Day 53
There is a forest fire burning in the mountains. And I use the term forest rather loosely as it is and has affected thousands of families in residence in that area (as there are homes and it’s just not forest land). The smoke and ash was heavy and thick across the southern Denver metro area that first day. I love the smell of campfires … but knowing that this time that smell was due to burning homes – um, not so much.
As I write there is still 0% containment with 28 homes burned over 4500 acres (roughly 7 square miles) and 2 fatalities.
I walked down to my neighbor’s yesterday and when she answered the door I knew something was wrong. She told me the couple killed in the fire were the parents of her friend here in town.
How does a family deal with that? That is one call you would never expect … however, living in a region such as ours and if you have a home in the foothills or mountains you have to know that the risk of fire, especially during very dry years, is a good possibility.
But still …
It seems, with our changing climate (warmer, drier) these past few years, our risks for all things pertaining to Mother Nature are greater.
Every year we have a fire or two or five here in the mountains. We had a dry winter and so, it is rumored, that this “fire season” will be especially devastating. Unfortunately, it already is for some.
A few years ago I made a list of all things I would take in case of an evacuation. If I had time … not everyone does. Some people can grab the cat and get in the car and go – some are not even that fortunate. But some are given fair notice … like the evacuees in these areas right now. Friends and strangers gather to help load trucks with personal belongings – treasures of lifetimes – and carry the cargo to safer ground.
Along with the family valuables are the animals. Our shelters are filling up with everything from hedgehogs to llamas. I applaud those who are so generous with their time and effort and care.
In any case, while going through my house I made an inventoried list of what to take, what was what, what wall a photo was on, where the file was, etcetera. If I had time … to gather those things that I held near and dear.
And after I compiled the list I looked at it and went through it again and if I remember now I put a star next to maybe 5 items that really, given time, I’d grab. Of all my possessions it came down to 5 things. (And it now makes me wonder why I’m packing up 400 boxes to move somewhere?!) Some items were the usual ones people would take … the external hard drive from my computer, my laptop, jewlery, some photos. And then there were those irreplaceable items that have special meaning only to me … the dinosaur statue that was made in some elementary clay class by one of the kids … my grandmother’s tea cup that I have never used but have lovingly dusted for 25 years, the stuffed animal otter that was one of a handful of things my husband brought with him from his youth.
Of course you want your family and pets to be safe – so they are the first to be taken to safety. The living get first dibs on that. And when you think about it … the rest of your possessions are just STUFF. You can always replace stuff. Yes – it would be nice to have certain things … but when it comes down to it … what is really that important? What would you take?