City on Fire...

Sunday, September 19th.
2:10pm: While loading up the girls into the can after church, I look up and see a plume of smoke on the other side of the mountain. Dang hippies.

4:20pm: Leave for my first day as assistant ward choir director. Notice smoke appears bigger and blacker (but not as black as my optimism for ward choir participation and attendance).

5:00pm: Leave from the 1st practice of the new Mill Canyon Women's sextet (that's all that showed. But we're going to give Lawrence Welk a run for his money). Notice smoke appears bigger and wider.

5:15pm: Friends from Los Angeles arrive for dinner.

6:00pm: Eat dinner. We don't notice smoke because we are telling stories about Jackie from high school. No pesky fire on the other side of the mountain will detract from that fun.

6:30pm: Go outside and notice that the fire appears to be getting much, MUCH wider. Still not on our side though. Even though it's windy, we don't smell smoke.

7:00pm: We go back outside just in time to see a wall of fire (with flames REALLY high) jump the top of the mountain and start spilling down. Jackie says, what should we pack just in case? Friends from LA tell us thank you for making them feel like they're at home.

8:00pm: Put girls to bed- notice that now we start smelling smoke. Jackie starts putting together boxes to be on the safe side. Our friend from LA suggests taking pictures of all the rooms for insurance purposes.

8:20pm: No that it's dark, the mountain looks like a volcano with lava pouring down the sides. Our street is jammed because 1000 homes are being evacuated and our street is a thoroughfare. It reminds me a little of the war scene from Duck Soup because everyone has horses, jet skis, boats, etc.

9:00pm: We hear cops evacuating the neighborhood to the west and, smelling smoke in our basement, we (and by we I mean Jackie) start putting valuables in boxes and get suitcases ready. I watch the news and see watch fire coming down the mountain spurred on by heavy wind. Everyone is out in their backyards hearing police say "mandatory evacuations", but not on our street yet.

9:30pm: The news says evacuations could continue through 2:00am. In watching the news, I realize that I will not be watching the finale of Food Truck Race on Food Network and Mad Men. Luckily they are both DVR's. Unluckily, if it's burnt to a crisp, there are several things on it I haven't watched yet. We hear that while people can leave the neighborhood, they cannot get back in.

10:00pm: Jordan School District (my district) announces school closings. They don't say what schools. There is no way that I am setting my alarm for 6:00am if I don't have to.

11:00pm: Watch out of our bedroom window and see great walls of orange flames cresting down the mountain. In some ways, it's like a really twisted room at the Anniversary Inn. Only the theme makes you want to run away instead of gettin it on.

Midnight-5:00am: Awake watching the fire out the window ready for a pound on the door to tell you to leave. Check the news every hour on the hour.

5:00am: I am awakened by the dulcet tones of Mary Richards (a friend from BYU and Jackie's former roommate) that tells us (finally) that Millie's elementary school is closed (but mine is open).

Monday, September 20th: I walk around school like a zombie, but everything is good. I have students that were evacuated and that didn't know anything about their home yet. I have teacher friends that also don't know anything yet. We are glad that amazing firefighters came from all over the state to help (and are still helping today) save all of the homes that were saved.

All pictures from KSL. Go to their website to see other pictures from the fire. 3 homes were incinerated in the fire.