Last night, Daniel, his brother, his parents and I all clobbered into his parents' sedan to make the drive up to Starlight Mountain Theatre.
We saw Fiddler on the Roof back in June,
and this time we were going to see Cinderella.
On our way up, we drove right into the crazy Idaho wildfires that are sweeping their way along the Payette River.
While the road was open for the moment, with a pilot car leading people through,
the fire had just recently jumped the river and the crews didn't know if we'd be able to get back through after the play.
As we stood on the road and watched the fire take its course,
the air thick with smoke and ash,
the ash still hot as it hit my skin while falling from the sky,
the flames licking their way across the hills right in front of us,
it was surreal.
As we stood on the road and watched the fire take its course,
the air thick with smoke and ash,
the ash still hot as it hit my skin while falling from the sky,
the flames licking their way across the hills right in front of us,
it was surreal.
I've never been that close to fire before.
When it comes to natural disasters, I'm a sheltered girl.
Sure, I lived in Oklahoma when the first F5 destroyed its way across the state...
but all I remember is the loud hail, my dad outside catching it, and me being huddled with a flashlight in my sister's closet.
While I wasn't scared of the fire,
it made me think.
I thought about the people living in that area who were hosing their homes down to prevent them from burning.
I thought about the people who were caught in the Colorado wildfires last month.
I thought about all of the people who are affected every year by hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, tsunamis, fires...
the list goes on and on.
It made me very grateful to be in Idaho.
Needless to say, it was a full car of glum faces that turned around and made the trip back to Boise.
You know how sometimes the unexpected leads to the best times spent together?
When it comes to natural disasters, I'm a sheltered girl.
Sure, I lived in Oklahoma when the first F5 destroyed its way across the state...
but all I remember is the loud hail, my dad outside catching it, and me being huddled with a flashlight in my sister's closet.
While I wasn't scared of the fire,
it made me think.
I thought about the people living in that area who were hosing their homes down to prevent them from burning.
I thought about the people who were caught in the Colorado wildfires last month.
I thought about all of the people who are affected every year by hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, tsunamis, fires...
the list goes on and on.
It made me very grateful to be in Idaho.
Needless to say, it was a full car of glum faces that turned around and made the trip back to Boise.
You know how sometimes the unexpected leads to the best times spent together?
We ended up at Chili's, talking about the future, new opportunities, and at one point I was laughing so hard that I had big alligator tears streaming down my face.
The smoke and ashes that drove us away from our "fun night,"
are also the smoke and ashes that brought us closer together.
I love that fire inside.
15 comments:
Quite the experience. Hope that people's lives can be rebuilt quickly. Also hope you get to the mountain theatre again sometime soon. It sounds wonderful.
Whoa, scary! I can't imagine how it feels to be that close!
Carly
www.lipglossandcrayons.com
I was in Ketchum one day back in '07 when they had a huge wildfire. The smoke was so thick the mountain that borders the road through Hailey was invisible, even when we drove next to it.
Stay safe.
That sounds like a terrifying, amazing and eye-opening situation! It's good to take something positive from situations like that, 99% of the time it is negative (and rightly so!) I'm glad that you all had a good time though!x
this is so sad. My heart breaks for all the residents :(
xxS
I hope nobody was severely hurt... and glad you're okay!
You write so beautifully, Aunie.
The firestorm in San Diego in 2007 forced many of my loved ones to evacuate their homes. There was so much damage. But I'm happy to hear that your night was fun in a different way. Observing who people are in the face of ruined plans says a lot about who they are. It looks like y'all are a bunch of good eggs. :-)
I can't imagine how scary that must have been for those living there! Like you said, sometimes you don't realize these things until they're right in front of you!
Woah..........that's just woah. How devasting:( At least you were able to turn something bad into something good
Yeah, fires freak me out! It's scary stuff. There were sooo many going around here in Utah, fireworks were banned in a lot of areas around the 4th. I remember driving by one that was happening right off the freeway a couple exits away from my house! That's what we get for living in a dry windy desert... :/
I can't even imagine living somewhere and hoping the fire doesn't spread to my house. So scary.
oh my goodness!!! how freakin scary! i would have needed chili's to decompress after that too haha!
xoxoxo
You look uber gorgeous..
And wow, that's got to be nervewracking. /:
I absolutely love the way you write! It makes me feel like I was there.
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