Almeda Fire Memories: by Kevin

 Almeda Fire Memories

by Kevin 

note: this article appears on page 10 of the March 2021 issue of the Talent Historical Society Newsletter, The Historicale

     My name is Kevin. I am a resident of Patio Village. This is a brief account I wrote about the fire and the morning after.

    l've never seen anything like it before, A firestorm from hell descended on Talent destroying hundreds of homes, stopping just short of my house. The cruel winds howled like a hurricane - an evil wind, a terrible windstorm right at the hottest, driest time of year. All the houses across the street from my house burned to the ground.

    My brother called me to warn me about the fire as I was lying down to rest. He could see the smoke in Talent from his home in the hills two miles away. I grabbed my cat, my guitar and my cash and I evacuated. I immediately got stuck in a traffic jam as thousands of people were trying to get out of Talent. lt took ten minutes to drive the first 100 yards. Black smoke filled the air and ashes started hitting my windshield. lt was frightening. I finally made it to my brother's house.

    We had a supreme view of the fire from his deck. Fast-moving, low-hanging, black clouds of smoke raced through the air as the fire followed the wind and traveled in northwest direction. As darkness fell the view became spectacular. Huge flames shot up into the sky, illuminating my brother's house at times from two miles away. Then the explosions started. Loud booms echoed across the valley because of exploding propane tanks as the fire raged through several trailer parks as well as residential neighborhoods. We heard hundreds of these explosions. lt was like watching a war zone from a safe vantage point. I seriously wondered whether my home would still be there in the morning. The wind continued to rage. I lay down and went to sleep somehow to the sound of howling winds and exploding propane tanks.

    The next morning the fire seemed to have died down. I drove back to my house to survey the damage. All the houses across the street from my house were burned to the ground. Patio Village was right where the fire stopped -- why I'll never know. This is the worst disaster ever to hit this area. 

Thousands are homeless.