“Could anything else go wrong this year?” Jay questioned as he videotaped the damage being done to the garden.
“What else could go wrong in 2020?” He wondered.
Oregonians are not use to seeing their neighborhoods and towns decimated by wind driven wildfires…until now.
Twenty minutes after the first fire fighters were on scene, they requested backup and helicopter drop assistance. Firefighter were now chasing 30 foot flames and flying embers as the fire swiftly raced north, following the path of what is well known to the Rogue Valley residents as, The Bear Creek Greenway.
Though proper maintenance to the infrastructure was often done in the park, the natural flora and fauna end of things had been greatly neglected. Blackberry vines took over most of the Greenway and the views of Bear Creek.
The wind was taking the inferno away from their home and their neighborhood. They were relieved to hear that; however, little did they know, a large scale disaster had already started to play out just north of their home.
The brush fire was now being fanned by winds reaching 40 to 60 miles-an-hour.
The front of the fire had made its way into open dry fields and was heading straight for the Shell and 76 gas stations on Valley View Road. Ron live-streamed the fire action on his Facebook page. People were able to watched the disaster unfold in real time. |
"This is not looking good" Ron expressed on camera. "They better evacuate!"
But, there was no place to go.
Now, remember, reports of a brush fire was being called in to 911 around 11:07am. Ron started filming around 11:29am. Fire crossed Valley View Road around 11:56am, two miles away. That is only a period of 19 mintutes.
At this point, the fire was completely out of control.
Flames continued north and headed straight for the mobile home park named, Bear Creek.
Within minutes, the entire park lit up into a giant ball of black smoke.
The firestorm was fast approaching the little town of Talent with avengeance. The only thing people could do was to flee and get out of its way.
Oddly enough, the Emergency Broadcast System was not activated, and no real-time warning went out across TV and Radio air waves. The fire had already been on the move for two-plus hours, and the Emergency Broadcast System was never used.
Fortunately for the residence of Talent and Phoenix, the police, fire, and good Samaritans ran ahead of the fire warning neighborhoods to evacuate immediately.
Tim stayed at thehome and kept watering the property down. By 5pm the firestorm was entering the town of Phoenix.
Deputy Chief Mike Hussey of Jackson County Fire District 3 recognized his firefighters just couldn’t move fast enough as they tried to try to flank the roaring Almeda fire to get ahead of it. Their ground attack was overwhelmed by the speed and intensity of the wind-fueled wildfire. They needed air support.
Larson usually activates air tankers to drop fire retardant over forests, trees or grass. This time, he faced a much different landscape.
“That’s the first time in my career, and I’m going on 31 years, that we actually dropped air tankers that close to and in town,” he said. “I know if incident commanders are making that request, the decision is dire and lives are in jeopardy, and I’m going to give firefighters every tool they need.”
The officer remained persistent and kept pounding on the front door to the point that she finally woke and got up out of bed. But, before the elderly woman reached the front door, the officer declared the house to be empty and he proceeded on to the next house.
By then, the wall of flames entered the far end of the neighborhood, consuming everything in its path.
His calm demeanor and confidence wavered, but he pressed on.
It wasn't until the water pressure in the hoses dropped off immediately.
"All bets were off after that," he said. Without hesitation, Tim knew it was time to evacuate.
When Erin's aunt got as far as the front window, she pulled back the curtains and looked out. She saw the officer leaving the yard.
He was fearfully shocked to see an elderly woman looking out the livingroom window.
The officer quickly returned to the front door and without hesitation, grabbed the elderly woman and ran from approaching flames. She left the house confused, and with nothing more than the clothes she was wearing. Minutes later, the house was completely consumed with fire.
She lost everything, but was very grateful to the officer that saved her life.
“Many businesses have been burned down,” he said. “Certain neighborhoods, including my own, have been burned down. There are many, many, many homes that are gone.”
She went on to say, "Parts of the community resemble pictures we have all seen on TV, where it looks like a bomb blast, that has just leveled everything. There is literally nothing standing except chimneys and a burned-out relic of a water heater or a burned-out car.”
This simple farm house was built in 1920. It stood for 100 years. Sadly, it didn’t have a chance.
"Thank you to the brave men and women that have fought for life and livelihood. First responders, utility workers, surveyors, volunteers, each and every one...My heart breaks for every person affected by this. The fear of evacuation. The loss of homes, businesses, and sanctuary. I’ve never known or personally felt this level of heaviness of the unknown.
How do I begin to express what this shop meant to our family? Through my parents, this place taught me hard work. Patience. Dedication. Perseverance. My folks poured their heart and soul into this little shop, as many of you have seen and felt. They’ve watched many of you, of us, grow up. Coming in as children, only to return with partners and children of your own.
This shop has seen so much. Given us so much. This was a physical manifestation of their refugee American Dream. We will forever be thankful. I am forever thankful of them, their hard work and sacrifice.
Our bright pink little box remains ever hopeful. Seemingly fitting, that the only damage to it is slight closure of the lid. As if to say, “stay resilient”. Not “goodbye”, but “see you later”.
What’s next? I’m not sure. My parents say, “we will rebuild.” Of course they do. They always have.
Be well, stay safe, and take good care of each other out there."
Nothing could prepare me for what I saw. The devastation from the firestorm became painfully evident and extremely overwhelming to see.
George shared with me that when he got news of the fire racing down the Bear Creek Greenway towards him, he quickly went into action and had employees move vehicles and equipment from the back lot that is adjacent to the Greenway. The idea behind the move was to protect the property and allow the fire to pass through the Bear Creek Greenway. Unfortunately, the intense heat wave from the passing inferno was too much, and within minutes, several items in the yard caught fire. The domino affect was a total loss for the U-Haul Center. |
He sat back on the bent floor beam. I stood quietly and gave him time to continue speaking. “This place was a very nice place. We were going to retire here.”
“We got out with nothing, just the clothes we were wearing. He looked lost. "We got no warning. no one got a warning. There should have been a warning”
There was nothing I could say, or even comprehend such an overwhelming loss. I stood heart broken.
It started to rain. "Well, thank God for rain I guess." He said.
He answered my puzzlement saying, “You’re able to drive through because there are several trailers at the far end of the park that were not touched by the fire.” Waving his arm, he gestured in the direction of the untouched motor homes, and said, “Those people down there are not very happy right now.” “Why are they not happy?” I asked. “They have been without power and water now for a couple of weeks. Their patience are wearing thin.” He said. |
I wished him well, and went on my way.
One of the most discouraging things that happened the day of the firestorm was, the hydrants stopped providing water.
Josh Shelton of Newswatch 12 wrote in a recent article; It was a worst-case scenario for firefighters who had spent their entire day fighting the Almeda Fire on September 8, 2020. No water was coming out of the fire hydrants. "I've never seen a circumstance like we had that day," Jackson County Fire District 5 Captain Aaron Bustard said. "The hydrant would be working and a few minutes to an hour later, there would just be no water. The hydrants were going empty." |
"Now you have not just one structure, but you have multiple structures and all this grassy area woods, you name it, going on fire," Bustard said. "And we have no water."
The Almeda Firestorm went on to burn approximately 3800 acres, burned over 3000 buildings, and took four lives.
Jay and Sue Newman
(for providing the images showing the beginning of this dramatic story)
Ron Narramore
(for the intense images captured live in video)
His live-stream videos can be viewed on his personal facebook page.
and
Tim Hallam & Erin Marie Linton
(for sharing their photography, their time, and their home while I was there)
Thank you Tim for being a great tourguide.