On Monday as we were driving home from Pac Beach-we noticed a smallish "fire" in the hills of CleElum around 2pm. The flames were clearly visible from the highway, and we wondered what it was. We got home, unpacked and decided to take the puppies to the river. Upon opening our front door we saw this:
within minutes the whole sky looked "muddy" (as Emma called it). It was quite eery. Keep in mind we haven't had rain in over 20 days, it is extremely dry here, 100 degrees and typically windy to boot!
My friend took this picture from their house-closer to the fires.
By 4pm the news started being reported: 800 acres burned & threatening homes. Scary. People were posting pictures on Facebook like crazy. It looked like the apocalypse.
MONDAY 11pm: 10,000 acres burned and dispite firefighters efforts, the fire was 0% contained.
In an effort to sleep a little better, Mike and I decided we should be ready to go at a moments notice just in case. We heard that those already evacuated had been given 14 mins to get out!
What surprised me was that it didn't take long to pack what was most important to me. While Mike quickly took pictures of each room in the house, basement & classroom- I filled 2 Rubbermaid tubs with the kids scrapbooks, home videos, baby momentos, home insurance docs & birth certificates. The only other things Mike & I needed was the 2 furry things snoring at the foot off our bed and 2 littles that were sound asleep through all this. When we had it all piled at the door, I slept on the couch just to make sure, and the next morning I woke up to the following news...
TUES 6am: 27000 acres and 60 homes burned, 900 evacuated, 0% contained and fire moving at 30 MPH. The community came together in a flash. Friends husbands rushed to volunteer fighting the fires, while others began donation sites & spread the word through facebook. CWU set up a place in the dorms for evacuated families, while the Fairgrounds set up shelter for the displaced animals/livestock. One of my friends posted this picture of her cousin. He and a buddy went out to see what they could do and saw a man trying to save his house. He was all alone. With the efforts of the 3 men, they were able to accomplish the task! What an amazing miracle.
The lobby of the Holiday Inn and basement of the Chamber of Commerce were stockpiled with an outpouring of donations.
Meanwhile at the Animal Hospital, this is just one of the poor guys that was found. Paws scorched and fur partially burned. :( Mike & I called to see if we could help with the animals across the street at the fairgrounds, but they have so much help they asked if we could check back with them as the week goes on. Donations have been pouring in from all over the state-for both animals, families, and firefighters alike. All the grocery stores in town making donations & the large hay companies donating employee picnics to the firefighters. Brings a lump to my throat. What blessings.
Still-with all the efforts being made, nothing seemed to be able to stop this fast growing fire. With the winds, it was causing the flames to jump the hwy and the river-creating a catastrophic mess.
By 2pm TUESDAY and still 0% contained, the Gov. called a state of emergency for our county. FEMA became involved and the National Guard was in route. But the flames were still coming our way. Even still-we are blessed that our home is protected by being in between the University and Fairgrounds. Both set up as safe places for victims of this tragedy. Which also meant they served as a barrier for the fire protection efforts. The government was NOT going to let the University burn (if it could be helped). Still-Emma was full of questions last night & has been very scared. I tried to explain to her what was happening and the reason for the big boxes by the door. She was very solomn and shed a few tears. She said she was sad for the people who have nothing now, and that she would be sad to have to leave her toys if the fire came this way. Eventually she fell asleep-I can only imagine what visions she dreamt of, poor thing. Just a hard reality of life I suppose.
WEDS am: 800 firefighters on the job. Fire 25% contained!
Today as we were at the river, we watched the apache's over us headed to collect water. I overheard Emma telling her friend, "I was crying when I was sleeping last night because I was scared of the fire, so my Grandpa sent his soldiers in those big black helicopters. He knows where we live in Ellensburg & wants to make sure we are safe from the fire. My Grandpa is a soldier and he has one of those big black helicopters at his work!" Awwwww.....out of the mouths of babes.
Look at the amazing work of our heroes out there in this heat-doing their best to protect & serve! We have much to be thankful for amidst this tragedy.
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