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Show THE OGDEN VALLEY NEWS Page 8 Volume VIII Issue IX August 15, 2003 FIRE cont. from page 7 raced. Then they came over a hill and her house was fine! She could breathe again. Larry and the children were busy loading the truck with necessities. The police helped Christine as she grabbed insurance documents, sentimental belongings, photo albums, clothes and her dogs. As they drove away the flames crept closer and closer to their beloved home in the mountains. Jacqualynn looked back and knew that she had never felt as scared in her whole young life. She might never see her house again. By late afternoon the small restaurant at Red Rock was crowded with evacuees, firefighters, and reporters. They were all being fed by Jan and Marci. Soon a familiar line was heard by these hungry, thirsty, anxious people when they wanted to pay. “No – I’m afraid your money’s no good here!” They served food into the night as firemen and women with smoke blackened faces came and went. By the time the women of Red Rock began cleaning up at around 2:00 a.m., they had made 200 hamburgers, 20 lbs of chicken, 120 lbs. of fries, and countless cups of coffee and drinks. While the Shupe family sat eating cheesy fries and hamburgers at Red Rock, they were contemplating sleeping in their truck at a nearby camping ground that night. No one was allowed to go into Evergreen, Sourdough, or Beaver Creek. The fire was about 50% contained. Just then a call came through to Red Rock from Snowberry Inn Bed and Breakfast. It was Jaci Casale who manages the bed and breakfast located down in the Valley on the banks of Pineview Reservoir with her husband Joe. Jaci called to let Marcy know that if any of the evacuees needed a room that night, there would be a place for them at the Snowberry Inn. Joe Casale, a volunteer fire fighter, had just sat down for something to eat after a long day of fire fighting. He was listening to the Shupe family’s plans for the night when Marci made the announcement of Jaci’s generous offer. Joe smiled when he listened—the same thought had just crossed his mind. And, as so many people had done since disaster struck up in the mountains, Joe confirmed Jaci’s offer, and told the Shupe family, and any one else who needed a place, to follow him back home down the mountain to the Snowberry Inn. Christine will always remember that night at Snowberry Inn, and Jaci’s gracious hospitality and good food. “Jaci even let our dogs stay in the basement!” Christine exclaimed. “The Snowberry landlords did all of this while they were planning to host a wedding!” Christine felt overwhelmed thinking that they had to clean their rooms again for the wedding after they left. They did not want her to help. “Don’t worry; we do this all the time!” Other businesses in the Valley also stepped up to the plate when they heard of the fire. Jim Halay from Alpine Pizza donated his famous piled-high-with-the-freshestingredients pizzas for lunch on Tuesday, enough to feed hundreds of people. This time Red Rock’s money “wasn’t any good” when they wanted to pay Jim. On Tuesday afternoon, home owners started congregating on Red Rock’s deck for a meeting called by the Fire Marshall. Firefighters told Lorraine Garcia that their trailer was gone. “Our boy lives right above us . . .” she said. “His trailer is also gone.” She and her husband won’t replace their home in the mountains. Jesse Shupe sat at the table next to Lorraine. “My dad saw your trailer going up and there was nothing he could do. He was standing there, and all of the sudden it just blew up!” Many sad stories were told as people waited to hear if they could go and see if their homes were still standing. Some of the places were grand but some were very modest – owned by people who had saved up to built their dream “little get-away cabin” themselves, or had saved up for a modest trailer and pulled it up the mountain to have a place to relax away from their 9 to 5 jobs. The deck was crowded—concerned faces all around—neighbors trying to give each other hope. A man in his 30’s recognized an old friend in the crowd. There was concern on the old timer’s face – he didn’t know if his place in the mountains was safe. Then his young friend and neighbor walked over to him, put his arm around him, and grasped his hand. “I’m sorry my friend…” He answered the old man’s unspoken question. “It’s gone…” The bit of hope on the old timer’s face evaporated. The younger man explained how he climbed a mountain on the opposite side of the canyon and looked through his binoculars at the area where their homes stood. He saw that everything above the cabin of doors was gone, including his old friends’ place. Then the Fire Marshall clears his throat and everyone is silent. “I’m happy to report that the fire is 100% contained! You can all go home now.” Some people cheer. They are the ones that figured out that their homes are safe. Others are happy that the waiting is over, but are scared what they might find when they arrive at their homes. “Only one cabin and seven trailers are lost! And no one hurt!” The Fire Marshall says. All agree that it could have been so much worse, but you can see on their faces, the worried looks and the unspoken