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I guess I'll do a thread...
It's been a long week!
This was Sunday, about 15min before the Sheriffs Deputy came and said: Get out. You have 30 minutes.
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Threw some stuff together and off we went...
http://i48.tinypic.com/63wymw.jpg
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The good news is that our place is ok. :hail2thechief: Evac order has been lifted, power restored, stinky fridge cleaned. It's kind of a fun exercise to have 30 minutes to pick what you want to keep... and that can fit in your car.
Here are some pics from last Tuesday, when the north end of the fire blew up because of wind.
There really wasn't much smoke noticable almost the whole way down, which was encouraging. This picture was the first we really noticed it. Remember the green roof...
http://i45.tinypic.com/n6qloo.jpg
Coming out into the valley proper and man, the fire didn't look near as bad as in times past. Really just one major pocket, with several smaller hot spots here and there. They had really done some good work!
http://i47.tinypic.com/nx49w9.jpg
Then the winds really started. We'd been at my house for about 40 minutes from the last pic and this is what it was turning into...
http://i47.tinypic.com/nv5qhj.jpg
Line of flames
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Time to get back outta Dodge. Worried they might shut down the highway again.
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Sorry, most of these pics were taking on the go... and yes, I know I need to clean my sensor.
my neighbor he came ok... but that's too close for comfort
http://i46.tinypic.com/2moypfq.jpg
then it turned into a race to get to the head of the valley before they shut everything down. We followed a convoy of about 30 emergency vehicles that were racing that way to start staging to protect the houses.
http://i46.tinypic.com/zja0yc.jpg
Going through the smoke
http://i47.tinypic.com/mt2e6g.jpg
Looking back...
http://i45.tinypic.com/30dihb8.jpg
Remember that green roof from the first pic?
http://i46.tinypic.com/r295zt.jpg
Rocky Mountain power website showing some of the damage..
http://www.rockymountainpower.net/about/nr/uwdp.html (that 2nd one makes me laugh)
Indian Ridge... several places were lost over there.
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The following pics are all from the north end of the fire... the one that blew up on my previous trip down to check on things. Looks like they did an admirable job of keeping the structures safe.
http://i46.tinypic.com/121pw5k.jpg
http://i45.tinypic.com/2d0x3xt.jpg
http://i48.tinypic.com/j0wbxz.jpg
Taking pictures with so much smoke in the air yeilds some interesting results...
http://i46.tinypic.com/21jmwr4.jpg
http://i47.tinypic.com/2mm8ysw.jpg
Glad to hear you're ok! And those are great pics. Really appreciate you sharing these.
The curiosity is killing me though. If I had 30 mins to pick a few possession to keep and told to leave, I don't know what I'd grab. Maybe photos of my kid as he was growing up, but those are all backed up online. So meh... I'd like to grab my 2 big screen TV's being the most expensive possessions I own, but they wouldn't fit in a car, and they are insured, so meh... I guess I would grab some financial docs in a folder, like my car titles and such, my signed artwork from Keith Parkinson (deceased). And that's it.
But you actually went through this and didn't have to do the calm mental exercise I did. You experienced it with the trauma it entails. About to lose everything you own.... I just can't imagine how that felt... What were your observations? What ended up being important to you in those 30 mins?
Well, living where we live, I had given it some thought. And when the fire really starting going, I gave it some more thought... so when the acutal 30 minute time limit was given, I already had a pretty good idea of what I wanted. Still pretty stressful though.Quote:
Originally Posted by Deathcricket
Went down this list:
Irreplaceable
Important/difficult to replace
Nice to have
Examples of each:
Photos, journals etc
Financial documents, birth certs, computer
Clothes, whatever gear might make an extended stay away from home more tolerable.
Then you fill up your vehicles until you either run out of space... or time. :lol8:
At the first of the fire they told us that we would be evac'd if the fire jumped the road. It was my opinion that if that happened, the likelihood of our place burning was pretty high. So when the actual order came and we were told that the fire had jumped, it was pretty intense. We were packing under the feeling that the fire was on its way... and that we'd likely lose everything.
Turns out the fire HADN'T jumped the road. So we were lucky that way.
But lots of friends and neighbors across in Indian Ridge and Oaker Hills weren't so lucky :cry1:
Thanks for sharing and glad to hear that you are okay. Fascinating to see the pictures. :popcorn: