#bridge fire

Got evacuated due to the Bridge Fire. Got the pets, electronics, meds, and vital docs. Didn't have time or resources to get the sheep out. They are safe and have food and water as long as the wind remains favorable until the firefighters get things under control. That northwest wind is my best friend right now.

I made a couple zines, one about my first anniversary on the ranch and one about being evacuated, which you can buy to help with evacuation expenses:

It began about 1:00 PM on a Tuesday.  My husband and I were preparing to take our usual taco run to Hesperia for Taco Tuesday, when I noticed the cloud smoke that had appeared above our house.  Other observers called it a “mushroom cloud” over our community of Wrightwood.  I went outside and took a picture because it was an unusual color and had appeared rather suddenly. We had been monitoring the Line Fire that started in Highland and had moved up the mountains towards Running Springs, Arrowhead, and Big Bear -  not too far from us. But the fire had not been moving in our direction.  I checked the reports to see if a new fire had started nearer to Wrightwood.  The Bridge Fire seemed to be closest, but the reports showed that it was still miles away.  So, my husband and I went to get our taco lunch.  And going all the way to Hesperia also meant doing a bit of grocery shopping as we were out of a few essentials like milk and bread. 

On the way down, at the intersection of Hwy 2, which is the main road to Wrightwood, and Hwy 138 which travels perpendicular to Hwy 2 and led to Interstate 15 in Cajon Pass, there was smoke pouring up from West Cajon Valley and traveling up Hwy 2.  We wondered where it could be coming from but decided it was probably a product of the fires on the other side of the pass.  Hwy 138 goes over the Interstate and up into those mountains.

When we came out of the market at about 2:30 PM, the South side of the Victor Valley and the San Bernardino Mountains were covered with clouds of smoke.  There were great plumes of smoke pouring off the tops of the mountains on the East Side of Cajon Pass.  My husband and I stopped to take pictures.

Toward the pass was nothing but smoke clouds.  But toward Victorville and North on I-15, it was essentially clear.  However, the wind was quickly moving the smoke in that direction.  And the source seemed to be the San Bernardino Mountains not the San Gabriel Mountains where the Bridge Fire was burning.

When we started home, we were seeing conditions we had never seen before in Wrightwood during any other wildfire we had experienced.  Even the Sheep Fire that started on the edge of town and ravaged the landscape on Highway 2 below our community didn’t produce this much smoke.  And the smoke had a distinct red cast to it. We took photos out of the front window of our car as we drove up the highway.  Soon we were inside the cloud of red smoke and ash.  It certainly had an otherworldly feel as we drove home.  And it seemed much later than the 4:00 PM it actually was when we arrived home.  All the streetlights and business signs were lit.  People had their nighttime headlights on.  And when we opened our car door, we were greeted by the chirping of the crickets who thought it was night already.  We were surrounded by smoke and ash that can only be described as “mists of darkness” that shielded us from the light of the sun.

Ironically, the following Sunday in Sunday School our teacher talked about the mists of darkness in the world that can lead us away from the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  These mists of darkness are described in the Book of Mormon as, “the temptations of the devil, which blindeth the eyes, and hardeneth the hearts of the children of men, and leadeth them away into broad roads, that they perish and are lost.”  (1 Nephi 12:17).

And she shared a quote from our prophet, Russell M. Nelson to help us navigate the mists of darkness in our lives. “Here is my promise. Nothing will help you more to hold fast to the iron rod than worshipping in the temple as regularly as your circumstances permit. Nothing will protect you more as you encounter the world’s mists of darkness. Nothing will bolster your testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ and His Atonement or help you understand God’s magnificent plan more. Nothing will soothe your spirit more during times of pain. Nothing will open the heavens more. Nothing! The temple is the gateway to the greatest blessings God has for each of us.”

In the end Wrightwood was spared any major destruction. Although no evacuation warning came, by 5:00 PM there was a mandatory evacuation order issued for our entire community. As we left, most of us feared the worst as did many of the responding firefighters. According to the official reports, it was probably only the cooperation and prior preparation of our community that saved our homes. (There were several news stories done about this including the one from the LA Times featured here: https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2024-09-23/bridge-fire-wrightwood-wildfire-protection-home-hardening

It wasn’t the fire we knew about and could see in front of us that ultimately almost destroyed our community. It was the fire we couldn’t see that displayed "uncharacteristic behavior" that rapidly advanced toward our location. And probably because we were committed enough to be prepared, our neighborhoods survived.

Modern scripture tell us that, when the mists of darkness we call life’s challenges come, preparation is the key. We have been told that “If ye are prepared ye shall not fear” (D&C 38:30).

The primary preparation needed is also set forth in the Doctrine and Covenants, wherein it says, “Wherefore, stand ye in holy places, and be not moved, until the day of the Lord come” (D&C 87:8). And the most holy place of them all is the House of the Lord – the temple. That is one reason why my husband and I volunteer to work there once a week.