questions. “What if my place is one of the ones that burned down?” Some get into their cars and trucks and drive away in a cloud of dust – not willing to face the uncertainty anymore. Others know after looking at the map that pinpoints the area where the fire had burned everything – they are sure that their places are gone. Some want to go and look at the place where they had spent so many happy times, and others do not even want to see it. They get into their cars and drive down the mountain, back to their every day lives. The Cummins from Riverdale drove to their two-story cabin and discovered that it was gone in the fire. Fifteen years they lived there, enjoying every minute. Now they saw that the flames destroyed it. Only the crumbled metal roof is left, resting on a pile of white ash. “It’s like a war zone,” Donald Cummins says as he looks at the devastation. They were at the cabin the weekend before the fire. They had sat on the grass, looking at the mountains, and had remarked about how beautiful it all was, how fortunate they were to have a cabin in the mountains. Jesse Shupe and his family were one of the lucky ones. Their house looked exactly the same as when they had left. The blackened fields above their house remind them exactly how lucky they were. And not far from them, where it all started, just below the backhoe that sent off that spark – stands the cabin of doors, unharmed. The burned out trees and brush are evidence of how the cowboys from Red Rock had stopped the flames in its tracks. When the sun begins to set behind the black, burnt mountains, Mickey Zuidema drives up Water Canyon road to look at the aftermath. He stops at the cabin of doors still amazed that they stopped the fire. Just then the owners of the cabin pull up in their truck. Stan and Bill Morrell walk over to Mickey. “Isn’t this wonderful? We were told that someone saved our cabin! We do not even know who they are.” Mickey explains how it all happened. Stan and Bill grab Mickey’s hand and pump it up and down for some time, unable to find the right words. This cabin meant a lot to them and their extended family. Locals saw the cabin going up many years ago. That’s when it got its peculiar name. The Morrells used old doors of all colors instead of siding, and the “cabin of doors” came to be! They’ve had many family reunions here and now, thanks to the Red Rock cowboys, there will be many more! “We’re taking all of you guys out for a great steak dinner!” Stan and Bill tell Mickey. Behind them the cabin stood safe and sound, outlined against the black rolling hills that once were green ********************* A week after the fire Jan Yoak sits at a table at her restaurant at Red Rock. At first she struggles to find the right words to describe her newfound admiration for her neighbors up in the mountains and down in the valley, and people she does not know from Adam. “You know how they say? Tragedy brings out the best and the worst in people? Well, I’m here to tell you all that what I saw was the best in people! Strangers pitched up and said. “What can we do to help?” Good Samaritans were coming out of the walls. Everyone bonded to fight this unfolding tragedy. All of a sudden we were all in it together! “You know the radio program . . . the rest of the story with Paul Harvey? Well this is the rest of the story! It was so much more than us giving away free food! Letters of thank you came from all over. Girl scouts from Salt Lake City wrote little thank you notes. A small business in Salt Lake City (Doolan Ind.) called: “Can we do anything to help?” The general public that wasn’t even involved in the fire helped out and sent letters, and some even included checks of $10 and $100! The money does not begin to offset the expenses, but the public needs to know how great they are!” Jan says with emphasis. “We were all Americans here, fighting a fierce enemy, together! Our firemen were incredible but so were the people!” To her, Red Rock’s part in this tragedy was small compared to what the people did—neighbors, people in the valley, in Ogden and in Salt Lake City! “It went far beyond us feeding the people,” she says with awe in her voice. “People arrived leaving donations and strangers came forward, saying that they have food handling licenses and helped cook the food! A certain Michelle stood next to me for hours cooking hamburgers. Eventually I turned to her and said, “I do not even know your name!” And when Red Rock ran out of food . . . Jan’s voice trembled, “Strangers and neighbors drove down to the Valley Market and bought more meat and stuff so we could make more hamburgers and chicken dinners.” After awhile, Jan said thoughtfully, “Out of the ashes of Evergreen came some of the most wonderful experiences.” Valley Specialist-Also serving Weber, Davis, Morgan, Box Elder & Cache Counties These are my current transactions: LD LD LD SO SO Eden $190,000 MLS#309906 2723 North 5100 East Eden Roy $113,900 MLS#317608 4239 West 5325 South Roy $105,900 MLS#327205 1016 Maxfield Drive Ogden $189,900 MLS#358794 LD SO RC Perry 2460 South 1050 West Perry LD RA T ON RC SO Ogden CT CT RA T ON LD SO SO DE DE UN UN N. Ogden $145,900 MLS#351777 275 West 1650 North N. 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