I know many of you have been worried, and your very kind calls and texts (to my Mom and sister) and e-mails have meant a lot to all of us. THANK YOU so much for your concern!
Well at long last, here you go -- I guess I'll just start at the beginning and give you all the details I can. And I'll have to give it to you in two parts, since it's long... And pardon any difficult-to-read spots; I'm trying to type fast. :P
So on Tuesday, I'd been teaching 3 different dance classes in the morning, and didn't even know there was a fire. I got up to our house and ate lunch, and shortly after that, Mom told us (after hearing from Dad) that a fire had started a ways away from us, and we were under an evacuation warning, though the fire would very likely be out soon and be no problem. Mom recommended we get a few things together for the animals, like food dishes, portable cages for the rabbits and cats, and some food for all 10 of them, (4 pygmy goats, 3 cats, and 3 rabbits) just in case.
So we put some things together and got suitcases down for ourselves so we could be ready to pack. By then, the huge grey-and-black smoke plume was very visible above the trees to the west of us; the sky looking very much like it had during all the Waldo Canyon Fire last summer, but much closer. Now we were all getting worried. We hurried to video everything, in case we lost the house or Dad's workshop or everything.
At 2:30pm-ish we got the pre-evacuation call, and everything went into double-speed; we started throwing together a few suitcases with clothes, toothbrushes, etc. and tried to grab a few important things. (my writing from the last 7 years, all my sister's and my prayer journals, birth certificates, etc. Sadly we didn't get a chance to grab pictures.) The power went out in the whole neighborhood. We pulled the cars around back, and put the rabbits and cats in their cages with the few suitcases we'd started loading, but we couldn't load the goats into a trailer until we knew we had to evacuate, since it was extremely hot. (partly due to the fire being so close, though we didn't know that yet)
By now, lots of cars were driving up and down the road, rushing home to grab the few things they could. A dozen or so police cars and some police motorcycles were driving back and forth, making sure everyone knew evacuation was close. The air smelled of smoke, and everything was getting hazy.
Dad got home from a cabinet job and called us kids to pause packing and walk the top of our property closest to the fire, to keep an eye out for falling embers that could start spot fires, since (being a fireman) he knew that was the most dangerous thing at the moment that could take down everything, while we hadn't gotten the evacuation call yet. While we checked on a few chunks of ash floating down, we started to hear trees (and possibly some propane tanks too) popping in the distance.
(not our picture) Black Forest Rd, a couple miles from our house
Then we got the evacuation call, and everything flung into high-speed. The fire had just flared and jumped Shoup Rd, approx. 2 1/2 miles from our house. We threw what we had packed into the cars as police drove up and down the road telling people to get out. The awesome guy who works for Dad, Mr. Brad, raced down to hook up the trailer for the goats.
By now the fire was very close, maybe 1/4 mile from our house. The heat was intense. A couple police drove up, "Guys, you need to get out now." We told them we only had to get the goats in something -- but the trailer was taking too long to hook up, and we were all scared, of course. So with the help of 5 amazing policemen, we shoved 2 of the goats in the back seat of Mom's car (the van was packed full already) and as the heat intensified the trailer drove up, and we hurried the other two goats in the trailer, and drove out fast. Steph was in the van with me, and we prayed out loud and tried not to panic in all that fear. By that point, we were sure our house was gone, with all the smoke and heat pressing behind us, but begging for the fire to stop and hoping against everything that maybe our home would come through somehow. We headed for the home of a soccer friend of my little brother's.
They were very hospitable, and their home was perfect as they had an enclosed horse stall for the goats, and a tack room to close the cats in, with the rabbits there in their cages. But as we were unloading all the critters, we wondered what was taking Dad so long; we thought he was driving right behind us as we left. Then Dad's worker Brad got a text from Dad; he had decided to stay behind. Being a retired fireman, he saw that the fire wasn't coming straight for our property, but along the side, and he knew that little spot fires were what would end up taking everything, and he knew he could stop those without any immanent danger to himself. None the less, he left his truck running in case the fire doubled back and he needed to get out in a hurry.
