Although my neighbors were outside gawking at the smoke and visible flames, I felt like we needed to leave. I was having trouble breathing because of that smoke, and I could see how fast those flames were moving. And other than a track-hoe trailer, there were no fire trucks visible. I started to get very nervous. Went back into the house, told the kids to pack up things that were special to them, and load it into the truck. Meg was still asleep, she evacuated in her pajamas! I grabbed the computer (so many pictures are on it!) and all the valuables and threw them in the truck. Sophie came out with her bike helmut on! I don't know how the helmut was supposed to save her from flames, but she was ready. I felt prompted to shut all the windows - lock them down. We didn't even lock the doors! We just left. As we drove out of the neighborhood, we passed 11 fire trucks. I was so glad to see them! Also, just as we drove out of Dos Vientos, they closed Borchard Rd - the main entrance to our neighborhood. We saw flames on every side.
I felt prompted to drive straight to the high school. I was missing one kid, and I wanted him with us. I pulled into a parking spot right in front of the school, right where I had dropped Adam off that morning. Almost immediately, I got a text from Adam that they were evacuating the school and could I come and get him...I said we were already there. He was one of the first ones out, and I left immediately so I wouldn't get stuck in the traffic mess. Then I realized that I had evacuated without any of our meds. I had no idea how long we would have to be gone, and I had no idea if our house would be there after they got the fire contained. I started to panic a little again (with my epilepsy and Adam's bipolar, we had to have those meds!) I started to get choked up, but then I was prompted to go to Target pharmacy to see if I could just get a few days worth of meds for me and Adam. It took awhile, but they gave me 5 days worth. I didn't even have to pay for them! Target was being very good to evacuees. Then I got a phone call from our Bishop...Bishop Jaggi, I was never so happy to hear his voice. He asked if we got out, made sure we were all together and ok, and then told me that there were flames all around our house but he thought he saw them dump fire retardant in the area (he ended up being mistaken). He told me that people were evacuating to the stake center. When he said that, my panic immediately subsided. Immediately. I knew exactly where to go and what to do. I knew that there would be Priesthood holders at the church who would be keeping track of the fire and would tell me when it was safe to go home. It was a little weird taking the dogs into the church. They didn't pee on anything, don't worry! :)
After about 2 hours wandering around the church, talking to Chad on the phone (he was going crazy at work in Santa Barbara), and trying not to cry, I finally got some news. The Bishop came up to me and said that one of the brethren in our ward had gone up to my house and could verify that it was still standing and undamaged. He went around and locked all my doors in case of looting. Shortly after that, a friend in the ward came up and told me that her husband, who is a lineman for S. CA Edison, was driving around and drove up to check on our house - he called her and told her to tell me everything was ok. We don't live on the same street as anyone else in our ward...those guys went out to our house on purpose to make sure we still had a place to live. With flames still all around, they were looking out for us and other ward members. I love the Priesthood!
With two witnesses telling us it was ok, I decided to go home and pack up a few more things. The fire was still burning in the hills nearby and I figured that we would have to sleep somewhere else. But we needed clothes etc. We snuck into the neighborhood via a fire road that was usually closed off with a barrier...amazingly, we didn't get stopped. We drove home, passing fire trucks and police cars all the way. When we went in our house, the smoke was so thick that we couldn't breathe. The kids all used wet dish towels over their faces to be able to breathe. It was so bad! I grabbed some duffle bags, told the kids to pack clothes for two days, and then we left again and went straight to the Courtyard Marriott. Amazingly (again) the manager at the front desk was a man we knew from Moorpark. We explained what was happening, and he said he would give us a big discount and allow our dogs inside. It was so great! The rooms were nice, comfortable, and not at all smoky. What a relief! Plus the Books of Mormon in all the desks were a nice touch. :)
There were a lot of people from our ward who evacuated to the Marriott. And we all ended up at a nearby Chili's for dinner. It was like a ward activity and great to be able to talk to everyone. It was so wonderful to hear that not one member of our ward had a damaged home, and that everyone got out ok. I was so happy to hear that! I had trouble sleeping though. I kept thinking about the fear I felt. The worry that we would lose all our possessions. Although we are renting, everything that is important to us is in this house. Chad kept telling me that as long as we were all safe, everything else could be replaced. I know that is true, but I kept thinking about the HUGE hassle it would be to deal with a burned out house...I knew we had been blessed.
The next morning, I got up, went straight to Home Depot, and bought air purifiers. Then we went home, hoping the smoke damage wouldn't be too bad, hoping nothing had happened in the night. It was pretty bad inside but still much better than the day before. Then the clean up began.
My kids have never worked so hard in their lives. There was a layer of ash on every surface and cinders on the floor by every door. In the boys' rooms, there was a lot of ash - I think the wind was coming from that direction. We vacuumed it all up and had to wash the bedding and such. It took us hours, and we hadn't even started with outside. The pool was full of cinders and ash. And a dead rabbit in the bottom. There were huge piles of ash and cinders in all the corners, and the wind had blown all of our lawn furniture against a fence. That must have been some powerful wind!
Amazingly (again) I was able to reach my gardener and convince him to come out and use his leaf blower to get all the ash cleaned up. I am so grateful for that man. He worked out there for over 2 hours, wearing a mask, getting it all gathered up and into our trash can.
About that time, Meg decided to go for a little walk into the hills and take some pictures of the damage. This is what she saw:
It rained two days after we went home. The Lord sent a soft rain, enough to dampen the earth, put out the hot spots, and moisten our skin. Not enough rain to cause a mud slide. Another tender mercy.
This whole experience has been a lesson in the compassionate nature of the Lord. He is aware of us and our needs. It has been such a bad year so far, our family has struggled with so much. But the Lord knows us. Between Him and the fire fighters, our miracle occurred. I am so filled with gratitude! I know this is long but I wanted a record of all the tender mercies, promptings, and miracles that we experienced through this Springs Fire 2013. Let it be a testimony to us and to our grandchildren. God lives, loves us, and miracles still happen.
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