Sunday started out as a delightfully laid back Mother's Day. No real plans other than viewing a potential home that had recently come on the market. After seeing the house and falling in love with it, we decided to take a stroll along the river to enjoy the nice weather. Sadly, Anh happened to be on call and ended up having to go in to the hospital. Oh well, it was nap time for Jax anyway, and we headed home.
About an hour after Anh, my sister-in-law, Nguyen, came into the house and told me to look out back at the woods surrounding our neighborhood. After hauling myself off the couch and waddling over to the patio door, I was SHOCKED to see smoke and flames coming off the tree tops. Nguyen and I just stared and debated whether it was a controlled burn or something more serious.
Well, my mind works in strange ways, and I decided this was the ideal time to call my Mom and wish her a happy Mother's Day. I mean, it was looking like I might be a little busy later given the strange fire burning about 2 blocks away from my house. I called with good wishes for the holiday and the strange report of the view behind our house. While talking, the doorbell rang, and I instantly knew not to expect good news or the FedEx man bearing a gift.
Sure enough, it was my neighbor spreading the word that the fire department wanted everyone to turn on their sprinkler systems because a brush fire was quickly approaching. My mind was suddenly racing with thoughts. The most common was "Oh shit!" Nguyen and I decided it would be best to start packing up, just in case things got out of control. Well, just in case, turned immediately into an official notice to evacuate within 15 minutes. Yeah, not what anyone wants to hear, especially a woman due to deliver a baby at any moment! This was not on my agenda for the day!
Amazingly, in 15 minutes we managed to pack a bag of essentials for every member of the family and load the cars with all of our sentimental possessions and important papers. Even more amazing was the fact that I did not go into labor after running up and down the stairs no less than 8 times in five minutes! If you've ever climbed my stairs, you know this is an impressive feat, period. While outside loading the car, an emergency official walked up and asked whether we were preparing to evacuate. It took so much effort not to say, "Gee, no, we just randomly decided to start running around like frantic idiots throwing shit in the car! What fire?!" Being so winded from the damn stairs definitely helped me keep my mouth closed. I simply nodded and confirmed that we had a little longer to get our things together.
Not knowing what to expect, we decided it would be best to head to Anh's office to wait for an update on the situation. Surely, the evacuation was just a precaution, and we'd be heading home in a couple of hours. It's hard to describe the feeling I had when driving off from the house though, seeing all of the neighbors loading their precious belongings into their vehicles. (Funny too what some consider "precious".) My thoughts ranged from optimistic, thinking that the evacuation was simply a precaution, to extreme, thinking that I'd never see the house or anything inside again. I really can't find the words to describe the emotions. I know it's just "stuff," but it's hard to imagine losing it all.
Well, the next several hours were spent flipping between every local channel and surfing all of the news websites for updates on the fire. Every report was vague and offered little info on what was happening. Every station seemed to be sharing the same 30 seconds of film footage, a fascinating scene of some moron standing on his roof spraying down his house with his garden hose, all while smoking a cigarette. Brilliant! I quickly learned that a reporter's talent does not lie in their ability to deliver an informative report in a clear, calm manner, but rather their talent is displayed in their ability to position themselves so the wind delicately blows their hair back out of their faces while they rattle on and on without ever really reporting NEWS! After giving up on the local media's ability to provide us with an update, we checked into a hotel for the night.
By Monday, an emergency hotline had been established for residents affected by the fire. We were told that we would be allowed through the barricade to retrieve more personal items, but that we should be prepared to once again evacuate with a moment's notice. A command center had been established at the entrance to our neighborhood. Driving in, we passed countless fire, police, and emergency vehicles. There was a helicopter taking off from a nearby field, and the media trucks were everywhere. I was convinced that Britney Spears had made an unexpected visit to the area!
You could smell the smoke, but overall the scene appeared much calmer than on Sunday. The firefighters appeared to have the situation under control. From time to time vehicles would go racing by, obviously rushing to extinguish the most recent flare-ups. Word eventually came that the mandatory evacuation had been downgraded to voluntary. We debated staying, but finally decided to return to the hotel for one more evening just be on the safe side. No one wanted to be evacuating for a second time at 3am.
Today, brings a sense of normalcy back into the equation. Anh returned to work. Jax went to school, and I am once again blogging from my living room. The flames are out, but the woods surrounding the neighborhood are charred and smoking. In all, over 1000 acres burned, but no homes or lives were lost. Our house was never in immediate danger. The closest flames were roughly a block away. Some saw the fire come within feet of their back patios. I'd say that we all have a lot to be thankful for. Mother's Day 2008 is definitely one that I'll remember forever!
