The best of the human spirit – Stouts fire crews Part Three

Tears came to my eyes as I walked up the hill to my home Monday and saw the fire crew working to protect my home. The smoke had shifted and the fire-filtered sunlight made these yellow visions a brilliant beacon welcoming me home.

I walked closer, coming upon a sight that was delightfully messy, bizarre and wonderful.

They were putting in a holding tank for emergency water and encircling my home with fire hoses and sprinklers. Lines were everywhere, zig zagging over the fire breaks they had made the day before.

I watched them test and reposition the sprinklers so my home . . . MY home . . . would be wetted down should the fire explode in my valley.

These generous people from all over were there to help me and my neighbors. Do you know what absolute awe and appreciation fills me knowing this?

Even now as I remember what they did for me, my throat tightens and tears well up in my eyes.

A number of people commented and sent messages to me after my other post on Sunday. One was a woman whose husband was part of the crews working in our community. She wrote about how fire workers hope their efforts will keep the homes safe.

I told her that no matter the outcome, their efforts have forever touched my life. They are now a part of our family story. Their faces and their impact will grace our land and our family for generations to come.

Even now, these fire crews have changed me. It is humbling to have folks come here from all over, leaving their homes and their families to protect our homes and our families.

I usually am the one to help others. I was a social worker helping families. I was a mom bandaging my sons’ knees. I was a wife holding my husband’s hand as he spent his last days of life in our home. Now I am the one needing help and I didn’t even have to ask. The fire crews just showed up.

There was Mike from North Caroline, a calm and competent guy who assessed my place and my neighbor Wayne’s across our valley. He wanted to see where a last stand line could be created should the fire get that far. I could not have done that. He could.

There were the dozens of fire folks from Albany and other towns who cleared dangerous slash off the hillsides and managed the traffic.

Their departments mobilized equipment and people and cleared land faster and further than any of us could. We didn’t have to ask. They just showed up.

I am touched by the caring and skills of all these people. I do not know most of their names but I do know their character. They are an example of the best of the human spirit.

Thank you.

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