I’ve always appreciated what firefighters do. This past weekend I learned to appreciate it a whole lot more. On the first day of summer, with the hottest June 20th on record and the Summit Fire and the Martin Fire less than a month behind us, Santa Cruz County was hit again. A series of fires, dubbed the Trabing Fire, started up less than a mile from our home. And once again, guardian angels (firefighters) from around the state swooped in with trucks, planes, and helicopters.
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Around 4:00 pm on Friday afternoon, my wife received a knock on the door and the “you need to evacuate” order. Meanwhile, I was as effective as I’d been during the ’89 earthquake – meaning not at all – since I was stuck in traffic trying to get home along with what seemed like the rest of the county.
That’s when you learn to also appreciate your own personal guardian angel, like our pal Jody who pulled up and asked Cyn, “Hey, need any help?” He and Cyn loaded the dogs, cats, and Mr. Giles The Bunny into our cars and headed out. Jody managed to snap this picture from the front of our house, facing the fire:
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We were home Saturday morning, when firefighters had things 90% contained. These folks indeed are heroes. They weren’t done yet, unfortunately, since a freak summer thunder and lighting storm blew in, which set off another small set of wildfires.
I ran into one of the CDF pilots at breakfast yesterday morning. I thanked him, he thanked me back, and then said they just felt really bad that they couldn’t have saved more homes in the fire.
Lessons learned: Continue to count your blessings every day, thank God for the folks who come in and save your ass when you need it, and say a little prayer for the people (and the animals) who weren’t quite as fortunate we were this time out.