The Aftermath

Across the street from the Church and our Neighborhood - This is my home

Today is July 15th almost 3 weeks since the horrible night. The Waldo Canyon Fire was the most destructive fire in Colorado history.  The fire is 100% contained and most of the 32,000 people evacuated are back in their homes.  All those except the almost 350 homes that were lost.  We are home trying to get back to the same old routine except it feels like everything is different.  We are different.  I think  about the fire, I talk about the fire and I still dream about the fire.  Last night, the girls and I saw a fire truck turn into our neighborhood and my heart sank.   I know the girls felt the panic too because I was trying to assure them that everything was okay.  I was driving on Garden of the Gods road and a fire truck passed me going west and immediately my mind went to the night of being evacuated and I could see the endless row of fire trucks rushing by us in my mind. 

Our world is different now. Every time I leave the neighborhood I see the burn line across the street that reminds me how close the fire got to us. I went to pick Zach up from a friends house the other day.  The houses across the street from the friend are gone and a burned car remains in the driveway. Then we saw Zach's teacher around the corner. The remains of her house were going to be bull-dozed that day.  Kristi and I went to the gas station and there was a burned car and motorcycle being towed away.  There is devastation all around us so I have decided to try to point out to the kids just how much the firemen saved. There are burn lines that go right up to people's back doors but their homes were saved.  There were burn spots in Ute Valley behind our neighborhood.  The fire fighter that put those flames out saved our neighborhood and home. The flames across centennial road are evidence that our church was saved.

I was not sure if I should put pictures up of the destruction and I decided to add some pictures because this is our reality now. This is what our community looks like and this is what we are all dealing with.

This is how close the fire was to the Church.

This house backs up to Flying W. I cry every time I go past it and see the swing set still standing. 

The car at the Gas Station

All that remains of a home in Mountain Shadows

An aerial view view published in the Denver Post

The Flag at half staff

Another Aerial view

The Denver Post published aerial pictures and that is how many people determined if their homes were still standing or not.

The fire fighters tore down the fences in the neighborhoods in order to prevent the fire from spreading. The day homeowners were allowed back in to see their homes they made signs with the torn down fences.

The Waldo Canyon Fire - Our Story

Colorado Springs Tuesday, June 26, 2012

I am trying to think of a title for this post but there is no way that one words can describe the events of the last few days so maybe one will come to me as I am typing.  Our family left our home Tuesday in a rush of fear as flames were coming down the mountain to the northwest of our home. As I pulled out of the driveway surround by thick red and black smoke, horrific winds and ashes and embers falling and blowing everywhere, I  never thought we would see our house again.

We had been watching the Waldo Canyon fire grow since Saturday. Brig and Zach came home from baseball practice around 12:30 and said that they could see smoke plumes coming from the mountain to the west of our house. Brig thought the fire was in Woodland Park so we went to go drive and see how far away this fire really was. We drove up highway 24 for a couple miles and found the fire that was NOT in woodland park. It was mch closer than we first thought. We pulled over to the side of the road and watched the fire crest and come down a hill. We had never seen anything like it. The smoke appeared to be bubbling over the top of each smoke plum below it. You could see the orange in the middle of the smoke indicating that those flames were hot and moving quickly.

Saturday on Highway 24

 We returned home all the while watching the smoke plum grow bigger and bigger. When we returned home you could see more smoke from our side of the mountain.  We watched the smoke all afternoon and listened to the tv as neighborhoods started to get evacuated.  I was nervous and decided to start packing.  I started getting things such as pictures, baby blessing dresses and the dress I was baptised in.  I got our journals, scrapbooks, passports, our marriage certificate, high school and college diplomas and birth certificates. The kids packed their favorite dolls and toys and we packed clothes and had everything piled in the living room just in case. The neighboorhood a block to the west of us was evacuated which included many of our friends and ward members. One of those families, the Richards, came and stayed with us. We all thought that evacuation was precautionay and thought they would return home the next day.

Suitcases and pictures ready to go

 

The view from Natalie's room Saturday afternoon

The fire continued to grow and Colorado Springs had record high tempertures of 100 or more several days in row.  I do not remember it ever being that warm in the 6 1/2 years that we have lived here. I was not able to sleep.  I checked the news about every 5 minutes for evacuation updates.  About 1:30 in the morning All of Manitou Springs was evacuated.  Yes, the whole entire city!

