Wildfire Evacuation

Just a quick post to let you all know what's going on with us.

In cause you didn't hear, we were evacuated from our house tonight because there were wildfires in the area. When I was on my way home, I saw a big smoke cloud and one of the roads near our home was blocked by a firetruck. I took a different road, but the smoke kept getting closer and closer as I went further south. When I was a couple miles from home, I called Mike to see if they were home yet and if they were watching the smoke. He didn't know anything about it but looked out the window and saw smoke west of our home.

I got home a few minutes later and we looked at the smoke and decided to go ahead and leave our house. We didn't know how close the fire was to our house and didn't want to chance it so we grabbed some important things and hopped into Mike's car and left. We went back into town and grabbed something to eat with Mike's parents. After we ate, we left Emily with Mike's parents and went back to see if we could get back to our house.

We got about a half mile away and then the road was blocked with police, a fire command station, and the red cross. We stood around waiting for information at the command station and talking to people who live in the area, but heard nothing. It became apparent that they were not going to let us back into the area tonight so we left and went back to Mike's parents house.

We're sitting here watching the news coverage on the TV. We have figured out that our house is still standing (and that we still have electricity) because our answering machine picks up. The TV news is saying that the wind has shifted to the south and they are trying to keep the flames from turning south on our street.

We will go back out there in the morning and assess the situation. At this point, we are hopeful that our house will be spared. If that turns out not to be the case, then we will be fine. What's most important to us - our family - is safe and sound. Everything else is just "stuff".

I'm sorry I didn't get to call anyone. My phone is literally broken in two pieces and held together with nothing more than a thin cord. I was able to send a few text message, but my phone died anyway.

I grabbed my camera on the way out the door this evening. I was able to snap a few pictures ...

The view from our backyard when we left our house this evening at about 5:30pm.

Another picture from our backyard.

This view is toward our house from where we were standing and waiting.

The mobile command post.

The red glow in the direction of our house.

This night has really been a difficult experience. It's so hard not knowing what's happening. Sometimes the waiting is really hard. You just want to KNOW what's happening. You want them to tell you SOMETHING. I need to try to go to sleep because I know it's going to be a long day tomorrow.