THE CAUSE OF THE BIG LAKE FIRE

I will never forget that day in June my husband came home and told me his friend is coming to our house. My husband wanted to make sure the boat we had did not have any leaks. The way to do it was to put the boat in the water at Big Lake Alaska When his friend came we all headed to Big Lake. It was windy and warm that day. When we arrived at Big Lake they put the boat in the water. I waited onshore for them to come back, I was watching my husband. He was close to the shore checking the motor on the boat. I thought to myself we did not have to come here. Why make the ten minute trip and waste gas in the car! I knew the boat was in great condition and the motor was too. But better to be safe than sorry! My husband was going down the river with the boat and he wanted it in tip-top condition. They were playing around on the lake and having a good time,

I was looking at them to see what they were doing. But then something caught my eye! I looked and saw big black smoke going into the sky! Then I saw big flames and I thought to myself OMG the woods was on fire! I went to the shoreline and I yelled to them to come in, I pointed my hand to the fire. They looked and saw what I saw black smoke and big flames. They came to shore right away, they wasted no time to put the boat on the trailer. We all got into the car we put the seat belts on and drove home. That night we listen to the radio and they said the fire was not contained. I told my husband I was worried about the fire. He told me they will get the fire under control and for me not to worry. I said to him I seen the fire and it was growing fast. I said to him have you forgotten that it is windy. I had a funny feeling that this was not good, and I had a bad intuition!

That night I couldn't sleep I could not get the fire out of my mind. What I witnessed was awful and the wind did not stop, making the fire worse. I did manage to get a little sleep but I said to myself this is bad. I got up had coffee and then I talked to my girlfriend. She told me the fire got worse overnight and it is out of control! I told her I know she was afraid that the fire could come to her place. She lived close to Big Lake where the fire started. I told her to get a hose and, water the roof of your home and lawn. I said to her have Dug do that maybe by hosing down everything it would help. Dug did water the roof and ground on his property.

I was thinking I should do the same but I could not find the hose. My husband was at work and I did not want to bother him. At the time I did not know the fire situation was becoming worse by the minute. I had the radio on just in case they said something about the fire. My girlfriend said it was all smokie at her home and she was breathing the smoke. That is when I went outside I could smell the smoke from the fire! I am allergic to the smoke and it was getting worse! I decided to go inside our home and stay there. I did not want to go outside anymore because of the smoke. I listened to the radio and they were saying to stay inside. People with hypertension should not go outside because of the smoke.

The next two days would be worse than the first day I saw the fire! The third day came and the fire was not contained at all. My husband went to work but he came home for lunch. He went and retrieved his picture Album and took it with him to work. After he left I got a knock on the door, it was a fireman. He told me to be prepared to leave the property as soon as possible. I said to him the fire must be really bad! The fireman said to me yes it is and evacuation is for this street. The fireman left and I got on the phone and called my husband. I told him an evacuation is for this street to please come home right away! He said he will tell his boss and come home. In the meantime, I gathered all the pictures and put them in the car. I also put the two safes into the car, and I started to get all the camping gear and I made sure I had my medicine and stuff for the dogs

My husband came home and helped me put everything in the car. My car was small but I could put a lot of things in the car. I told him the firemen will be closing this road. When we leave we will not be able to come back. When we had everything in the car I had my two dogs follow me to the car. My toy poodles love riding in the car they are great passengers! I got in the car and put my seat belt on the drove out of the driveway. I had put blankets in the back seat in case we needed them. In the excitement of getting the items together, I thought I forgot the dogs. I turned the car around and I drove into our street, there was a fireman. He said to me you can't come down the street. I told him I live on this street, and I forgot my dog at the house. He let me go to my house but he said to make it quick!

