We couldn't tell if the wildfire was on OUR mountain, or the one right next to it. There was a bit of a panic until we learned it wasn't on ours, it was in the neighboring city of Alpine. Still, we didn't know where it was headed or anything else about it, just that it looked bad and was quickly growing.
It didn't take long for our neighborhood to begin to sound like an airport which continued for several days.
Jossy was the most nervous and kept crying. Even once Dan got home, she still was freaking out. We were supposed to leave to see fireworks in my parents' city, but since we'd be gone overnight we decided to take a few important papers and photos with us just in case our neighborhood was evacuated. We figured it's better to error on the side of caution!
I wanted to see exactly where the fire was and I felt like maybe that would help Jossy see it wasn't as close as the smoke made it look. So she and I took a drive to see it before we left for my parents' home. These pictures don't even begin to show how huge it was. Within an hour of it starting at the base of the mountain, it was already at the top.
Our home was perfectly safe from the fire, but one of my sisters lives in Alpine and her home was just a block away from the mandatory evacuation line. The had front row seats for watching the beautiful green mountain turn black.
We were back home for the night of the 4th, and while Dan and I watched the various firework shows around the valley from our street, we also watched nature's own fire display. It was devastatingly beautiful, and we both took separate late-night drives just to see it a little closer. It made my stomach drop to see how large and menacing it was at night.
It's been a week and the fire still has flare ups but is mostly out I think. It was definitely an experience for all of us we won't forgot and not what you want to see when you live on the benches of a dry mountain!