Of course we were all panicked when we heard Dad hadn't left. Yes, we were a little relieved that maybe, just maybe our house could be saved, but with the black smoke and ominous orange glow over the forest, we terrified the fire would just catch him with no time to get out. (I'm pretty sure that picture will end up in a story sometime, just so I can work through it all the way.) But we know he's not stupid, and doesn't have a hero-complex; he just knew what he could do safely, he is very trained, and that it was the little, preventable spot fires on our hill that could that would burn everything. And he wasn't about to let that happen while he safely could.
So while we went in this soccer family's home to worry and wait and try to eat something, (it was maybe 5:30pm or 6pm by then) Dad was running up and down our property, (a trek that makes you breathe hard under normal circumstances) desperately putting out one spot fire after another. He said he was praying "Please don't take the workshop. Please don't take the workshop." Then running up to the house, "Please don't take the house. Please don't take the house." Hearing that from Mom choked me up.
It's hard to remember what he put out with what, but basically -- The grass caught fire around the propane tank, and Dad put that out with a fire extinguisher he had. Then the roof at the back of the workshop caught from the trees behind it, and he used a second fire extinguisher on that, but it wasn't quite enough. So he ran into the workshop from the other side and grabbed a murky water bucked he uses to wash out glue rags, and carried that back and threw it on the fire. That put it out, but steaming hot water came back down on him and singed his mustache and the hair on his arms and legs. (he's ok though, no serious burns)
Then he grabbed some empty cabinet-lacquer buckets (he keeps them outside his workshop for target practice) that had 'accidentally' collected rainwater, (hey, they say 'coincidences are God's way of working anonymously in our lives') and put out the grassfire around a shed next to the house; though the shed and its contents were too involved and burned to the ground, he saved the house. Then the corner of the playground caught, and he put that out with one of the buckets so it wouldn't catch more trees near the house. And 5 loaves and 2 fishes style, he had enough water to put out the corner of the rabbit/cat/goat shed as the burning tree next to it started on fire and he saved that, and also had enough to put out other hotspots that flared up.
He rushed over to our neighbors' house and threw things off their deck as it caught fire, trying to stop it before it caught the house, but he knew it was sadly too far gone.
(not our picture) A C-130 plane drops fire retardant over the burning area.
After having his truck running all that time, he really needed some gas to be sure he had enough to get out if he still needed to. He went to check on the home of some new neighbors just up the street, and saw in their open garage (the house was unharmed) a full 5-gallon gas can, which he gladly borrowed. He charged his phone --nearly dead from all the texts and calls to everyone, including many firemen friends who knew he lived in the Forest-- in his truck and called Mom, and then Mr. Brad, to let us all know he was still ok and the house and workshop were still standing. He was tired and out of breath, but hadn't had trouble with breathing too much smoke, (a God-thing!) and wasn't about to leave, since he knew he couldn't get back past the roadblocks. (which isn't a bad thing at all - it keeps people from being foolish. Dad just knew he was ok to stay there safely.)
He didn't sleep hardly at all that night, of course, since he was on the alert for hot spots, and every time he closed his eyes, he saw flames. But he had saved so much -- how incredibly brave he is!! I am more than proud of him.
Finally be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.
Ephesians 6:10
And I've been working on this thought in my quiet time the last couple days:
Is there a name for someone beyond a hero?
Someone who not only goes beyond the call of duty, with wisdom, strength, and courage, but who both counts the cost and prepares for safety, and does everything within his power to protect what God entrusted to him. And gives God credit when he is recognized, telling the story with humility and honesty.
I couldn't be more blessed to call this kind of beyond-hero my Dad.
I'm hoping to clean up and clarify that thought a bit, so I can send it to Daddy tomorrow for Father's Day.
And I'll catch you up on all the rest of it up to today in part 2...
No comments:
Post a Comment