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Many of you have heard about the terrible wild fire that broke out this past Sunday night in Herriman, Utah. Many of you watched with me as the fire came speeding down the mountain towards our homes! It was one of those terrible and amazing things that you just couldn’t peel your eyes away from.
Thousands of homes in Herriman were evacuated. All evening we wondered if we should leave as well, but ended up waiting for an official evacuation. It never came, so we stayed put.
If the truth were to be know, I wanted to head out just to be safe…
I got outvoted.
And so we spent a pretty restless nights sleep…peering out the windows every couple of hours to see if we needed to evacuate. In the morning we learned that only 4 homes were burned.
I could not believe it.
To watch that fire speed down our mountain as fast as it did..and as close as it got to so many homes….4 homes lost is an absolute amazement! The light of day brought the sight of so many homes with black burn marks all around them, but not on them. The efforts made by the fire department, and government officials was tremendously effective to say the least.
I happened to be grocery shopping this morning and noticed 5 firemen standing behind me in line. Just as I was about to offer them my gratitude, a young teenage boy who was stocking shelves beat me to it. “I just wanted to thank you guys for working so hard for all of us, and saving so many homes.” He said.
And then he shook all of their hands.
And then, I just turned around and put my groceries on the conveyor belt to be checked. See. I have this problem with my eyes.
They seem to tear up on me, in the most inopportune times.
To those of you who lost your homes…oh, I am so sorry. I can’t imagine how devastating that would be. My prayers are with you and your families.
To my friends who live a few streets above me, and are still under mandatory evacuation, come on over if you need anything.
Pot of Chicken Noodle Soup…
Little bit of homemade bread…
Sturdy pair of clean undies…
Hope you can return to your homes soon.
And to those who are participating in getting the fire out….thank you, thank you, thank you. You are a total amazement to me.
Glad to hear you are ok.
We were in Sedona Arizona on vacation a couple of years ago when they had terrible fires above the town. The Firefighters were everywhere. There were signs all over town praising and thanking the Firefighters who worked so hard to keep the fire from spreading down to the town. My eyes also have the same problem…I was in tears everytime I saw a Fireman, a Firetruck or a thank you sign. I can't imagine living with the threat so close. So glad you and yours have been spared and so sorry for those who were not and so thankful for those who protect.
I have the same teary-eye problem. ALWAYS bad timing on their part. 🙂 I did bawl my eyes out reading your post. Never been so scared/afraid/terrified/unsure/panicked in my whole life. You were probably even closer than I was! I just have to thank you for your “sturdy underwear” comment that made me laugh though! 🙂
Wow it was a night, wasn't it. It was my hubbies & my 10th anniversary. An anniversary we will never forget. We did end up leaving since the kiddos were with my in-laws & we were worried they wouldn't let us back in, so we just decided to pack a few things & stay the night at my moms. Real romantic, if you know what I mean;) but I was too shaken up not to be with my kiddos. Plus they were at grandmas freaking out that mom & dad were gonna get burned in the fire. I have to admit I packed more than overnight stuff; a few thousand pics & disks, and some important docs ie; artwork from my kiddos. But would have been devastated to not have. I too am so grateful to all that participated in the efforts to save all the thousands of homes that could have been destroyed. Just thinking of the California fires that ripped through hundreds of homes in mins, just makes you think how serious this situation really was & still is. We have the best fire fighters, police, national guard & community officials in the country, possible the world! My heart goes out to those that did lose their homes. I will continue to pray for them.
I thought of you all night as I watched the fire grow by the minute from way over here in South Jordan. So glad to know you are safe and sound – and like all of you in Herriman – the rest of us wish those 4 families did not have to lose all they had worked so hard to build. Stay safe…
It was mesmerizing to watch, scary it was so close. Did you see that MSNBC had a headline that read “Utah residents evacuate to avoid Machine Gun Fire” sounds like the middle of a war zone! 🙂
It’s a plsreuae to find someone who can identify the issues so clearly
Oh my goodness, Jamie! I'm sending you all of my best that you and your house remain safe. That must be so scary! Take care!
Now you've gone and made me cry again! It was sad to happen, but I think it really pulled us all together! thanks, firemen, police and National guard, and they are all still here working from many many out lying communities. If you need your fire pants hemmed back up, come see me!
cindysewsew @yahoo.com
I'm glad to hear your positive comments. Sunday night and Monday morning, I kept hearing criticism, but man, looking at some of those photos where the fire is all around the home, but the home is still standing, makes me so grateful to all those who have spent their week taking care of the fire.
I just love you Jamie, you are one of the most amazing, most talented and sweet people I've ever had the blessing to know. I have been looking at all of your beautiful creations, and am in awe of your talents and abilities!!!
Thank you for continuing to bless our lives with your love and gifts and know how many people your talents truly help!
Love ya Button!!!! Kisses and Hugs and Hushpuppies! From the MacKay's in NC