Try to not panic

There are certain things about myself that I do realize and would like to change, but don’t think it’s possible.  For example, when somebody is sick I try to not be so callous.  But when you grow up in a house with a couple of hypochondriacs it’s really hard to not be callous.  Another really good example is what happened on Friday. 

My sister called me around 2:30ish to let me know there was a fire in my area and they were evacuating.  My first thought was “don’t panic, it will be okay”.  Then as I was talking to her I pulled up the local news website and read the article and too late, panic was starting to set in.  She sent my brother in law over to see if he could get through to pack up the furry children (Fabio and Bluka, my kitties) but he was unable to get through.  So I went tearin’ out of work. While still obeying the speed limits but at the same time wanting everybody to get out of my way, not quite road rage but almost, it was the longest drive of my life.  Once I got up to my area, I was shaking so bad and trying hard to keep it together. The fear of the unknown is the worst feeling anybody could possibly have.  The Sheriff wasn’t letting anybody back, even the back way was blocked off.  So I figured I would walk back as far as I could.  While trying to not panic.

I spoke to a few different people along the way and each one had a conflicting story which wasn’t making my brain relax, just putting it into more of a panic.  Finally, I spoke to a retired fire fighter who was sitting in his spot for about 4 hours. After speaking with him I felt a little bit better.  But I still wanted to get back to my house to see for myself that everything was going to be okay.  On my way back to my car, I spoke with Craig and he was trying to keep me calm by telling me everything was going to be okay, the cats were okay and to just wait it out.  But did I feel better? NO!!  So I went to wait it out at my sister’s house about 10 minutes away.  My sister and I would take a trips back to see if they would let us in and still no.  So we drove up to the high school where it started to check that out. 

My theory is this. Some kids were up at the tennis courts where the fire started and they were smoking.  Saw a teacher and threw the cigarettes down so they didn’t get caught.  Then BLAMO instant fire.  Now I could be wrong, but where those tennis courts are at is a great spot to go.  Heck I would if I went to that school and smoked.  Anyways, I was finally able to get home around 8pm Friday night and thankfully everything was okay.  I called the kitties and it was the happy reunion.  They smelled like campfire, but they were alright, which was my biggest concern.  Initially I thought that the fire had been stopped a mile from my house, I was wrong.  It was stopped about a ½ mile away.  Quite a few people had their backyards scorched and some awnings burnt.  If it wasn’t for a lot of garden hoses and those manning those garden hoses there are a lot of houses that would not be there.  One house was lost in the mess and another had their car melted.  A total of 116 acres had burned.  It’s all black and bleek right now but come spring time, it will allow for new growth and be all pretty again.

Still can't get through

Finally can get home, this is what I saw

Toasty

Passenger side of the vehicle is melted