Thank you all once again. They opened the roads today, so the evacuees began streaming in. I went on a FB group that has been focusing on the fire and, since I could get into the evacuated fire zones as I work for a utility, I offered the same invitation to my neighbors as I did to our brother here. The requests for pet/house checks were overwhelming, but what really "hit home" was when I began posting pics of homes that had not burned. I took my digital camera and simply began driving down the roads clicking away. I uploaded the pics and the responses were nothing short of remarkable. You see, many of the evacuees had no idea and if one was to go by the maps, entire neighborhoods were overrun you see. Anyway, people began seeing their homes and the responses were like "That's my house! Thank you so much! We thought it burned!"...Really brought a tear to my eye knowing that I helped these folks and that they could finally rest knowing their homes were intact.
I believe I got enough invitations for a lunch or a cold beer to last the next 2 years. LOL!
On a more somber note, today I entered a new area further out as a FB member asked that I check on a home where a Labrador was in the home as the owners were out of town when the fire went through.
I drove up to a smoldering rubble and the body of a beloved dog. I cried. It broke my heart to tell them, but they thanked me anyway. So sad.
