An August to remember...
A huge BIG Thank You to all who reached out to us this past week. Yes, we live in Allendale, North Vacaville, the California town that unfortunately made the local and national news coverage of the latest California wildfire.
We are fine – Sep, the Brittanys, Shooter & Gunner are fine – our home & yard are fine – the fire was close, but did not reach us. After Sep awakened me on Wednesday morning at 3AM and I looked out at the back patio, I saw a red sky and flickering flames – stressful & much too close for comfort.
We turned on the internet to The Vacavillian, who provided much needed commentary for most of the morning. It helped. By then we were in mandatory evacuation and watched as neighbors left their homes. We decided to stay put as long as we could & assessed our situation. Sep laid out hoses around the house, got flashlights ready & monitored falling debris. I packed dog food, water & passports & we waited. Finally at daybreak we could see although the smoke was incredible. The Sheriff came by to tell us we should leave immediately, then agreed we would probably be OK with the green-belt layout of the yard around us. We stayed. The power stayed on, we had air, our well had water, we had lights and television – we just weren’t going anywhere in the intensely hot, humid, very smoky air!
The next few days went by in a haze. The main road, Midway, stayed closed with sheriffs vehicles blocking the entrances to local streets, including ours. News reports trickled in – people were not allowed into the fire areas. Ashes fell & burned leaves & pine needles covered the yard. We began to receive calls, texts or emails. We lost the internet but Sep’s telephone continued service.
There is no way to properly thank all who reached out to comfort and offer help to us. We are so appreciative of the many friends and acquaintances who live in our world & just want you to know how much you mean to us. We feel such sorrow for the problems many folks are having now – going back into the burned out areas, dealing with death & destruction, trying to put everything back together. Berryessa’s Markley Cove is a sad story in itself & we hear plans are already being made to rebuild. This is not an easy time for anyone & hopefully time will ease the pain.
People lost so much & as we look out toward the nearby hills, now black & covered in ashes, we realize how lucky we truly are. In the past I may have complained about the “flats of Vacaville” – the heat, the wind, the openness of it! Never again…I will always appreciate this flat land. The internet is back finally, so a Blog seems in order!!
Thank you again for keeping track of us. It was very comforting to know friends are out there – offering help, food, or a place to stay or park the RV. As of now, the sky is still very smoky & the air is crummy – but, we have our home, our pets, our stuff. Thanks again!
Marilyn