Whew, our house is still there

[j_garcia]

The little lady was getting ready to go up to our house, 3hrs away. She regularly checks the local news just to keep up with what is going on and had seen a local story about a house that burned and a large fire in our area. Well, one of the pictures in the story was OUR HOUSE. Being fire season, that was definitely not something we wanted to see

We both got our things and left immediately since it is a 3hr drive. Once we hit our neighborhood, the the smell of the fire was unmistakable and coming around the corner before the house was terrifying. It was already dark, but the house was there. We could definitely see a lot of black. In the morning we got up to fully assess. 99% of our property burned, but nothing major lost. A few things here and there, but nothing that can't be fixed or replaced. BIG sigh of relief. Still, in 3 directions, it is more or less blackened for quite some distance; a total of 56 acres burned, which is a big chunk of our neighborhood.

We try to be compliant with fire regulations and keep vegetation to a minimum around the house for a minimum of 30ft and "reduced fuel" for 100ft, but it still crept up to within feet of the house. Cal Fire did a great job putting fire breaks around everything and more or less saving our home.

Unfortunately, one of our neighbors didn't fare so well. They lost their house and one of their dogs. We went and donated some funds to them via a local church that is helping them. We hope they are doing well, and at least the majority of their family is safe.

 

[j_garcia]

 

[Adam]

Whew, indeed! My goodness, that drive must have been stressful. Sorry to see that so much burned, but I'm really glad that your house was okay.

 

[j_garcia]

This one is interesting because you can see that the fire was 15-20ft away and the heat still singed the plant growing on the gazebo! The fire got closer than that to the house.

 

[j_garcia]

Whew, indeed! My goodness, that drive must have been stressful. Sorry to see that so much burned, but I'm really glad that your house was okay.

No kidding. The drive normally doesn't feel that long because we do it often, but this time it was probably as long as it has ever felt. Our neighbor on the opposite side 3 lots over, so maybe half a mile down the road, had their house burn down last year too. They are just in the process of finishing up the new house and haven't even moved back in yet, and the fire went behind their new house too

The house can be replaced. We don't know what we'd do if we lost the dog to something like that. We are thankful for what we didn't lose, but our hearts go out to our neighbors who lost so much.

 

[afterlife2]

Glad you and your family were not there at the time. Glad your home was spared.

 

[Alex2507]

Please post pic's of the grass when it comes back in all green and pretty.

I guess you're insured for that?

 

[mike c]

wow. glad to hear your house is ok.

that's pretty scary. what happens if you have a concrete house?

 

[Rickster71]

That was a close call. Glad to hear you and the family are all OK.
That looks like a fire truck parked next to your house(in the first pic)

 

[its phillip]

Wow, that's crazy. It's great that your house didn't burn down and that yall are ok. Sucks for everybody else though (like your neighbors)

 

[psbfan9]

Damn! Definitely glad to hear you and your family are safe. Like Adam said, I can't imagine how stressed you must have been on the way up there.

 

[Swerd]

That must have been truly frightening.

And to think I was grumpy last night! Yesterday was very hot around here, around 100°. We had a brief power outage that caused my air conditioner to quit. Even though it was 85° upstairs last night, I was probably cooler than you were. I very glad to see how things came out.

When the Fire Dept. does its next fund raiser, I think you'll have no trouble remembering last night.

 

[GO-NAD!]

Such a beautiful property - what a shame! All those trees that were in close contact with the fire - will they survive? If they die, it'll be sad to have to cut them down.

 

[j_garcia]

Please post pic's of the grass when it comes back in all green and pretty.

I guess you're insured for that?

Fire insurance is a given here It is gorgeous in spring here when it is green, but that only lasts about 2 months. The grass won't grow back until next year now and when it does, it is probably going to be out of control because of the fire.

that's pretty scary. what happens if you have a concrete house?

Not too many concrete houses here. Pretty hot in the summer, concrete just pretty much soaks the heat in. Need something that breathes.

That looks like a fire truck parked next to your house(in the first pic)

Sure is. The water tanker was up on the street and the flat bed dropped off a tractor or two to create the breaks.

When the Fire Dept. does its next fund raiser, I think you'll have no trouble remembering last night.

We took some snacks, cake and ice cream over to the fire station yesterday. The guys were out on another fire in town, but the receptionist said "I'm sure they'll love those when they get back."

Such a beautiful property - what a shame! All those trees that were in close contact with the fire - will they survive? If they die, it'll be sad to have to cut them down.

Oaks are pretty hearty, so we expect most will live, but a few of our largest ones took it pretty hard. The fire fighters took down a few at the time, presumably because they were actually burning, not just their leaves.

In an odd twist, they are actually calling for rain today!

 

[STRONGBADF1]

Holey Sh!t! Glad you, yours and the house are OK, John. Scary stuff.