Amarillo has apparently made the national news. Yesterday the winds here roared. 50+MPH for most of the day. We have had very little moisture in months. It is still too early for any of the grass or vegetation to be green and leafed out. So when several fires roared to life the quickly got out of control.
Several of y'all have emailed to ask if me and my family were affected. The quick answer is now were were not.
But most of y'all have red my blog for sometime so you know fire is a sensitive subject for me. For you newcomers my house burnt to the ground back in January of 2009. At that time I live in a narrow canyon called Palisades to the south of Amarillo.
Yesterday the wind blown wildfires roared through that canyon and best as I can tell from early reports nearly every house in the Palisades suffered damage and most burnt to the ground. I still have many friend among my former neighbors and I'm trying to get in touch with them but so far have had no luck. Reports say everyone got out. I pray they are correct.
My house fire was traced to electrical problems within the wall and truth be told I would have rebuilt on my old land, but Jennifer simply couldn't do it. She said she would never be able to forget how long it took responders to show up due to the remote location. I on the other hand am a lightening never strikes twice in the same spot kind of guy.
I would have been wrong. Had I insisted we rebuild on our little slice of country land I would today be once again staring at ash and wondering what the hell do we do now. We lived at the far Eastern end of the Palisades and I wonder what it would have been like to be there yesterday. Trying to get out as a huge fire raced toward me and my family.
I hope the victims of these wildfires are as blessed as my family and I were. The support we received from friends and family, many of ya'll included was truly life renewing and this evening I plan to take some items to the local Red Cross shelter and try to ascertain the whereabouts and safety of my friends. All the while I'll be pondering the possibility, for the first time ever, that perhaps our fire two years ago was a blessing in disguise.
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23 comments:
Very sad. And as you stated, maybe your fire was a blessing in disguise.
and that Travis, your final statement may actually be true. I hope well comes to all of your friends and that you are able to get word of them if nor actually see them to ease your and Jennifer's heart.
It ended well enough for you guys may it be the same for those you know and care about in this fire.
Glad you weren't there, and I hope those who were are safe. It's tough to recover from the loss of a home, as you and James R. know all too well.
i've been deep in my own private hell and only now have i been looking at anything outside of the conflict in libya and my husband's evacuation to turkey. i pray your friends made it out safely and will keep you all in my heart. there is power in positive thinking! i know it helped us. stay strong. xoxoxo
Wow, glad you're safe and hope everyone else is too. See? Always listen to your wife.
Glad you and your family are safe!
Take care
x
I am very glad you are safe and I hope that you find all your friends safe also. Blessing in disguise indeed!
I didn't know about your fire since I am new to you. But wow, and thanks for sharing. Would you like to come and play in the snow? It's very different from wild fires.
I am so glad you and your family are safe, today. Take care!
Keep us updated please, Travis. My heart goes out to ALL of them.
Fire is a powerful thing; so glad everyone was ok.
I'm glad that you and yours are OK and dearly hope that your friends are all fine too. I'll keep them in my best thoughts.
*hugs* I'm glad for the decision you guys made. I hope your friends are okay.
Travis, there's something to be said for moving your family out of danger. I can't imagine how grateful you are your wife put her foot down about living closer to emergency crews.
Me, I got out of my scary situation when the danger kept inching closer. I worried that you can only escape getting shot or blown up so many times before it finally happens.
Glad you guys are ok. Was thinking of you when I heard the news yesterday.
Smart woman, your wife. And sorry for your neighbors. I hope that they are safe. I'm sure that this situation is extra difficult for you, as you know exactly what they've lost.
Very glad to know you are safe.
It's difficult to see the blessing in tragedy, but most often it is there.
So sad about the Palisades. I hope all your friends, in fact everyone, is okay.
You write a good post. I'm new to your blog and hadn't read about your house burning down before.
Oh my goodness. How awful.
you're okay! I was worried! so glad to hear it.
So sad for those who lost so much. I'm glad you were spared this time. Fire terrifies me. I saw it as a child sweep over huge distances and I've always been scared of it.
We had a house fire the summer graduated. It's a weird feeling and the fear never leaves. I'm sorry for all those who are suffering now. Thank God you and yours are in a good place.
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