When I arrived at the house I called the dogs and they did not come. Then I said to myself I put the dogs in this car, but where are they? I got out of the car and I looked under the blankets and they were sleeping. My dog Nickie loved to sleep under the covers. The dogs crawled under there and made themselves comfortable! I immediately drove the car out of the driveway and down the road. There was the fireman and I told him I have my dogs in the car. I thanked him for letting me go and check my home. I asked him how close the fire is to my house, he told me very close. I was really worried about our home. I knew the firemen would try to save my home but I prayed it would not burn! A mobile home would go up in flames really fast, we could loose our home. I sure did not want that to happen, I talked with my husband and he told me we can stay overnight at my daughters in Anchorage.

I said that is fine then we would stay there tonight. He also said that we can stay at his mom's church I said o.k. I wanted to see my daughter so I drove to Anchorage to her home. When I got there she was waiting for me she told me she would make dinner. I asked her if she needed my help with the cooking. She said no you rest, I told her I was tired rushing to get stuff put into the car. So she started dinner and gave me an ice tea, she asked is it just you evacuated? I told her no it is also my husband's father and mother and his brother. She said oh I did not know that! I said the fire is growing fast because of the wind. I told her they are afraid the fire will reach Wasilla. I told her I saw the fire when it started in Big Lake. I did not think we would get evacuated! But all three families did!

THE CAUSE OF THE BIG LAKE FIRE (Part 2)

I was glad we were at my daughter's home safe! My husband was driving to my daughter's home after he was done with work. Dinner was ready before my husband arrived. So the dinner was keeping warm until he got here. It wasn't a long wait and when he walked thru the door I gave him a hug. He asked me how was I holding up I said o.k. but I am worried about our home. He said to me I am too honey, the good lord will take care of our home. I told him the fire is very close to our home and the wind is still blowing making it hard to stop it. I told him his parents and brother are evacuated too! He said he knew they had to leave and is helping them. I said helping them with what? He told me with his father's woodworking tools he just bought not long ago! They are removing them from the home just in case the fire comes to their home. I said to him I hope that does not happen.

We had dinner and that night we slept on the living room floor. The next morning my husband got up, he was dressed for work. I got up and got dressed, he asked me if I was going to the church. I said yes and that he could meet me there after work. He said that would be fine and for me to take it easy. I could not go to my home because the fireman would not let us. I had some coffee and gathered everything and put them into the car. Next. I called my dogs and made sure they were in the car. They went under the blankets again. My daughter asked me if I was going to be fine I assured her I was. The drive would take a good two hours from my daughter's home in Anchorage. The church was past Willow and I was thankful we had a place to go.

Again it was a nice sunny day with a little wind blowing. I thought of the men fighting the fire and I prayed they would be o.k. The drive to Wasilla went well, but I thought to myself I would have to drive past the fire! I was finally in Wasilla and going toward Willow. when suddenly I had to stop the car! What I saw made me very nervous and I started crying. My dog Nicholas came to the front and licked my face! Nicholas was a very smart dog and very protective of me. He and I have a special bond that I haven't had with any other dog! He was a very smart dog and I knew he must be wondering why we were not home. I had gotten him for a Christmas present so I named him Saint Nicholas. I call him Nicky, he was always with me even when we went on a camping trip. He was a great dog and I am very glad he was given to me. I held Nicky tight as I looked amazed at what was crossing the road! I could not believe what I was seeing with my own eyes!

I watched the fire walk across the road I pulled my car to the side of the road. I got out of the car and I waited until the fire was out. I then drove fast, past where the fire was I could see trees going up in flames! I thought to myself I have to drive fast to get to the church where it is safe. As I was driving I looked in the mirror and I saw the fire going into the town of Wasilla! I prayed that the fire would not go to town, they had to stop this forest fire! But how could they when it is hot and windy. My mission at the moment was to get to the church safely. I had no air conditioner so I had the car window open to get some air. I got air ALL RIGHT! I GOT NOTHING BUT SMOKE! I closed the window as fast as I could. I had no choice but to keep the window closed. I looked in the mirror and I saw no fire. I was most of the way to the church when my dogs had to do their business. I drove to a safe area to take the dogs for a walk. They would rather be running loose but I put them on a leash. I didn't want them running to the highway.

