homeagain wrote: IF there is a "lesson learned" (I hope) it is this.........do NOT depend upon ANYONE to tell you what to do......IF there is indication that
a dangerous situation is unfolding......STOP,BREATHE and LISTEN to your inner instinct. Because todays society is SO-O-O isolated
from nature,the "real" authentic world around them,they have forgotten how to THINK FOR THEMSELVES.......you (collectively) must
be cognizant and attuned to your surrounding/your world. If the cell phone video of the family BARELY escaping death does NOT bring
this front and center.....I do NOT know what will. Apparently this fire "set up" in the perfect storm,because complacency/mis communicaton/and inattentiveness all came together to create a dire "learning lesson"......I ask that we ALL do some introspection and
make this sad saga an opportunity to IMPROVE in the future. Lots of blame to go around.....INCLUDING ourselves here in this community.JMO
The people who lived up in that area ( I am one of them) were concerned about the controlled burn the previous week. It did not appear to go as planned to begin with, I saw the fire form a deck on one of the homes that is now gone last week. It looked dangerous then. It was supposed to be over @ 4:00PM, it took till will into the night before it was controlled. Red flag warning should have brought a much more heightened monitoring of the area. I heard there was only a crew or two. THere were calls of concern and requests that it should be postponed before it started.
Monday WAS a perfect storm as far as fire weather goes, warm, 70+ MPH winds. Calls to 911 were rebuffed form my neighbor.... there is nothing to worry about was the response, quit calling. That was 1-1:30 ish. I saw the fire first around 3:30, by 4:30 it was getting very scary. We got out @ 5:38 and drove through flames and 30' of visibility. The flames they said moved @ 50MPH at times. That is something I hope never happens around here ever again... Monday was one hell of a day.
I do want to say Thank You to those firemen who have worked this fire, I'm sure you guys are the reason I still have a home.
I am deeply impressed, and honored, seeing that which both individuals and businesses stepped up and offered this week, whether unique to their circumstances/abilities or as general/simple as food and clothing. Suffering the worst really does bring out the best in us and I hope that we can carry that feeling for a long time to come.
I also would like to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone who shared their personal stories and pictures, and especially to all of the volunteers and members who helped post emergency information, spending hours listening to scanners and searching other sources of information so as to keep our community the most up-to-date as possible. CinnamonGirl was invaluable in this regard and I can't thank her enough, as she worked endlessly behind the scenes, covering for me while I was gone, even while babysitting her grandson and keeping up on her other responsibilities.
Lastly, a special thanks to Wayne. Your devotion to this community, and assistance to those who serve it, is beyond compare. We are grateful, thank you.
"Now, more than ever, the illusions of division threaten our very existence. We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another as if we were one single tribe.” -King T'Challa, Black Panther
The truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it. ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is. ~Winston Churchill
Science Chic wrote: I am deeply impressed, and honored, seeing that which both individuals and businesses stepped up and offered this week, whether unique to their circumstances/abilities or as general/simple as food and clothing. Suffering the worst really does bring out the best in us and I hope that we can carry that feeling for a long time to come.
I also would like to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone who shared their personal stories and pictures, and especially to all of the volunteers and members who helped post emergency information, spending hours listening to scanners and searching other sources of information so as to keep our community the most up-to-date as possible. CinnamonGirl was invaluable in this regard and I can't thank her enough, as she worked endlessly behind the scenes, covering for me while I was gone, even while babysitting her grandson and keeping up on her other responsibilities.
Lastly, a special thanks to Wayne. Your devotion to this community, and assistance to those who serve it, is beyond compare. We are grateful, thank you.
" I'll try anything once, twice if I like it, three times to make sure. " Mae West
