Day Fire

Dad came home with me last night. We got the house as well-secured as possible. Under the circumstances. Depending on who you talked to, the fire was between three miles and six miles from Dad's back porch. That was last night. They said it wasn't going anywhere last night, however, this morning is another matter. The fire is on the other side of the mountain from Dad's house. That's no good.

There was a meeting with the neighbors last night. One neighbor works for the forestry service and another is a sheriff. Some people's homes are in the trees, some are out in the open with no trees nearby. Dad's is the former. Surrounded by trees. We cleared everything off the porch at about ten o'clock last night. Firewood, chairs, etc. We took pictures of all the vehicles in the garage, the garage itself and the entire house. We got all the valuables out of the house.

We had heard a rumor that the road through town was closed to people coming into town. Not true. So, Dad came home with me. Apparently there had been a sheriff going door to door on Monday night about ten pm. Well, if they came to Dad's, he didn't hear them. He has some trouble hearing, so this is entirely possible. We spoke with the sheriff last night. He took down all the info for all the neighbors and they tied a yellow "flag" to the house to show that they had contacted the owner. They are under recommended evacuation status (i.e., time to leave). Anyway, I think that made him a bit nervous. So, we did what we could and prayed over the house before leaving it last night, with Scottie and Grey Kitty in tow. We prayed that God would send angels to protect the home and property, that He would protect the firefighters and that He would send rain (or snow) to douse this thing. Do a miracle, God! Or, at least, use this terrible situation to Your glory! Grey will stay here and I will be driving down to Kris' house tomorrow with the Scottie dog. She agreed to keep him, though she said, she hasn't had a dog since moving out of my parents house when she got married. I think she is not quite sure what to do with him. I'd keep him here, but he is much smaller than our two german shepherd dogs. They are separated from him tonight, but we can't keep him in the dog crate and I am afraid the dogs will all bark their heads off.

Dad has a Porsche Roadster that he has been restoring for about 15 years now. It has been painted silver. He showed it to me last night. It is BEAUTIFUL. It is not completed, and cannot be moved. Client cars, all but four, have been moved to a more secure location. One of those that is left at the house is in the same situation as Dad's Roadster. It also cannot be moved.

Thank you for all your prayers. I am also worried about Dad right now. I think part of the reason he came home with me was so he could get some sleep. He hasn't been able to sleep lately. Understandably so. Not knowing if the fire is going to kick up overnight and be a problem. We got home at midnight and I am sure his two granddaughters will be waking him up by 7:30 or so. He was looking forward to seeing them.

I am glad that this did not happen while Mom was living. It would have been a much different situation had he also needed to contend with her safety. We did post a note on the door for the firefighters that there are no longer any handicapped people living in the house. It has a handicapped ramp on the side of the house and there was a wheelchair on the front porch, that we moved to the side of the house.

Will keep you posted.