Redwood Valley, California — October 18, 2017
On October 18th, 2017, I joined friend and fellow photographer, Ciege Lucero, on a visit to Redwood Valley, California to document the destruction and to speak with victims of the Redwood Valley Wildfire that ravaged the area earlier in the week.
While walking along the driveways of the ruined homes, we first met Denise Barclay, a resident of the Mountain Meadow Subdivision and her granddaughter when she arrived to survey the damage. Initially she assumed we were with the insurance company, assessing damage. However, when we let her know we were not, she understandably became very protective and direct regarding our presence. Particularly due to the potential for looting in the area. So as professionals, it was our duty to approach and announce ourselves more clearly and to ease the stress we may have caused.
Thankfully, we were successful in our attempt and assured her that our primary goal was to document and record their experiences, in order to share their stories and spread awareness at the reality facing the victims.
Once we explained our intentions, Denise quickly opened up and began to share her account of the terrifying night the wildfire came to Redwood Valley.
Denise described the moments when the fire itself peaked over the mountain around 1:30AM and quickly raged down into the valley, engulfing the area in less than 15 minutes.
There were no alarms, no warnings. It was only through the heroism of her neighbor Katrina, a fifth grade teacher, and her husband Steve, a construction crane operator, that most lives in this community were saved. Unfortunately and most tragically of all, two of the nine lives taken by the Redwood Valley Wildfire — Roy Howard Bowman, 87, and Irma Elsie Bowman, 88 — were here on Fisher Lake Drive.
“I’ve been in the valley since I was 4 and I’m.. 66… My late husband and I built a house over here, which burned to the ground… which happened to be a honey oil place… So you were hearing all these butane things cooking off! And then, my current husband and I moved into town for 5 years. I said I have to go back home, back to the valley. So we came back out here in 92.”
Says Denise of her life in the area and firm decision on staying in Redwood Valley.
AUDIO DISCUSSION: http://recasper.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Denise-RedwoodValley_01.mp3
Before we left her and her granddaughter to continue recovering their personal items, she was even kind enough to take a moment and show us glassware heirlooms she had found the previous day: a series of aged mementos that help offer comfort, if even in the slightest, during an otherwise heart-wrenching situation. This was a moving experience that only urged us to go further.
To others I have spoken with, I always find myself prefacing with the fact that this destruction can not be fully understood in words, video or photo form. Though we have tried with all our might to do so, it’s a sensory overload that hits with a physical and emotional punch.
From the burning ash that lingers in the air, the crunch of scorched land beneath you shoe, the debris filled footprint of what was once a home, the fields of stripped and blackened trees, the eerie quiet from a thin wildlife population, the smoking cracks in the earth, the streams of melted aluminum beneath abandoned metal shells of bikes, cars and trucks… and most impactful of all, the complex pain, behind powerfully positive and still optimistic faces on the victims we met and the extent to which they are willing to help out neighbors and strangers alike.
Among many of the stories we gathered from our trip, we were also approached by local resident, Gizmo, who took it upon himself to stop on the side of the road and offer us water and snacks. Gizmo lived less than a mile away, a volunteer fireman and one of the lucky ones to have the fire stop at the edge of his property, sparing his home. However, his retelling of the event, where the fire raged down the mountainside and the waves of people he witnessed fleeing along the road, many in their pajamas (Evac Time 1:30AM)… was enough to weaken the strongest of knees.
Gizmo had been driving back and forth along Fisher Lake Drive and the adjacent Tomki Road every day since the wildfire, offering whatever he could to the victims and first responders he comes across.
The kindness he demonstrated, was beyond admirable and along with the heroism of Katrina and Steve, the heartbreak but high hopes of Denise and her granddaughter, as well as the come-togetherness of countless unnamed neighbors… are a testament to the granite-like fortitude and unyielding kindness of the human spirit.
It’s truly depressing, that only in the worst of times… do we find the best in each other.
Following our survey of Fisher Lake Drive, we ventured across the street to check out the still operational, Frey Vineyards Winery. The main lodge had been destroyed, as well as most of their heavy equipment. However, the most of the wine silos remained unscathed and the owners informed us that even though they were incredibly saddened by the damage, they wanted to assure their customers that the Winery was still bottling and shipping.
At the time, they were in the process of repairing the bottling apparatus and were getting ready finalizing their product. An impressive site to see.
We spent an hour or so at the winery, awaiting the arrival of Tucker, a high school friend of Ciege’s, who invited us to join him on a trip to the land share he co-owned on the side of a nearby mountain peak.
Without question, we jumped in his truck and moved along the needle thin road they had built themselves over the course of the last 12 years. Charred trees and sticks littered the area, a stomach-churning cliff hung ominously to our left, smoldering roots of trees bellowed smoke from cracks in the ash covered ground and juxtaposed against this dreadscape, was a magnificent vista offering visibility for miles along the valley… Needless to say, we found the setting eerily haunting and naturally beautiful.
The second video above, was taken in the mountains of Redwood Valley.
Upon reaching their main community area, we immediately discovered the extent of their loss. With the exception of a couple of large water bladders, a few salvaged products and his motocross tracks… their homes, vehicles, trailers, material possessions and most of their equipment had been destroyed and left as a burned shell of what it once was.
Tucker was the first to witness the red glow creeping over the mountain and within less than 40 minutes of when he first dialed 911, the Redwood Valley Wildfire had marched down the mountain, through the valley and back up the next, destroying nearly everything in its path.
Again, similarly to Denise and Gizmo, Tucker displayed a sense of steadfastness and positivity that was beyond commendable. Speaking with these individuals instilled in me a feeling of faith in the human spirit, proving that, through perseverance and the help of neighbors and strangers alike, this too can pass and life for those remaining will eventually carry on.
But that message is not without a warning to all who read this post… Preparation and awareness is paramount in potential disaster zones… when fire attacks, do not delay… drop everything and FLEE! No material item in the world is worth risking one’s life… A fire can blanket an area with unbelievable speed and power.
An out of control inferno — like that of the Redwood Valley, Tubbs, Nuns and Atlas, as well as numerous others out here in California — moves like a living organism, hell bent on consuming everything in it’s path… and when you hesitate, it will track and take you, without mercy.
All I can say is, please do not forget. Please help where you can and above all, please… PLEASE, double check your smoke detector batteries regularly, always water cleanse your campfire, never throw spent cig butts out the window and, well, you get the point…
My heart breaks at the devastation.
But thanks to the efforts of the local and surrounding Fire Departments, volunteers and First Responders, the Redwood Valley Wildfire was officially declared 100% contained on October 26th, 2017.
Redwood Valley Wildfire Disaster Information:
- First Spotted: October 8, 2017
- Contained: October 26, 2017
- County: Mendocino County
- Location: North of Hwy 20, W of Mendocino National Forest, S of Black Bart
- Acres Burned: 36,523 acres
- Structures Destroyed: 545 destroyed, 43 damaged
- Fatalities: 9
To donate or offer support, please visit The California Fire Foundation.
[Article originally published at RECasper.com]
