We went to the apartment complex that was down the road from the school where they had blocked the road off. The view from there was phenomenal. We watched as a massive smoke cloud raced east with the wind up above the 100 apartment buildings that were three stories high. Very sobering if you think about it because the smoke cloud made those buildings look insignificant. That wasn't good enough. We decided to try our luck and race down Highway 31 to see if we could get a better view; a closer view of the carnage that was taking over our county.
We were "lucky" enough to get to that spot before they shut the highway down. Yes, authorities were within minutes of shutting down a major back roads highway because of a catastrophe. What we witnessed was unreal.
We arrived about a half mile in front of the head of the fire. It was without a doubt coming to Highway 31 soon. There were eight lanes of blacktop and a grassy median between the fields behind us and the forest that would soon be engulfed in flames. Like many others, we were taking pictures of the smoke cloud. From this vantage point, we could see near the base of the cloud where the flames dance within turning it from dismal gray to crimson and back again. The smoke rolled and got closer. We began to see flames through the trees first here or there and then without notice, the tree line just behind the frontage road melted away to angry orange and tangerine flames and we could feel the heat on our face. I could hear my son telling me that we had to go with an urgency I had never heard from him before. But his little voice seemed so far away. It was unreal and I was living in a slow motion live play of a disaster that I could not yet grasp.
As my face warmed in the heat of the oncoming fire, I looked to the sky to see a bright dot through the clouds. The smoke had blocked out the sun and left only a memory of where it was. My eyes then refocused and for a moment I thought it was raining but it was different somehow. Yes, it was not rain, it was ashes pouring down on us as we were downwind from the firestorm. I was awestruck. I was brought back to my senses by my daughter calling to me from the back of the van. "Mommy! I want to get out and tell Daddy something!" "No," was my reply "you cannot get out of the van." She insisted as she pointed to the fields behind us. I didn't pay those fields much attention when we arrived because the people there had sprinklers on trying to saturate the land and make it unattractive to the fire. But I was shocked to see that the fire had began to jump the Highway and ignite the fields behind us. Immediately, I halfway climbed out my window and sat on the door and diverted my husband's attention to the fields. He apparently was just as surprised as me when I watched him turn to catch the spread on our camcorder.
I hear shouts from across the median and see officials waving onlookers to go on to the next exit. They were closing the Highway. The fire has arrived. I called to my husband and he runs to the van. As I am getting in, I see ground level smoke rolling casually up the frontage road as if to attack a vulnerable spot on the highway. I imagine the flames and smoke working in concert and planning its attacks. 'Get their flanks! Kill them all!'
We were feet from the next exit which was Water tower road. It was already filled with stopped cars and people standing in the road. There was only feet of the road open as the authorities had already shut down the western end of the road. When we got off the exit, we had to cross the bridge and come back. When we slowly rolled to the apex of the bridge I looked out the passenger side of the van to see that the smoke and flames had already consumed the spot where we just were. We were as close to Hell as I had ever wanted to be and it became a stark reality for me because all I kept thinking was that WE WERE JUST SITTING THERE GAWKING LIKE SOME TOURIST!!!!
We hit Highway 22 and went home. Later the next day, we find out that the fire covered 23 miles and at one point was four miles wide. Nearly 70 homes were destroyed, another 100 damaged and at one count, 2,500 evacuated. The governor had declared a state of emergency for Horry County. Schools were closed and events cancelled as businesses scrambled to take in food, water, and people. Pictures raged across the Internet, local television and newspapers. Stories of lost pets and people who had lost everything but their lives. Elsewhere in the county, my family included, phones were ringing off the hook and email in-boxes were filled and social networking sites flooded with postings as the rest of the country began to have their eye turned to Myrtle Beach. Yes, dear family far far away, we were about 10 miles from that fire and we are just fine. There is ash falling from the sky and we can still see smoke from that fire but we were saved.
As we left from under the smoke cover and began the journey home, my son was in the back seat singing the sunny song. Yes, I believe he was relieved to be leaving from there. It was the most dramatic experience for me in a long time. I feel for the people who had lost everything but, I am grateful for still having my home and a place to go to. Thanks for all the well wishes and keep Horry County in your hearts as it will soon begin the process of rebuilding after the destruction locally called the 31 Fire.
No comments:
Post a Comment