Sunday church was cancelled since the building was in a pre-evacuation zone. Sunday we were getting a little nervous. The smoke plum was closer and bigger but still the news was worried about Manitou Srings and Garden of the Gods. We would go drive seveal times a day to "check" on the fire. While out driving we saw a line of cars by the Richards neighborhood. They had not packed scrapbooks or anything but clothes. We pulled up to a street going into the neighborhood and the police officer said we could wait and have police escort to the house. So I went back to the house, got Hillary's photo id and then went to get in line, to wait our turn. We waited about 30 minutes and then the police officer said the fire was getting closer and they couldn't let anyone else in. So Hillary drove around the corner like she was going to turn around, but kept driving and parked at a building in our neighborhood that use to be a day care. Hillary and I climbed the fence and snuck up the road out of the view of the police officers. Our intention was to get backpacks and carry whatever we could. When we got Hillary that we should just load up the truck and drive it out. So that is what we did and drove right past newspolice officer and heade back home. That decision proved to be a blessing. The rest of the day we watched the news and continued to drive to see the location of the fire. I did not sleep much and checked the news all night long.

The view from the Agilent parking lot Sunday morning.

Garden of the Gods

The Sun setting Monday night while driving in Peregrin

The smoke was shifting North Monday night

taking a break from the news at the splash park

Monday the fire seemed to have shifted and I was feeling better about things.  Hillary and I took all the kids to America the Beautiful park to play in the fountain.

I also took the kids to watch the C-130s and the helicopters dropping water and flame retardant. It was an amazing sight and I felt like we were in a movie.  We made it home by 4 to watch the daily 4:00 press conference which was at Coronado High School ( that is where Zach has baseball and is the High School that the kids will go to.)  The Forestry Service and firefighters were stationed at the kids middle school down the street.  There was a lot of smoke Monday night and Brig and I dove up in the neighborhood  Peregrin to take pictures of the sunset.  The sunset was amazing with all the smoke but Brig and I were wondering why that neighborhood had not been evacutated.  The fire seemed to be just on the other side of the mountains. As were were leaving Peregrin, we heard on the radio that you could see flames behind Glen Erie so we drove over to Garden of the Gods.  From what we could see, the flames looked like they were in Queens Canyon.  If the fire crossed Queens Canyon then we thought that could be trouble. We went home to watch the news. I fell asleep watching the 24 hour coverage on the couch.  I remember  going up to bed about 5 am.

C-130 dropping fire retardant

Tuesday the smoke was bad.  I did not want the kids to go outside at all.  We got an email from the bishop sayig that our church building might be used as a staging area.  This bit of information gave me comfort and calmed some of my fears.  I figured that they would not put the staging area in the middle of harms way and we live a block behind the church so I figured we were safe. I talked on the phone with my friend Holly,   I took Maddi to gymnastics, then went to Target.  On my way home from target I talked to my sister Kristi and  she wanted to come down to Zach's baseball game that night and said she would take all my pictures and scrapbooks to her house just in case.  I picked Maddi up from gymnastics at 3:00 and the girls and I went to KMart to get a few more tubs to pack "just in case."  I saw a couple people from my neighborhood there doing the same thing,  The girls and I went to watch the helicopter get water out of the Kissing Camels resevoir next to our favorite Gas Station Loaf & Jug. 

We watched for a bit, took some pictures then headed home for the 4:00 news conference. On the mile drive back we noticed that the smoke was getting really think and dark. Hillary and I watched the news confernce during which they announced Mandatory evacuations for all of Mountain Shadows and Peregrine.  By this point, I had decided that I was going to send the girls back to Denver with Kristi that night.  I left the family room and news conference to go pack a few more things.  As I started to walk around the corner Zach yelled "Mom, I can see flames!"

