Last Saturday the 23rd what everyone thought was a small fire started in Waldo Canyon. We could see the smoke from our house easily but, considering the number of fires burning in Colorado at the moment, it just didn't seem to be on the big scale. I noticed it after teaching my puppy class but didn't think much of it.
Well not thinking about it didn't make it go away. The fire got bigger and closer. Suddenly it was something to worry about. Parts of the city started to go under pre-evacuation notice, including Manitou Springs. The one day I choose to leave my dogs at home, my house goes under pre-evacuation for a wild fire. I, of course, freaked out and left work to go get Whitman, Gerani and Theo out of there. I felt much better having them close to me so I didn't take the evacuation that seriously; I didn't grab much else other than my babies. And then Manitou Springs went under mandatory evacuation early Sunday morning. I was at my sister's house but the next day, while Manitou was evacuated, I couldn't help thinking about what I left behind. The possibility of my house burning down was slim but when you're forced to consider it as a possibility, the world looks pretty different. So, once again I left work in a panic and drove to the road blocks. They told me that they weren't letting anyone in except for medications and pets. I didn't need either but I needed to get back to my house for my own piece of mind. So I burst into tears and told them that my cat was still home and I had to get in. They let me in. They took down my driver's licence and then told me I had 15 minutes.
Manitou was a ghost town. It was incredibly quiet and eerie. That didn't calm me down; instead it just freaked me out. I rushed to my house and ripped around it like a hurricane grabbing clothes, papers and some other memories. The one thing I had to get more than anything else was Vallie's ashes. Part of me hated myself for forgetting them the first time. If the house had burnt down, that's what I would have cried for. It would have been like losing Vallie again. *tears*
The house didn't burn down. Although the fire was dangerously close to Manitou, they lifted the evacuation order on Sunday evening. I didn't go home because the ash and smoke was so bad. Plus, the stress of the fire being so close made me want to be with family. It was comforting to be crashing with my sister. Monday and Tuesday morning, nothing much happened. The fire spread. The smoke was everywhere. Other neighborhoods went on evacuation alert.
Tuesday, the beautiful, peaceful community I grew up in changed forever. Lives changed forever. Suddenly 65 mile per hour winds drove the fire toward the Northwest end of the Springs where I have so many friends. Suddenly, pre-evac became mandatory evacuation, and that became a panicked run from a wall of flames roaring down the mountain. When I heard the evacuation order for that area, I couldn't believe it. Although my parents had semi packed up, no one believed it would actually happen. So when it happened and I couldn't get my dad on the phone, I immediately left work again and raced for their house. About Woodmen Rd and I-25, the ash clogged the beautiful blue Colorado sky. Everyone was grey and smoggy and completely terrifying. I raced up Woodmen Rd as people went the other way, escaping with everything they had in the world, wondering if they'd ever get to go back.
At my parents' house, the ashy sky was light up with orange as the flames came in. I have never been more scared in my life. It was so surreal to go into my childhood home and throw everything we could into boxes and into the cars. My childhood home. Where I have memories of love, and fun and the most perfect family and childhood anyone could have. I just kept thinking, that's where we played Monster, that's where we used to wait at the stairs on Christmas morning while my poor parents dragged themselves out of bed, all the places we found Easter eggs, all the birthdays, family dinners and simple little moments that have made me who I am. All of that is there. How could all of that go up into flames? Who would I be if I didn't have that most important foundation? Terrifying. *tears*
But there wasn't any time to be terrified. We had to go through the house triaging what we would and could save. As painful as it was for me, I can't imagine what it was like for my parents. We were all there working together and we got through it. We packed the cars and we were just about to get in and pull out when there was this heartbreaking moment when my parents hugged each other. They held on to each other so tight and then they started to cry. It was so heart wrenching to think of what they were leaving behind. I just hugged them too and told them the only thing I could, that it was just stuff. That if the house was lost, it was just stuff. They were getting out alive and unhurt and we were all together and that is what mattered. They were so brave. *tears* Then we piled into each car and rolled out.
Rolled out into a line of people fleeing fire. It was like a movie with the orange flames and ash. What they don't show you in the movie is the long tension filled line of cars packed to bursting. The fire was literally behind us in people's backyards. It was chewing through the lives of people. No one really knew if they would ever get to go home again. Words really can not describe that feeling. For those that weren't there, anxiously bumper to bumper with other evacuees, I don't think we can describe it. And some had it worse than my family.
We all made it out in one piece. My brother opened up his home to my parents and our neighbors and I continued to stay with my sister. I wanted to be close. And part of me couldn't bare going home when so many people couldn't. And so I stayed.
And the city watched. The city watched as parts of it burned. It has been so horrible and traumatic. I don't think I've obsessively watched the news like that since 9/11. Work was crazy with taking in evacuated dogs (I'm glad we could do our part for those in need). I spent my time trying to keep work on track, trying to stay up with all the news and taking donations to the fire fighters.
Then we all found out things would never be the same. Along with the distinguished Flying W Ranch, a long standing cowboy staple of the community, which I heard we had lost while we were all in line fleeing the fire, 346 homes were also burned to the ground. 346 families lost everything. I can't even say how heartbroken I am for them. The community is heartbroken with them. Two people also lost their lives. My thoughts and prayers go out to all those people.
Somehow, in the face of loss and devastation, the human spirit can be an incredible thing. This community has come together and will continue to come together for everyone who needs the strength to stand and recover from this. When the people who lost their homes are ready, we will be there for them. Every spare cent I can afford right now will be going to the relief efforts. When the time comes, I will be there to help them rebuild. I promise.
And we recognize the heroes who stood in front of those flames and defended the houses they could. The fire fighters have been more than incredible. The bravery and selflessness of those men and women will save this community and help us rebuild more than the physical structures they saved. I think having the fire fighters to stand behind has helped this community keep its spirit. That is a beautiful thing.
We will recover. Someday the Waldo Canyon Fire will be a horrible memory.
Now I am going to post the pictures of this whole thing. They're hard for me to look at but I feel like they need to be archived.
Here is a time lapse of the week of the Waldo Canyon Fire. It brings me to tears.
Time Lapse
There are so many people who need help here. Please consider donating what you can. One of my favorite sites has tshirts for sale and all proceeds go to the relief effort. Wild Fire Tees
Other ways to help:
I'll most other ways to donate specifically to those who lost their homes when that is really set up. For now, prayers and thoughts for those affected by this dark time.
This was incredibly hard for me to write. Harder than I thought it was. Lots of tears.
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