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....
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....