The view from the car as we looked back

The Air Force Academy Chapel

Out of our front window to you could see the flames coming down the hill to the North. I had been worried about the south of us. Never ever did I think the fire would cross the ridge. I yelled for Hillary to come see the flames then the neighbor that lives down the street banged on the door and said the fire is coming and to get out and then he ran to the next house. I sent the kids to pack up more stuff and I called Brig at work. I told him to get a ride home that we didn't have time for me to pick him up. The Dodge Durango was in the shop getting the air conditioner fixed. We were down to only the Camry and it only seats 5 people and there is no way we could fit any of our suitcases of tubs of pictures. Luckily, we had Hillary's truck sitting out front from the day we crossed the police line. From this point on, things get a little blurry. I know I called or texted my family. I do not know what time Brig got home but his friend Alex drove him home, then took pictures all around the house (for insurance) as we loaded our things. I started filling up the kids laundry baskets with as much as I could and Brig grabbed his box of mission stuff and all his winter runing clothes. Winter running clothes? Hillary also told me that I got the clean laundry out of the dryer and said that I was not going to get the wet clothes out of the washing machine because if they were wet, they would not burn.  I do not know that it was sound logic.  Brig loaded the kids and I was still trying to get more stuff out of the house and Brig kept telling me that I had to go. I didn't want to go. I couldn't leave yet. I think it was the ash on Brig's face and the orange smoke that convinced me not to run back in for one more load. Brig got in Hillary's truck, Hillary had her SUV loaded with her kids and her things and Alex had Natalie in his car. I had Zach, Madeline, Ben and Molly Dog. The kids and I prayed as we pulled out of the driveway of our home. I did not tell the kids but I thought it was the last time we would see our house. I have never before felt that kind of fear or had a sense of such impending doom. Brig desribed leaving our home and seeing the flames and smoke as" Hell had unleashed its fury." The sun looked red. Ash was flying everywhere the smoke was so thick that I could not see the end of the street behind us and the wind was blowing so hard. We caravaned out of the neighborhood and we were able to drive about half a block before we stopped. Everyone was leaving and we were now part of a long line of cars trying to escape. I remember calling Kristi and telling her "Do not come to my house." I told her that we were all going to Joel Woodwards house (Brig's friend from work) but that is all I remember from that conversation.

Kristi took this picture as she drove into the Springs

 While we were on Mule Deer about a block from the house, my friend Laurie called. Laurie lives in the neighborhood but was out of town. She had heard that there were flames on Flag Way, which is her street and the street behind the church. That meant the fire had jumped Centennial and was now coming at us in two directions. Brig got our of Hillary's truck while we were stopped and was loading as much stuff into the front of the truck as he could to keep it out of the smoke and blowing ash. Brig checked on us in the Camry and confirmed that he had just heard the fire was on flag way too. It was about this point that my cell phone coverage went out. My brother had texted and said he could come down with a truck to move things out. I replied but he never got my text that said "It is too late, you will never make it." We could hear the sirens around us and we slowly drove out of the neighborhood.

Fire trucks passing us on Centennail. This picture was at 6:10 p.m

I felt relief once we reached Centennail Road. I was not scared for our own safety once we reached that point but I was scared for my home, my neighborhood, my friends houses, the schools, the church and my beautiful and peaceful little hill that we live on. Cars were evacuating in both lanes on Centennial and firetruck after firetruck passed us on the shoulder of the road. The were racing into the horrific scene that we were desperately trying to leave. We were counting the fire trucks and they flew past us and I remember thinking it was bad because they were not normal fire trucks. They were green fire trucks. We made it down Centennial to Garden of the Gods Road where we kept watching the fire trucks fly by with lights and sirens. I think it took about an hour to make it a little over a mile.

Brig decided to go a back way to Joel's house and got us out of traffic. Joel's house is across the interstate and about 5 miles away on Purgatory Road. Hillary said, "ironic name, purgatory is what we just left." At 7:00 on June 26th, I received a text message that said, "This is the Colorado Springs Police Department with an important message. A mandatory evacuation order has been made for your residence.

Kristi met us at Joel's house and I was so happy to see her. She hugged me and I think we both felt a sense of relief to be together. We loaded stuff into her car and she left around 8:30 with the kids and took them to her house for the night. I felt like the kids needed to get out of Colorado Springs but Brig and I could not leave yet.

Our friends, Zach's teacher and Natalie's friend from Kindergarten lived on this street that is in flames

The tan house on the right is our friend's house.  It survived yet her neighbors homes did not,

  The news was showing our neighborhood and hill burn and our hearts were breaking.  We were seeing our friends houses burn on live television and we did not want the kids to see thier own home burn or their friends.  By this point, everything west of the interstate was evacuated which included about 32,000 people and we needed to know the kids were safe. The plan was that John would pick the kids up the next morning and take them to Cheyenne and Brig and I would meet them there the next day.  We continued to watch the news and make phone calls to make sure that everyone had made it out safely. We went to a park by Joel's house and watched our little hill burn. It was horrible. At one point the news showed a view of the fires that had the top of the church in the frame. Joel stopped it and zoomed in and we could see that our house was okay. I should have been so relieved but I wasn't.  About 1:30 in the morning a policeman friend in the neighborhood texted and said our house had survived and he went to check on Hillary's house.  We were so worried for Hillary.  It was wonderful to knock on the door to the bedroom that Hillary was staying in and tell her that her house had survived. It was a bittersweet moment knowing so many houses didn't make it. 346 houses didn't survive that night. Dear friends lost their homes, our children's teachers, our children's friends, our friends parents, ward members and hundreds of people in Mountain Shadows lost their homes.  We are so sad for everyone and so sad for our special part of the city that we love so much!