Ava’s interview with her Dad, a former firefighter
Me:
Okay. Hi Dad. We are doing interviews on the Almeda Fire for the Talent Historical Society. Just for starters, where were you? What did you see?
Dad:
I was finishing up work, and was coming back from White City. It was a really clear, hot summer day and it was really windy. I could see across the valley to Ashland and I could see the beginning plume of smoke rising up. The fire had to be pretty fresh at the time because the smoke was still just starting to climb up into the sky. It was enough to see from 25 miles away. Even though I couldn't see exactly where it was coming from, I could tell that it was coming from Ashland. I was concerned right away because I live in Ashland, all my friends and everybody lives around here. I knew, because of my experience firefighting, this valley is not very well prepared for a fire. So, it was a little bit alarming.
Me:
So, you would say you were anxious?
Dad:
A little bit. Yeah. I was anxious to get home and make sure my dog was okay because he was in my bedroom. I didn't know if any of my roommates were home to help let him out or to take them away if they had to be evacuated. At the time, the fire still looked fairly small. So, my plan was just to go finish my job, drop off my work truck, get my car and drive home. By the time I got into my car and was driving home, the cloud of smoke was already stretching several miles from the beginning of the fire. I could see the traffic on the freeway was backed up to a stop and there were no cars going northbound. I started looking for backroads to get home. However, as I was driving home, they were shutting down all the roads going that direction and not letting people travel into Ashland. Probably not Talent or Phoenix, at that point too. So, I went and found a spot to park where I could observe the fire from a safe distance. I ended up parking on Apero Way, on the edge of Centennial golf course. It was a nice, safe place to be, a big open golf course without a whole lot of fuel to burn. I figured no matter no matter how bad things might get that would be a good place for me to be. A safe place.
Me:
You got home safe and nothing of yours was damaged?
Dad:
Yeah. I ended up having to wait a few hours. When I did reach my roommates, they weren't even aware that there was a fire because it was maybe a couple miles away from our house and the wind was blowing the opposite direction. So, they weren't in any real risk. They were actually completely unaware but the fire was raging before I got home. I remember I called or texted your mom to make sure that you guys were safe and taking precautions to evacuate in case you had to because it was moving in the direction of your house. That was one of my big concerns, making sure that you were okay. They didn't let us go home until after dark. The drive home was really surreal. Everything was burning, all sorts of things burning along the freeway. You could see the stores and houses burning and of course, all the trees along the Greenway. Telephone poles were on fire, dangling from the lines. The freeway barriers with the metal on the big posts, those were burning. It was intense but I got home. I made it home and it was just absolutely fine. There was nothing to worry about there. I know they were still fighting the fire in Talent and Phoenix, but the Ashland area was safe.
Me:
Did you have anyone close to you that lost their home or any items?
Dad:
Yeah, I had a few friends that lost their houses. I had friends that lost their houses and their pets. Some of them had insurance and they were okay. Some of them didn't, and they were put in a really tough spot.
Me:
Yeah, how did they cope with that? How was the fire recovery for those friends.
Dad:
For the most part, it seemed like it was pretty speedy. Actually, one of my good friends lost everything but he ended up collecting his insurance and buying a new house. So, he's actually, I think, in a better situation now. Some of my friends still haven't really recovered. They're living in hotels and their vehicles are burned up, so they don't have car. It's definitely a pretty broad range of recovery for people. A lot of people don't have good insurance or they're just renting and they don't do renter's insurance.
Me:
Have you seen a disaster like that fire before specifically?
Dad:
Not like that. No. I remember when the Paradise fire happened, not too far away. Just hearing about a town burning down really quickly and I actually met some of those survivors who had relocated up to this area after their town burned down. When I fought fire, I fought forest fires, I was a wildland firefighter. So, we didn't really see a whole lot of structure fires. Occasionally, we would fight forest fires to protect houses, so I've protected houses from fire. I've never really seen that sort of fire devastation to a community before though. Lots of people haven't seen anything like that. It’s a pretty rare thing where multiple houses, buildings and businesses over a stretch of several miles, just got gobbled up. Part of my job was, I delivered appliances. I delivered refrigerators, ovens and washers and dryers and things. I installed them in people's houses and I actually met a lot of fire survivors who were rebuilding. I had to go into a lot of the places that were devastated by the fire. I would go to the homes that were still standing and a lot of those people still had damage. So, they were getting new things. It was really interesting to talk to everybody about their experience. Most people, of course, are just grateful to be alive. Most of them are coping it seemed like really well with having to move or rebuild. It seemed like, for the most part, everybody had pretty high spirits considering what they went through.
Me:
Yeah, and you said that you weren't home for that. So, you didn't really have a chance to worry about packing or evacuation or anything. If you were in the situation that you had to evacuate, what sort of things do you think you would have wanted to bring?
Me:
Mostly my dog. That was the main thing I was concerned about. Everything else is replaceable but I like my things that I have. So, it did cross my mind that if I did make it home, if I did have to pack, what would I grab? I didn't have a lot of stuff in my house. Most of my stuff was in storage because my house was just a temporary place I was living. I would have wanted to get my computer, books. I would have liked to get my bed. I really liked my bed. I just bought a bed and I was like, well, that's got to go. You know, you've seen my bed, it's awesome. I might have stayed behind and gone down with my bed. I would set my dog free and I would die in my bed, stubbornly.
Me:
Any final words?
Dad:
Nothing is worth dying for in fire, leave it behind. Get your loved ones and get away from the fire. Don't waste time with stuff, stuff is replaceable, and get fire insurance even if you're renting.
Me: Thank you, dad.
Dad: You're welcome.
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