Fires in the West are always a real and present danger. The beautiful Manzanita, Pine, and grasses are awe-inspiring. The vegetation covering the mountains and desert we love so much, they are also something else. FUEL. Once you’ve lived through a major fire, you never think of trees and bushes as anything other than FUEL.
The Davis Fire started Saturday afternoon in a small campground miles west of my town. A quiet little spot just right for day use, this campground was a place to enjoy the pines for the day. Although the cause hasn’t been announced, there was no lightning in the clear blue skies that day. It started around 2:30 pm. Everything points to a human cause. In this day and age, it often does.
In 2013, I lived through the terror of 30 fires, one set every single day for a month. We would later discover each fire was started by a neighbor and his wife. Almost losing their home to foreclosure, they planned to set a variety of fires around the area. The “BIG” one would start next to their house and come with an insurance payoff. They could start life anew as fire VICTIMS.
They were very crafty and almost accomplished their goal. During that month, evacuated twice as manzanita and oak trees went up in flames all around us. One young couple escaped a fire with only their small daughter and their lives. They lost everything.
It took a huge effort by Madera County Sheriff and other law enforcement. Men wore camouflage and sat long hours in trees waiting to catch the suspects red-handed. After 30 days, close to their home and mine, they DID. The community pulled together and the husband got 30 years while the wife got a bit less.
Although the bushes and trees slowly came back, the psychological scars of the fires were slower to heal. With horror and disgust, the community was told that after only three years served these two monsters were released early due to “good behavior”. Remember their name, as they could be YOUR new neighbors.
In 2014, the Courtney Fire in Bass Lake took the homes of 33 of our neighbors, leaving a scattering of cabins like ours unharmed. The neighborhood was forever shattered. In 40 minutes, the fire raced up a mountain, took out the community and raced to the edge of the lake. Luckily, the only fatalities were two cats.
If you’ve lived through something like this, fires aren’t just news stories. They bring up a deep sadness and empathy for the new victims. The community has just suffered a loss from which some will never recover.
My heart breaks for the sixteen families who lost everything in the fire this weekend. The community lost so many special things that can never be replaced. They’ll live with the scars from this fire for a very long time. It will take decades for these 6500 acres to return to their natural beauty. Something so precious has been lost.
As the sun rises this morning, the damage will slowly come to light. At this point 12, 000 people are evacuated, two of them being my brother-in-law and his beautiful wife. They, along with others, will find comfort from friends and family, while waiting to find out whether they still have homes.
Whatever you do today, please pray for the victims of the Davis Creek Fire.
More tomorrow.