August 06, 2018

One Of The Lucky Ones

Thursday, July 27, the Carr fire headed for town, nearly burning French Gulch, having destroyed a marina (and boats) and campground at Whiskeytown Lake, decimated hundreds of homes in the towns of Old Shasta and Keswick.  The smoke and ash were other-worldy, turning the outside to sepia. Ash and embers were falling all over our house. Large ash that would explode into 20 or 30 small ashes when they landed.

We received a reverse-911 mandatory evacuation call about an hour before a 143 mph fire tornado hit our neighborhood. We were prepared, had things stacked by front door, just in case (but we really never imagined the flames would jump the river). I left to be with granddaughters, their parents were out of town for an Ironman Triathlon in Ohio. The Guy and our grandson finished loading and left just as tornado hit. As they drove away from the house, the entire hill across from our house erupted in giant flames.

Our house is standing. Most in neighborhood are not. It looks and smells like a war zone. The houses that weren't burned to the ground had huge trees uprooted, roofs torn off, windows shattered. 

It was a crazy time. Air quality was and is often 220+, evening reaching as high as 335. Our grandson and his little family were evacuated from 4 different locations. We, my sister, and granddaughters only had to evacuate from different locations 3 times (once not because of fire but lack of electricity in 113 degree weather).

We (granddaughters (14 and 17), grandson, his wife and 4 year old daughter, my sister, the Guy and I and six dogs, ended up camping out in my folks house in Red Bluff on the bank of the Sacramento River 35 miles south of our home. Air quality still fluctuating between unhealthy to hazardous.

Evacuations were lifted for all but The Guy and me. The neighborhood was deemed unsafe but luckily our homes were being guarded by Redding Police and National Guard.

After a week, The Guy and I bailed. We headed for San Francisco to be with his sister. Fresh Air! Nice!

Better still, we attended the Electric Light Orchestra concert in Oakland. OMG, incredible. One of The Guys all-time favorite bands. If ELO is touring near you, see them. You won't regret it.

We spent two more days walking and driving through San Francisco. Fell in love with the Mission District all over again (p.s. don't bother with the Haight district. It is so gentrified that it is actually boring!).

The day before we came home, we received notice there was a 'soft lift' on mandatory evacuation. We could return to our house with ID. Our grandson had our address on his license so he Facetimed a walk through with us. House was totally fine, even the houseplants survived the 100+ degree heat without the relief of air conditioning.

We returned home Saturday night, looking forward to being home but not to cleaning out the rotting food. Surprise! Our grandson had cleaned out and dumped all the waste.

We were unsure of bringing stuff back in the first night; the fire had taken a turn on Saturday and was reported heading back towards town but the firefighters held the line. We finally brought computer and photos back in last night.

We have seen firefighters and equipment from almost every state in the union, even as far away as New Jersey and New York. There are 7 deaths and over a thousand homes destroyed, another half of that with heavy damage. Immense outpouring of gratitude to all the firefighters and first responders.

There is a huge banner over I-5 for the crews at work:

 "Thank you for Kicking Ash"


18 comments:

  1. every time I read or hear about this fire, I send a little thought your way that you and your family will be safe.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We heard from many people that the fire made national news! Thank you for your thoughts. I believe every little bit counts.

      Delete
  2. WOW. Toni I am happy your home and life was spared as was your loved ones.
    Nice that you had a place to stay and has some joy in all of this.
    I wish you and your neighbors some rain, cool weather and peace.
    I can't even imagine! ((hugs))

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm wishing your wish for rain bares fruit!

      I was here and still can't imagine, it was so nightmarish.

      Don't count on our lives being saved yet! With Unhealthy and Hazardous air quality, we are breathing ash filled with toxins. The entire county of Shasta will probably keel over dead from lung cancer in about 5 years!

      We are relieved to be home and safe. Truly some of the lucky ones.

      Delete
  3. Gosh you and the family were lucky ... very lucky. It simply cannot be easy to live in an area when the fires are so severe. Your grandson deserves lots of medals ... how very nice of him ... but more importantly so pleased you're all safe and the house is too ... take care - Hilary

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hilary, The whole family is very lucky. We still can't believe how some of our homes survived and how close we came to being caught up in the fire storm.

      My grandson really is one of the best men I know. He helped us evacuate, he cleaned up the rotting food and took care of our dogs so that we could leave town. But he also, during this time with my mom and dad, called every day since December 2, 2017 to check on folks and me; to ask if we needed anything, made us dinners and delivered, took care of our house and dogs when we couldn't make it home, called to say, "I love you, Nana. Call me if you need anything." Helped us move Dad into Redding. Visited my dad and made him smile and laugh. He is my personal hero. Between my grandson and The Guy, I always had a rock to lean on!

      Delete
  4. Replies
    1. Joanne, Thank you for the good wishes but should't you be concentrating on taking care and being safe!!! Be well, my friend. Heal quickly and soundly.

      Delete
  5. I am so terribly sorry for your city. We went through it in ours and I could not express to you the tremendous grief that hung over for the longest time. My old street was decimated and I remember thinking how hard it would be to be one of the few that still stand but 7 months later the constructing and cleanup is going strong and the city came together to hold each other up and be a true community. I hope that for yours too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Linda, I am so sad that your town went through this. Their is a tremendous grief but also a incredible amount of community spirit and support. Restaurants feeding evacuees and fire fighters for free, free medical care from private physicians for evacuees. People opening up their homes to house people. Incredible. I hope it continues.

      Delete
  6. Incredibly traumatic! I'm so glad to hear you and your home are alright. -Jenn

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jenn, Thank you. It has been incredibly traumatic for the community but once the shock of it is over I think we will rise better than ever. #REDDING STRONG

      Though, I'm ready to sell and move out of California. As we were driving to and from San Francisco, I didn't see landscapes, I only saw tinder! May be time to move to somewhere green and tolerate a little humidity for awhile!

      Delete
  7. So tragic! I'm happy to hear you are okay!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Martha. Not sure we would define ourselves as 'okay' but we are certainly okay for now! We will heal, and be better in the long run.

      I hope that all is okay with you!

      Delete
  8. oh my goodness, such an intense experience. I am so glad that you are ok, your house too. Though it must be shocking to have homes around you burned down! Sending light.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Intense! Great description. Thanks for the light, can feel it wash over me!

      Delete
  9. I just got home from California in an area that is not experiencing any fires at this time. I am sorry to read about all that you have been through, Toni. I just can’t imagine the horror and loss that so many are experiencing. Please stay safe.

    I have family in Redding and last I heard they are OK.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm glad your family is okay. I hope they have escaped the air and are sitting on a beach somewhere until these fires are contained.

      Delete

Comment Please but Play Nice!