I live near a small mountain town in the Sierra Mountains. I actually grew up here, so did my mom.. and it's what has always been home to me, even though I have lived many other places in my life. Yes it is one of those towns where everyone knows you and your business, and they all have stories about well when you were little.. and that can be both a blessing and a curse.
One thing about small towns though is that they really are like a big family, and they pull together when there is a need - and to me that is exactly how it should be.
I was reminded of one of those times, and those who protect this place I call home, on my recent camping trip -
This was actually the first time that I had driven through this location of the Cedar Fire of 2016. A reminder of a fire that burned nearly 20K acres, made many of our neighbors temporarily homeless, threatened my childhood home, as well as showed the true power of a community pulling together.
As I was looking through these photos again this week, remembering that insane time, I came across a video about some of the individuals that were a huge part of it -
The Fulton Hotshots are a group of firefighters who work within the forest service, and are based just outside of our town. They have a few fulltime members that are there year round, but generally during the summer many from surrounding areas come up to this location. Our town becomes their home while they are there, in every sense of the word.
They are locals, even if we have never met them before.. because we all know why they are there - they are there to protect our home.
The series by Coors is great and is really well done in my opinion, it gives a great look at the important role they play and the extraordinary job they do.
Be sure to take a few minutes to watch it!
Summer is fire season here, it's something we are used to and part of living in the mountains. August 2016 was a bit different - due to years of drought there was an abundance of dead trees ,which contributed to a year of fires I have never seen before. It seemed all of California was on fire - which lead to resources and man power being spread thin... and that is exactly when the Cedar fire occurred.
The fire spread quickly - burning over 17k acres before even reaching 5% containment. The Fulton Hotshots, as well as other area fire fighters, where up in the higher elevations trying to control and contain. Winds changed, and it headed towards the nearby mountain communities.
Evacuation orders were put into place, everyone received a phone call, and were directed to the nearest Red Cross evacuation center - over an hour away. The problem was.. the roads to that facility were closed, and due to the fire there was no way to get there.
The community quickly pulled into action and started instructing everyone to go to the community hall/rodeo grounds - which were outside of the evacuation zone and was large enough for those to gather at. They contact the Red Cross to explain the issue and were instructed supplies would be sent.. it never was.
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Due to the vast areas affected at this time - there were no supplies, no extra hands and just nothing they could do.
There were hundreds of our neighbors without homes, animals and livestock that needed to be moved from pastures quickly, and we were on our own.
Quickly teams of ranchers went up to the high country and cut fences, moving cattle to safety. Anyone with a truck and livestock trailer were sent to homes to move horses or any other livestock, and bring them to the rodeo grounds or nearby acreage that was safe.
Our neighbors needed supplies - food, water, places to sleep, and pretty much everything else you could imagine, and there was no way to know how long everyone would be there.
Calls were put into surrounding areas and businesses, trips to town for supplies were made, residents donated their tents, sleeping bags, travel trailers etc and by night fall we had a big family style dinner of Spaghetti prepared, and a place for everyone to sleep.
My morning more evacuees came in, and so did donated supplies. We were preparing three meals a day and making daily trips to town to pick up more donated supplies. It was amazing to see the support that came in.. and the community pulling together to make it happen.
The fire continued to spread and eventually actually reached the Fulton Hotshots facility, which meant they were also evacuated. They were doing long shifts fighting the fire and now didn't even have a place to go after to sleep... so they came to the rodeo grounds as well.
Beds were of course offered to them, tents, trailers etc.. but they refused. They refused to let anyone give up a spot for them.. they just wanted a safe place to close their eyes. They slept on the dirt, without any type of shelter and with their packs as a pillow and, they were extremely thankful.
They were included in the family style meals we were serving and we event packed them things to take on their shifts.. they refused but eventually gave in.. we don't give up easy. This make shift home became theirs as well.
Things ran quite smoothly actually, and if there was a need it was filled. Even though many within the community didn't know if they would even have a home to go back to - people laughed around campfires, told stories and played board games to pass the time.
This was especially difficult for my family - My grandmother had passed in May and we hadn't moved things from her house yet.. sure we had plenty of time to do so but I guess we were all in denial.. that made it official you know? The fire was near her home and the whole area was evacuated, and we had no idea if it was even still there - but many were in the same position I guess, and that brought us together even more.
Not often during this ordeal did you hear a complaint or even a mention of the material loss that may be coming.. everyone was just working on taking care of each other - especially those fire fighters, as that was what was important.
Eventually the fire began to be contained - after 2 weeks slowly individuals were able to make their way home, and due to the dedication of those firemen, not a single home was lost.
Let that sink in.
20,000 acres of land was burned, resources were so stretched that these men didn't even have the help and supplies they needed, and still they made sure everyone had a place to go home to.
And all we had to offer them in return were hugs of gratitude, a thank you, and a plate of food we forced them to take.
I will always be thankful to them for that, and to a community that proved to me that anything is possible when you pull together. Our town was close before, but this event made us even closer … and that is pretty damn special.
A strong community is unstoppable, but first it must come together.
Don't forget that.
Much Love,
Justine
