Angora Fire, The Aftermath.

The following photos some viewers may find shocking, I certainly do. I would like to assure everyone looking that when we got theses photos we showed nothing but respect. We touched nothing, disturbed nothing. The only time we actually got close was in Lee's yard when we were invited, and also in one yard with a swingset because for some reason that house touched us deeply. Still we touched nothing.
Walking around it was unexpectly hot. It was a hot day in Tahoe at 90 degrees, but in the burnt areas it was hotter. Ron says its because there were less trees for shade. I think part of it was the blackened ground absorbing the suns rays. At any rate we could not stand in one spot long, our feet actually felt like they were burning.
I admit I was not prepared for what I saw. My friend Jeanna was with me and she was just as shocked. We noticed that of all thoe homes spared 90% of them had defensible space, something the TRPA (Tahoe Regional Planning Agency) makes it very hard to do legally. The spared homes had lawns, space between then and the trees. We also notice that on any given block that we viewed all but a few homes were burned. In some cases a home stood unscathed where every single home surrounding it burned to the ground. It was eerie and amazing all at once. We saw homes barely touched, with only surface damage, burnt wood and fences, and siding melted clean off. Metal furniture twisted and bent to the point some of it was unrecognizable.
In the movies you see the aftermath of fires and you see things like photographs poking up from the ashes. We saw nothing of the sort, everything was gone. The only things people found they had to dig for and nothing was truly salvagable. People told us of how they found all the silverware melted into a hunk, and jewelry melted where the jewely box once stood. People were walking around calling to pets who had run away when the fire came, desperatly hoping their pets would return to them.
What I saw today broke my heart. I saw the lives of hundrends of people destroyed by the careless act of one person or group of people. I saw the haunted expressions, the pain. I saw a man look me in the eye and tell me "we are ok, its been a week now" but I knew what he really wanted was to scream and cry.

I will never forget what I saw today. Never. I cried for everyone today, all the people who lost everything they owned, the lost pets, lost dreams, lost memories.


***If while viewing you see something you can identify and would like a caption added please email me. If you see your property and would like me to remove it please let me know and I will be happy to comply.***

Wightman Home

While walking around taking photos I said "I wonder where Lee's house is?" and as it turns out we were only 50 feet down the road, the area was just so devastated I didn't recognize it untill I saw Lee's truck. A family of 5, everything gone... everything. Lee told us his story. The family had been at the beach when the fire started, they realized it was close to home and raced across town to get there. When they arrived they were given 5 minutes to get things and get out. The home behind theirs was already on fire and the fence dividing their yards was on fire too. When they arrived and opened the door one of their dogs got loose and Lee's son started chasing him. In the end all the time they had was spent retrieving their pets, they got no photos, no heirlooms, nothing. As Lee talked I felt my heart breaking into 1000 pieces. Every so often from the ashes of the home one of his children would shout "Dad look, I found some baseball cards!" or "I found almost all of my dance shoes" and my heart would break even more.

The Wightman family remains in our thoughts and prayers.

These are aluminum rims, melted as you can see.


Lee said "This is all thats left of my 2 stroke motor" as he threw this chunk of melted metal across what remained of his yard... his life.
This was actually my husband Ron's truck, we gave it to Lee last year. You can't tell by looking, but when this truck had tires on it you needed steps to get into it.

Behind the wheel of Ron's old Chevy.

This is the view from across the street when I looked up and realized Lee's house was right there. Thats children (young teens) digging though what was once their bedrooms looking for any memories they can find.
We stood under this skeleton of a tree while we spoke.

Coyote Ridge, utter devastation.

The house in the back on the left was spared, but in the last photos in this post you can see that the flames did reach it. The house in the foreground was not so lucky.
This is the fence I believe of the house in the foreground of the above photo.

This was the first home we saw as we parked and started our walk.
I'm not sure how the street sign is standing when the snow markers are melted in half.

This home was spared, but you can see how close it was to burning.

More Coyote Ridge

We were amazed to see new growth already.
This was a jacuzzi

You might have seen this swingset on the news, I know I did.
It appears a fishtank stood here, I am guessing the bucket shown melted was probably used for fish and it was in the cabinet under the tank.

There were bits of burnt hose everywhere.

More Coyote Ridge

These photos were all taken on the 4th of July
There are hundreds of signs like this one all over town.

All that remains.

Coyote Ridge 1

This was at one time a bunkbed, likely a childs room.



A melted mailbox. The girls in the background belong to a friend of ours, their home burnt to the ground.
Ironic.

The home directly next to this one was untouched.

Only the shed remains.

Devastsation, Mt. Ranier @ Mt. Diablo

This is Mt. Ranier, most of the homes were gone in this area.

This home we are calling the "Gargoyle House" because my friends husband recently painted it and the Gargoyle's on the porch were memorable to him. He said the owners were really nice and I think he said they served him refreshments while he worked. I believe it was a multi-million dollar home, this and the shed are all that remains. The home next door (with the 'thank you' sign on the garage) was the ONLY one on this block standing. It did not appear to have been touched.


Despite loosing everything, these people still managed to place American Flags and red white and blue balloons on their property.