that you had just left from having dinner, and i worried then that you might not make it home in time. So i am glad to hear that everything worked out, and you didnt lose your home!!! I feel really bad for those families that did though, i dont know what i'd do in that situation, but im sure they will be taken care of...and i saw on the news that the army is taking responsibility!! They will get there homes back :)
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