Thursday, May 1, 2014

How to Get Nothing Done

It started off as a normal day.  Woke up to find the kids playing mine-craft, got them all ready for school, dropped them off.... and then I heard it, lots of sirens.

I wondered what was going on?  I looked out the window and immediately I knew-a fire in the mountains.

It was soon extremely apparent there was a fire, smoke filled the sky.  The winds, which had been blowing all night and continued to literally shake the house with 80 mph gusts which spread the fire rapidly.
(the view from my bedroom window)

I jumped on-line to find out any news.   Reports of schools being evacuated started coming in.  My stomach was in knots.

I alternated between looking out my window, checking Facebook and checking my e-mail, the phone always within inches of me.

Calls started to come, but so far my kids school was still safe.

Neighborhoods started to be evacuated, at first on a voluntary basis but soon mandatory.  The evacuation area kept expanding one street at a time closer to my home, to my kids school.

I knew I would get a call if they had to be picked up, really I knew we would probably be just fine, just enough down the mountain to be out of the real danger zone but I found myself unable to function, unable to get much of anything done other than check the latest reports.

The wind continued to shake my house, my garbage cans blowing through the back gate, toys coming out of the shed.

Finally it was time to get the kids from school.  The pickup line was nearly empty, eerily so.   When Lucas and Alex got in the car they each reported that there was only about 5 kids left in each of their classes by the end of the day, overly cautious parents pulling their kids out.
(view from my drive to my kids school)

We made it home and I stopped to look around, the smoke wasn't billowing like before, it seemed like it was going to be okay.  I didn't even feel like I needed to check any more updates.  My kids were with me, they were safe and I could go on with my day like nothing was going on.

Sadly the fire is still 0% contained (when I wrote this last night at 8:00 PM), already having burned over 1000 acres.  We seem to be getting a temporary break from the wind, but it is supposed to be back again.  I am praying that the winds will cease, that they can get the fire contained and that no lives will be lost.

Now the question remains if I will be able to get anything done while my kids are at school today.

19 comments:

  1. Praying for all involved. Stay safe!

    ReplyDelete
  2. That is so scary! I hope that they are able to get the fire contained soon.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thankfully it is now 94% contained, haven’t seen any fires or smoke in days I think there are just still a few hot spots

      Delete
  3. There is so much devastation in the U.S. right now. First the tornadoes, now the fires in your area. I'm glad you guys are okay, and I hope you continue to be. Those pictures are scary. The fire looks uncomfortably close!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know! I was reading about the tornados in the south, so awful. The fire was definitely very close- the evacuation zone got as close as a mile from my home, but thankfully it is more than half contained now and the winds are gone

      Delete
  4. I freaked when I sat down to watch the noon news and saw the mountain side above your home on fire. Oh my! Praying for the firemen.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, it definitely was scary. Thankfully the way the winds blew the smoke never made it over our house but was definitely freaky to see it all out my windows. But it is all good now.

      Delete
  5. Oh my! I wouldn't have been able to get anything done either. That's scary close! I hope everything settles down very soon and very safely.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes thankfully the winds are gone, is is 53% contained and that rate is growing quickly as now they have air support since the winds are gone.

      Delete
  6. Replies
    1. Thank you! Thankfully the winds are all gone today and they are able to bring the air support to dump water not eh hot spots. It really seems like the fire is gone for good, just have to watch it. They did amazing work.

      Delete
  7. That's just nuts! I actually (oddly enough) have a friend who also lives in your town and her daughter's school was evacuated. I never did hear if their neighborhood was evacuated. That's just absolutely NUTS!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No way! Who is your friend? I wonder if I know her. Yea several schools were evacuated, but in the end my kids never was

      Delete
  8. That is SO scary! I'm glad you guys are safe, and I hope this fire gets contained fast!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much! thankfully they did an awesome job

      Delete
  9. whoa! That first picture...the fire looks so close! I'm late getting to this, so I'm sure it's out now, but whewww....what a scare!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes thankfully the one by us is and has been out, but there are still some to the south of us close to my sister, though most of those are getting contained now too

      Delete

ShareThis