THINGS WE SAVE IN A FIRE
Wildfires. Fires that are uncontrollable. The name describes this unpredictable hot molten force of nature well. I've been fortunate so far in life to stay out of national disasters. Sure, I've felt the tremble of land during a few earthquakes in Greece, watched a swirling funnel of a tornado in Missouri, and in grade school my hometown had a national flood that took hundreds of lives. But not once did I have to evacuate, and walk away from my personal space, unsure IT would survive.
Our cabin in the Enchanted Forest in Prescott, Arizona has been under mandatory evacuation for the last 72 hours. Trying to figure out what to take with me was difficult. My friend David reminded me of the four P's: Pets, Photographs, Prescription & Papers.
We're lucky, the cabin is not our primary residence, so we could really live without anything on the inside. It's the beautiful forest we wanted to take with us. The towering pines I've named, the green oaks that shade me, and the enormous alligator juniper that lights up at night and holds my husband's bird house.
There are over 1100 fire personnel fighting this fire in Arizona, and have been since Tuesday during a week that marks the anniversary of the “Prescott 19” hot shots who died 4 years ago during the Yarnell Fire. I know they are all working side by side together making sure it doesn't happen again. Even with a little smoke in the air, the World’s Oldest Rodeo at the Prescott Fairgrounds is still going on. Prescott is a strong town and the men and woman of the once capitol of Arizona, will continue to beat down the Goodwin Wildfire that has burned over 28,000 acres.
So what did I take? I took my half full plastic fake bunny bank from when I was six, the oldest token of my childhood. It's on my kitchen counter right now, because it makes me laugh. I've moved across the country at least three times, lived in other countries, and yet the bunny has made it. What would you save?
Here's a few fire movies in honor of our brave men & woman: 1. Backdraft - 1991 Kurt Russell, William Baldwin, Robert De Niro | 2. Ladder 49 - 2004 Joaquin Phoenix & John Travolta 3. Fireproof- 2008 Kirk Cameron, Erin Bethea, Ken Bevel
and stayed tuned this October 2017 for the release of The Granite Mountain Hot Shots Movie starring : Jennifer Connelly, Taylor Kitsch, Josh Brolin!!
***Update Goodwin Fire was contained as of July 11, 2017 and no firefighters or civilians were lost. Only 5 structures lost, when 280 were in it's path! Thank you firefighters.
