Thankful

This word does not express the gratitude I have in my heart today for the firefighters who worked tirelessly to save our home this weekend.  I believe we were watched over by a higher power as well.  Here’s what our home sweet home looks like today…

 

…which is nothing short of a miracle since just 72 short hours ago this was headed our way

Here’s how the story of this miracle unfolded from our point of view:

On Thursday, June 21, 2012 we left for Lake Tahoe for the weekend to attend Justin’s mom’s wedding.  That night, we heard a small fire had been started out west by the dump the day before due to some target shooting.  Not losing any sleep over it, we soundly slept through the night anxiously awaiting a beautiful wedding ceremony the next day on Emerald Island. 

Friday, June 22, 2012

Besides waking up, showering and brushing his teeth, Justin’s usual routine is to grab his iphone and check the news and Facebook.  We were in shock when we saw updates of the fire and people talking about the sudden mandatory evacuation of our neighborhood.   The wind shifted drastically causing the fire to head directly for our homes.  Most of our neighbors only had 5 minutes to grab their belongings and leave.  This is what it looked like around 9:50 a.m.  We heard it was “raining ash”.  This street feeds into ours:

The tears started flowing like a torrential rainstorm.  I was hundreds of miles away.  There was nothing I could do but helplessly worry about our cat (who was saved by a generous neighbor who lied to get back into the neighborhood), our newly-built  home, and our neighbors.

I was addicted to checking facebook like a drug addict looking for its next “hit”, although my “hit” was  to get the latest information of what was going on.  I considered my neighbors "status” updates a more reliable source than the news.  Although I, too,  scoured all the news websites for photos of the fire.  Here’s what I stumbled upon during the next 24 hours:

This part of the fire was west of our house.  Our home is built on the most western, newest part of the neighborhood.  Looking at aerial maps, it was just within blocks of our home, and within feet of the homes in the subdivision south of ours. 

Our house is in that black cloud of smoke somewhere!

The fire crews in action

Night fall came and the blaze had spread to over 4,000 acres.  This photo was taken by Robert Boyd, our neighbor and talented artist.  He captured the Milky Way and the fire below: 

When I saw these pictures posted on Facebook from Saturday morning, the waterworks started again and I can barely hold back the tears each time I see them.  I can’t believe the dedication, determination and perseverance of these firefighters.

The flames engulfed 5,507 acres and took 450 firefighters from around the country to extinguish them.   The fire should be completely contained by tonight. 

This is what I learned from this experience:

1.  Family and friends are most important.  If everyone is safe, everything else can be replaced

2.  I am thankful for my community and home being watched over by a higher power

3.  Having neighbors that are willing to check up, watch out for and help one another during a crisis is priceless

4.  Be prepared!!  Have those 72-hour kits updated and ready just in case!  Put all important items/documents all in one place.  You never know when you will be given 5 minutes to evacuate your home! 

*I have reposted these pics from Facebook and some are from the Deseret News picture file, but am not sure of who took what to give credit to.  Sorry!