Judy's Fire Story

 Judy – 43-year resident of Talent, Oregon

    On the morning of September 8, 2020, my husband was working in his shop behind the house while I was in the back yard fretting about the billowing smoke along the Bear Creek Greenway, the emergency vehicles, the planes dropping retardants and the helicopters dropping buckets of water scooped from the Rapp Lane ponds. Since the wind was carrying the fire north, we felt safe on Lithia Avenue, a quarter of a mile to the west. What we couldn’t see was the approaching fire coming straight at us from Arnos Street. 

    We never heard the evacuation warnings, and no doubt we would never have been warned if I hadn’t come back into the house. A policewoman met me at our door commanding us to leave immediately. Hurriedly, we stuffed our cat into her carrier and drove out in our car, leaving our pick-up truck behind (we feared getting separated in the confusion and traffic congestion).

I SO regret that I didn’t grab/pack/save more than our cat. It haunts me, even now, nearly two years later, because I’ve come to realize that a home isn’t the building, or even the location, but rather the contents. All those precious, irreplaceable, tangible reminders such as handmade Christmas ornaments, drawings, paintings, letters from our grandchildren, handed down furniture, collections, favorite books—they were what made up our home. 

    It was hard to believe that we’d lost EVERYTHING, and not just things that were dear to us, but things we needed to carry on with our daily life. We’d reach for something (a can opener, hairbrush, medications) and with a start, we’d realize we didn’t have those anymore.

    So many “if only” or “I should have” thoughts come over me. Then, I have to shut those thoughts off and try to focus on the goodness of friends, total strangers, and family who have helped us navigate the sorrow. So MANY people have helped and comforted us.

    We’ll be back. Our new house on Lithia Avenue will be finished, and it will be so good to return to the same soil, same dear neighbors, and sweet town of Talent.