Levan July 24th Fire!

7/24/14 We were sitting at the Levan Park around 4:30 p.m. watching the talent 

show when it was announced that fire fighters had been dispatched to a fire.   

We stopped and had an immediate prayer for the safety of the firefighters.

This is what we saw from the park as the prayer concluded.

We had come from home less than 30 minutes before and saw nothing.

It seemed wrong to be sitting leisurely at the park with a fire raging near 

by so we headed out to see exactly where it was and what was going on.

It didn't take us long to see that this fire was pretty close to home and growing fast!

It also become clear that some of our friends homes were 

potentially in harm's way. This is Dave and Linda's house at the time.

It was clear the blaze had started from the highway near

 the dairy and flames lapped ever nearer the road.

This is Ed Aagard's truck. He was one of many
locals who came to check things out.

We turned down Powell Lane to decide what to do next.

We concluded that Robinson's were not in a good place and that 

we needed to contact them. I sent Celeste a text, but got no response.

Big fires create their own air currents and weather.  Notice the back current here.  

Interestingly, the trees on the right side of this draw didn't burn.

We soon realized that as live junipers were exposed 

to the intense heat, they literally exploded.

Then a huge puff of black smoke ascends.

It was reported that this fire burned 2000 acres in two hours.

It was clear we needed to do something to help someone somewhere.

Gord was in the BIG tractor making a fire break for the
Shepherds.  Dad called him and he suggested we go see if it was
possible to make a fire break with a tractor for Robinsons.  

It appeared they would need it soon!

This is what we saw as we headed up to Andrew and Celeste's.

Fire trucks were already parked near Jensons. (Reid and Mary Bankhead's home)

Lynn Bateman said, "Get everyone out of here, I don't think we can stop it!"

Planes had already arrived to launch an air attack.  This 

brick terrace is south of Robinson's front door.

Many were there loading up what Robinson's felt was most important

 to take with them as they evacuated.  Some of the people were here

 for the 24th and Robinson's didn't even know them. The same was

 happening at each of the eight homes in the current path of the fire.

We headed home to get the farm's big tractor and plow.  We just couldn't give up yet.

A road block had been set up at Powell Lane.
These next  photos show they had good reason.

The flames were super close to the road and gaining ground.

 

The following pictures were taken from home.

Dad headed out on the 4 wheeler to get the tractor and I headed back to town.  

I stopped on the road that  goes to the dairy to observe and take some pictures.

This is when the miracle occurred.  The wind had been hot, dry and 

very strong from the south.  Suddenly it died down and a slight breeze 

began blowing the fire back into itself.  The flames quickly diminished.  

I had a calm feeling that the homes and property of
our community members were safe.

I looked up just as Dad went by on his way to Robinsons.

I could still see the fire shifting as he headed up the road.
With the calm feeling I had, I decided to just go back to the park
and have dinner with Brian, Darcy and Rocky.

 From the onset, Shepherds has been the base operation camp for the whole event.

This is what I saw from the park as I sat down to the
 usual Levan 24th feast!(Dad had our tickets in his back pocket,
 but they let me a get a plate for us both.) 

I decided to take Dad's dinner home and get it refrigerated.  

The highway was closed, so I went down through the fields.

That's when the real show began!  This is the small 

plane emptying a load of flame retardant and new seed.

This shot shows how close to Shepherds he was laying his load.

Good ole 41 flew over after making the drop so I took his picture.

The line he left was pretty close to Shepherds.

Then the main event showed up from Idaho!  It was a huge jet that costs 

$200,000 per drop. I was lucky enough to catch his expensive show.

An expensive show requires more than one shot. :)

This is the BIG GUY from Idaho.  He flew over so I took his picture.

By then the sun was setting.

This is what the foot hills looked like by then.

As the sun was setting, a surprise resource landed in field across from Uncle Marv's.

The ground crew pulled the equipment out from under the helicopter. 

He made one drop on the fire before it was too dark to continue the air attack. 

I love this shot because it captured two planes as well.

As darkness set in, the mountains sparkled with hotspots.

Things died down over night.

 These were taken from home the next morning.

This was taken from the stop  sign at the east end of  Powell Lane the morning of July 25th. 

 After taking Bethany and Sarah Jane to the airport, I noticed a big 

black cloud moving quickly over the ridge as I approached Powell Lane.

 It turned out to be a BIG soot filled, dusty devil that
broke up as it crashed into the hillside. 

One of the only perks of a fire is the lovely sunsets it produces. 7/25/14

There were still hot spots the next night.

  This is what we see every time we drive into town.   Our hill is BLACK!

 The base camp is still at Dave and Linda Shepherd's as
crews work to contain the perimeter.  7/27/14