Thank you, Alina Talbott, for sharing your photos of the 2019 Fairmont Canyon Fire.
Alina sent us the following: “Here are some photos of the 2019 Fairmont Canyon fire that were taken from our back yard. The final photo looking across Fairmont towards our home (the yellow, lowest one in the middle), shows we’ve done a ton of clearing for fire safety, and it takes the efforts of all Canyon homeowners to achieve fire safety for all.
On the day of the fire we prepared for evacuation, but what we weren’t prepared for was the gathering of people outside our home eager to see what was happening.
I first had trouble reaching my house fast enough because of cars slowly trolling our street to find an advantage spot to watch the fire. The fire was just across Aldine and threatening an easy leap to our back yard if the wind shifted at all. My husband was inside trying to gather our valuables and animals by himself. We quickly realized we couldn’t safely pack our car with our valuables and leave it unattended as we went in for more because there were dozens of random people loitering out front. We were torn between having the car loaded with our “go gear and valuables” and possibly saving the home by hosing down the roof and backyard. We called on a nearby friend to stand guard at the car while we secured the yard and home. Randoms were actually trying to get through our yard (without permission) to get a better view of the fire behind us and take pictures. It was unsettling on so many levels.
Another lesson I learned was that I cannot be trusted to pack reasonable attire in a “go bag” under stress. I’m really glad we didn’t actually end up displaced! We were very lucky.
The next week I took dozens of “thank you” cookies to the local fire fighters that defended our homes.”
