NFRC: Butte Fire

heather_in_sf

Well-known member
Hi everyone,

I haven't been on here in a while, but I'm back. My family had a bit of an adventure with the Butte fire in the California foothills. My mom and stepdad moved up there when mom retired and have this adorable house in a hollow filled with quail, and lately, turkeys. My sister called me on the 10th to say there was a wildfire in Jackson and it was spreading fast and the sky looked terrifying. She was packing the car. My sister has been staying at mom's because she broke her ankle last summer and she has stairs at her apartment, and mom's place is walker/wheelchair friendly, plus mom is really not doing well after my stepdad's passing. I'm so glad she was still there. Friday, 9/11 the sheriff came by to issue a mandatory evacuation because the fire was heading straight towards them in San Andreas and had already overrun nearby Mountain Ranch. The evacuation centers won't allow pets so my family decided to drive to Valley Springs to reassess and have some comfort food at Taco Bell. I found them a hotel in Lodi, which is the nearest largest town, and off they went to the wonderful Motel 6. The motel gave me a discounted rate because they were evacuees and gave them the nicest room. Turns out the motel was filling up with evacuees and they all had lots of conversations at the pool and laundry room about what is really important in this situation, that they got out and are safe, instead of torturing themselves over "I should have brought this..." or "I can't believe I forgot to pack xyz...". One of the people there is the daughter of my mom's home helper, and she learned on Saturday that her home was gone, but that my mom's was still okay. It has been a long bunch of days searching the CalFire websites and news services to look at the fire perimeter maps and try to tell if the house was still okay. I learned last Monday that mom's next door neighbors decided to return despite not having electricity because they were worried about looting and they kept an eye on the neighborhood for everyone. They said some days the smoke and flying embers were so thick, and the next day it would be clear as a bell. So strange. Anyway, my mom's neighborhood was spared despite the fire being under 1/4 mile from them. The firefighters are true heroes and saved so many people's homes. Mom and my sis returned yesterday to the house and how face today the task of cleaning out the fridge and freezers and washing them out. The power came back on Thursday and everything refroze, which helps with the process. They have to inventory everything because State Farm is going to reimburse them for the lost food. The house smells like a smoke a little bit but they don't need to do any special cleaning like they thought they would. A neighbor with a truck is helping all the other neighbors gather up the spoiled food and take it to the dump as there will be no garbage service for a while. They said that you can see the black hills from where the fire passed, then a miracle green spot around a house that was spared, or that was defended successfully, and it's an eerie sight. My family are "city" people, and the worry of a wildfire never really crossed our minds before this fire. The Valley fire is also another horrible one that destroyed an entire town like Mountain Ranch but more populated. We are just so grateful that my mom's neighborhood was spared and amazed at the kindness shown by the firefighters, the insurance company (they just dropped off $500 in cash yesterday to the house) and the community. What a terrifying and stressful experience and now the process of resuming a normal life begins.

hugs to all....

 
How fortunate your family, and the neighborhood was to have survived that awful fire.

We have been following the fires daily in the news and online. We live next to Trinity County which has lost 10% of their real estate to the wild fires.

Thanks for posting this story, it is so hard to know the terrifying feelings one has while fleeing for their lives, worried about pets, belongings, and what happens next. The fire fighters are wonderful. I see them all around town, and I give them a huge smile and "thank you", when I pass.

 
Wow -thank you for taking the time to write all of this. So glad your mom's

home was spared and so good to hear how people help one another in such hard times.

 
I've been wondering about you Heather. So glad your mom and sister are safe as well as the house.

I can't imagine what they've gone through. How are you doing, did your ankle/leg get better? I've missed your blog posts.

 
Wow, so glad she is ok! My niece was packed and ready to go due to the Valley Fire

as she is in Calistoga, but they are ok too though many are not. I heard this morning over 1k homes were lost there.

The biggest fire, the Rough Fire, is not getting much media coverage as there are no structures there, but that's also where the Giant Sequoias are near Kings Canyon National Park and Grant Grove, home of the General Grant Tree, the second-largest tree in the world. I heard the fire came right up to Grant's loop, but they'd installed sprinklers around the area in case of fire and it helped save that stand of trees.

 
You can tell a foodie...I read that as "butter fire" and thought "how is that NFRC" smileys/smile.gif

 
I'm so glad everyone is ok. I agree about the firefighters...they truly are amazing.

My girlfriend's husband is a firefighter and he, and some of his guys, went down there from Oregon to help fight the fire. Brave bunch of guys.

 
I did do! I'm so glad everyone is doing okay, H. It will smell like burnt brownies for

a long, long time. (We had major fires in 1999 and that burnt brownies smell was around for almost 6 months.)

 
Our area has had many fire fighters from all over, even Australia and New Zealand

it is amazing how they all share resources when needed. CA is out of money for fighting the fires and the feds have had to fund millions lately. I do not know how CA will be able to pay all this back. Much less fund for next years fire season.

 
or Alaska fighters are down there now. pay back time. we appreciated the outside help when we were

burning up earlier in the summer.

 
Wow, what an experience. Thanks for letting us know your mom & sis are ok & am so happy to hear the

house was spared. Great to hear from you, Heather!

 
Thanks everyone, they're still recovering from the stress and tidying up. My sister

had to go to the ER last week, she's fine but she couldn't breathe, they think it was a delayed reaction to the stress. Poor thing.

The town is still full of workers and everyone is being so helpful to everyone else. My family is thinking now might be the right time to donate my late stepdad's clothes, the fire victims could use them and they'd certainly be spiffily dressed!

 
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