No Such Luck!

By the time I stepped outside, the leaves were on fire! The Sheriff’s deputies were telling us to evacuate immediately! The fire surprised us all. When we went to bed it was still on the other side of the mountain. We thought that we’d have to evacuate in the morning...just not at three AM! I remember discussing the looming fire with my neighbors. Some were leaving as soon as they could load up their cars. But one of my neighbors was a fireman and he was telling us that we may not have to leave just yet. His boss was telling him that the fire was down in the valley on the other side of the mountain and evacuation was only an advisory at this time. I decided to stay. My cabin had been in my family for generations. It was my only residence and I really couldn’t afford to lose it. The cost of insurance was financially crippling me since I am a retiree living on a very limited income. 

As I emerged from my house with the meagerest necessary items...my medications, a couple of changes of clothes, food for my dog, and my dog, Ellie. Everything was hastily thrown in the back of my truck. Ellie and I jumped into the cab and tried to head off down the mountain to safety. We followed the first deputy we found in hopes of making it safely down the mountain. I noticed that my fireman neighbor had already left! Why didn’t he tell us the truth? I couldn’t waste time wondering about this at the moment. My life would depend on my being able to drive the once familiar curvy streets down the mountain to the nearest evacuation center safely. The deputy followed by me slowly made our way towards the raging fire that was encroaching quickly on our side of the mountain. We were located about halfway up the mountain and the fire was mere feet away from the road! I saw my fireman neighbor’s house begin to burn. I just knew that my cabin was not going to be there when I returned. 

Suddenly the deputy stopped his squad car. What could be going on? I debated getting out to see what was happening. The deputy got out of his squad car and started walking towards me. I slowly cracked the window to talk to him.

“Do you have space for a few more people’s stuff?” he asked. 

“Sure do” I said. “It’s just Ellie and I in here.” 

“I got a call over the radio,” the deputy continued. “There’s a family of four that needs assistance over on Quail Hollow Road. Do you know where that is?”

“Sure do,” I said and I gave the deputy the necessary directions. As he slowly drove the two blocks over to Quail Hollow Road, I followed him. What we found when we got there was astounding! It wasn’t just four people. It was four families...about twenty people in all! To make matters much worse, the fire was 90% surrounding them! We did our best to help. Only taking my medications and leaving the rest that I had out on someone’s front lawn, we piled as many people into the squad and the back of my truck. Ellie sat in the back seat on a strange child’s lap and did what dogs who are trained comfort dogs do, cuddled the child with the occasional face lick as we resumed the downward trek to safety. I had about ten adults in the back of my truck and a mom with a baby and five children crammed into the cab of the truck. The remaining five adults were crammed into the squad car. 

As the fire encroached upon the road we needed to travel, I began to wonder if my sturdy old truck would make it with the load it was carrying. I use it to haul heavy loads on occasion to the dump. But then, I didn’t have the fire to contend with. 

I was keeping a close eye on the engine temperature. An overheated engine was something I didn’t want to contend with at this time. A twenty year old truck can have unplanned engine problems whenever it wants to have them. I kept praying that we would safely make it down the mountain. Once again the deputy stops and gets out of his squad car.

“What’s the problem this time?” I ask through a sliver size opening in the rolled down window. 

“My motor stopped and it won’t go any further.” the deputy said.

“Get everyone in the back to make room,” was all I could say. Now we’re seriously overloaded! To balance the load, I have the smaller children sit on adult laps in the back seat and the mom with the baby move to the middle of the front seat and the deputy takes her seat. Maybe now we can make it down the mountain to safety. I pray that we don’t have any more troubles. 

No such luck! We were once again slowly making our way down the mountain. This time the fire was all around us! It had jumped the road! The people in the back of my truck were being singed with every wave of flame that licked the sides as we made our way down hill. On and on we went with the flames raging all around. It seemed like an eternity! I fervently prayed for our safety. The engine was beginning to overheat. It was already extremely hot inside the cab but I just had to bleed off some heat. The deputy noticed that I turned the heater on full blast but said nothing. Our very lives depended on my old truck getting us down that mountain!

Just as quickly as the flames had engulfed us, we were clear of the fire! We could see stars! The heat inside the cab could escape through open windows! Soon we could see sheriff deputies and fire personnel heading our way! I stopped and the deputy jumped out and flagged them down. Those riding in the back were triaged and treated or sent off for treatment. Those riding in the cab were given water and sent off to be helped by the red cross. I just stood there staring at my singed but still working truck. She’d earned her keep tonight!