The Fire...

And, then there is the wildfire out in Four mile Canyon, west of Boulder Colorado....

The day after Labor Day, the funeral for summer freedom, Tall One and I sat eating our breakfast and watching the Today Show. We saw the footage of the Fourmile Canyon Wildfire, and heard the dire predictions of scorched acreage and the displaced homeowners. I always watch the Today Show and eat my breakfast with my computer in my lap (that's a major inconvenience waiting to happen, don't you think?), and since the wild fire was west of Boulder, Colorado where our older son makes his Grizzly Adams/My Side of the Mountain, largely solitary home, I began to Google and realized that O.S.'s cabin is smack dab in the middle of the evacuation zone.

Even though it's 7a.m. on the east coast, it's only 5a.m. in Boulder, so I thought about courtesy but called immediately! O.S.'s cell went right to voice mail. No need to panic, it's only 5am in Boulder. I talk to my mother and our younger son, and ask them to let me know if they hear from O.S. (you may remember that O.S. was estranged from us until his ex left, so I wouldn't have expected him to necessarily call me). Later, it's 9a.m. here at home, 7am in Boulder and I've had two hours to learn as much as is humanly possible about the fire, the fire fighting efforts, and the projected damage...no call from O.S., so I again leave a voice mail message. I'm thinking that I sound reasonably calm and controlled...but it's probably coming across as abject panic. Eleven a.m., and I'm kicking myself for never having asked the name of the shop where O.S. worked - do you know how many machine shops are listed in Boulder, Co? I call my nephew, thinking maybe HE knows, he doesn't. He calls O.S., and reports that the phone goes right to voice mail....I KNOW! At somewhere around 1p.m., I got a text message from our younger son, PhD. "Have you heard from O.S.?" I fairly shout back, via text, that I haven't and I'm starting to get a bit worried....and, my phone cuts to an incoming call with O.S.'s caller ID!

The day before, even though it was an official holiday, O.S. went in to work early. He had some jobs that he'd been working on and no special plans. He missed the evacuation. Which was good and bad - good that he wasn't ever in any danger, bad, because he wasn't able to grab anything meaningful, and he said he NEVER would have worn the clothes he had on, if he'd thought they'd be the only clothes he'd own. O.S. spent the first night on his boss' sofa, and after that with a co-worker who had an extra room. He was well taken care of. I'm glad I fought the urge to jump on a plane and fly out there.

It was over a week of increasing reports of more and more homes lost, fortunately no loss of life or even injuries. It became increasingly obvious that it would be a miracle if O.S.'s cabin wasn't a pile of ash, but his address wasn't listed in the official reports. He told me that while the waiting was bad, he had never taken his mountain for granted. Every day he stood on his porch and appreciated the place he'd come to call home. He was concerned that he'd have to live in the city. That would be a big disappointment.

I finally got the text message, that O.S. was able to get home. The firefighters had taken a stand and dug a fire-line 150 feet from the cabin's back door. All was saved, still standing, still livable. I am so grateful, so thankful, and more knowledgeable about the streets and developments in the Fourmile canyon than I am of the ones in the hometown I've lived in for over thirty years! Let's hear it for Google Earth!

The mountains and canyon are scorched, with areas knee deep in ash. When the wind blows, there are ash storms. But, in their own words, these are mountain people. Strong, resilient, and determined to clean up and rebuild.

I can picture O.S. being a part of it all. He's found a place, a home, a life that suits him. I'm looking forward to visiting someday.