After my dogs did their duty I took the leashes off them and put them in the car. I drove onto the highway going to the church. It wasn't a long drive to the church I was almost there! When I arrived at the church my mother-in-law greeted me and gave me a hug. She could see I was nervous, she asked me what happened. I told her about the fire walking the highway and I had to stop the car. I told her I was glad she was here and that I was not alone. I told her the dogs are in the car I have to get them out. I went to the car and put the leashes on them and brought them into the church. There also was my husband's brother's girlfriend. I sat down on a bench and she was crying. I asked what's wrong, she told me she thought her home went up in flames! I said to her maybe your home is fine. I told her maybe you thought you saw your home in flames maybe it was another building! She stopped crying and said I hope your right!

I thought to myself I hope I was right to think that. All three families would be out of our homes and we would be staying at the church. I really could not imagine that happening it would be awful if we lost our homes! I went to my mother-in-law and asked her if there was coffee made. She said yes she just made a pot, I told her great I'll have a cup. I told her I was glad she was here and I know all of us are worried. I told her how her son was kidding at work. Then I called him with the news we're getting evacuated. He could not believe me until I told him I am getting the important things out of the home. My car was packed full of our things, I was rushing to get out. I really couldn't believe it myself! I said all three families are homeless right now!

I was glad we were in a safe place, we would stay at the church until it was safe to go home. That is if we all had a home to go to and we all were praying that the homes would still be standing! We listened to the radio and they said the fire might reach Wasilla. If that happens the town would not be there. The fire was causing a lot of smoke so we stayed inside most of the time. The dogs dd their business and came inside, all of them were great. My dogs played with my mother-in-laws two dogs. They were all toy poodles, and they all loved to play with each other. We all wanted to go home but it was not safe.

Each morning my husband went to work and I stayed at the church. I and my mother-in-law made coffee and served breakfast, lunch, and dinner. My oldest daughter called me, she was worried about us. She did speak to her sister and was told we were all o.k. My oldest daughter was living in Seattle Washington at the time. My youngest also talked with my mom and let her know we were fine. Everyone was worried about us and they said to keep them informed. Alaska was on the tv and on the radio in the states. My youngest daughter was worried about all of us and the fire destroying our homes! I told her that I pray that would not happen, and we all would be going home soon. The firemen were fighting this fire with everything they had! They had planes dropping retardent, on the fire and other equipment, to fight the fire.

After a week staying at the church we got a call it was fine to go home, that is if we had a home! We did not lose any time to gather our belongings and put them in the car. We all had one thing on our minds and that was do we still have our homes! After putting everything in the car, and the dogs I drove to my home. While driving on the highway I saw the trees all black from the fire. I drove past the black trees. The drive would take me an hour to get to my home. I was nervous about one thing! I was wondering did our home make it thru this awful fire! I thought to myself I do not know what are we going to do if we lost our home.

After what seemed like hours I turned on Big Lake and saw the devastation the fire caused. I drove down Big Lake on to Holywood Dr. then on to Elderweiss Dr. to our home! When I passed a couple of homes, I thought maybe our home is safe too! Finally, I reached our home, and what I saw was a miracle! Our mobile home just fine, the fire did not reach our home. I got out of the car and went inside, everything was the way I left it! Nothing missing, I was so very happy I called my husband right away! I told him that we are lucky the fire didn't get our home! I then went and let the dogs out of the car and they came into the home. I put water and food in their dishes and they couldn't wait to eat. They ate all the food so I had to put food in their dishes again. I was so very happy and relieved at the same time! I put some music on and did a little dance!

Going thru the Big Lake fire was an adventure I never want to take! I can only hope that we do not have to go thru that again! I live in a wooded area with a lot of birch trees, they would go up in flames in no time! The Big Lake fire-blackened 37,400 acres and 344 structures were consumed by the fire. It cost 16.5 million dollars lost to private and businesses. And the cause was probably by fireworks. This all happened twenty years ago in the month of june!

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