As the fires rage around Lake Tahoe, evacuations are in place. If you haven’t visited, you have missed one of the most beautiful mountain areas anywhere. World class skiing awaits. Mountain sports of every kind. Fresh air and pine trees. At least that’s the way it was before the fire.
I remember the times I’ve needed to evacuate due to fires. The worst year was 2013, while VST and I were enjoying our last years of employment in the Central Valley of California. While living on our mountain-top hideaway, above the fog and smog, fire preparedness is always a Top-5 task.
Folks move to the foothills to live in the wilderness. The reality is, without defensible space, your mountain hide-away can turn into a deathtrap. Defensible space is 100 feet of cleared space in all directions of your home. In a small foothill neighborhood, if everyone complies, you soon live in a small treeless city. This becomes exactly the type of environment people hoped to escape. Many people resist, loving the privacy provided by plants like mature manzanita. Fuel-filled and explosively flammable. Manzanita grows dense and is full of oil. In a fire, it burns hot and fast, often destroying homes to which it provided with privacy.
On our mountaintop, we had the view of all views. Our backyard lawn dropped off the cliff like an infinity pool, and there we were, suspended like two old crows. Space defended, we could see for miles.
In the spring of 2013, a different kind of evil was brewing. A neighbor couple was about to lose their home to foreclosure. Not being of sound mind, they concocted a wonderful idea. With enough fires set in our foothill community, it would be easy to start one by THEIR house and burn it to the ground. No one would suspect a thing. The insurance money would set them happily on their way to a better future. With that bit of evil brewing, the fires commenced.
For two months, at precisely 4 PM every day, a new fire would begin. These fires were set in very dry conditions with manzanita ready to explode. Each day, I’d notice a deadly plume of smoke as a new fire began. Calling to report the new fire, I felt something to which I was unaccustomed. Terror. Like being the ultimate Scarecrow. How fast could the fire travel? Would the afternoon winds carry an ember to our property? Was our defensible space defendable? How many firemen would be injured, or worse? Would anyone lose their life? Could I become trapped in an evacuation traffic jam? All questions asked each day as a new fire started. One a day for almost two months.
This evil duo lived down the hill from us. As their plan came closer to our doorstep, so did the evacuation order over our cell phones. We were to make sure all pets and livestock were moved to safe ground. Being prepared, we had a plan in place, already knowing what picture albums and personal belongings needed to come along. Clothing and shoes for the first week. Cash. Credit cards. Insurance papers of all kinds. Legal documents. Everything was neatly organized and waiting for our turn at disaster as the daily fires continued. When we finally needed to go, the vehicles were stuffed and down the hill we went.
It’s a tough thing to leave a home behind. Being prepared, there’d been extra time to include things we hadn’t considered important or may even, essential. Old paper medical records from the 1900’s, before every cough and sniffle was digitized. Dental records. Address books. Every spare place in the vehicles was stuffed. Still, there were things we just couldn’t grab, because the fire was coming.
Driving away, a fog of smoke and ash made it difficult to breathe or even see. Due to the number of homes in the mountain community, large bombers were deployed, as the skies rained with huge loads of orangish-pink fire retardant covering everything. Helicopters dropped thousands of gallons of water on each day’s fire. With hard work and determination, only one house was destroyed during those two months. No one died.
With great detective work and undercover agents literally hanging out in the trees, the culprits were finally caught. The nightmare was over, but not without emotional scars. It’s hard to sleep at night when you aren’t sure if a copycat fire will be set. The two received 30 and 40 years respectively due to the wonderful work of the agents. Unfortunately, due to the insane laws of California, the monsters have been released to live wherever they like. Evil walks among us, folks. It truly does. (More information — Google Yosemite Lakes Arson Fires, Madera County, 2013)
The fires of today are even worse than those VST and I experienced in 2013. Forest mismanagement and the ravages of bark beetle and drought have left mountain residents vulnerable. Escape routes are not usually large boulevards, but pitted, gravel roads, not designed for heavy evacuation traffic or emergency equipment. Evacuation centers fill up early. Large animal transportation and care is limited. Horses need to eat. A lot. Sometimes it’s necessary to simply turn them out, making sure contact numbers are written on hooves with black sharpies. In a fire, human family members come first. A missing cat or dog may need to fend for itself until the owners return, if they can.
Disasters come in all sizes and shapes. Evacuations can be necessary for any number of reasons. Are you ready? Do you have a go bag equipped with a week’s worth of medicine and copies of important phone numbers and policies? Have you planned with a family member in a different area in the event of a disaster? Do you have numbers written down in case your phone gets lost? All things easily done when things are normal and calm.
Please pray for those evacuated from their homes from flood, fire, or the other natural disasters happening today. These families are experiencing something unforeseen and horrific. Not knowing if there’s a home to return is a horrible feeling. Losing everything near and dear is devastating. Thank goodness for the kindness and generosity of Americans. Keep praying for rain where we need it and none where we don’t. These are trying times.