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September 1, 2011

East Texas Wildfires

by Janet
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I am joining Shanda for On Your Heart Tuesdays…

The Labor Day holiday threw me off and I’m a little late in the morning with posting this!!
I thought last night that I would be talking about potty training and an incident that happened at my dad’s house this weekend, but I think I’ll save that for tomorrow. I feel that I have to talk about the events that are happening in East Texas right now because they are affecting my family, my coworkers, my friends, and my own home.
 
I’m talking about the Wildfires that are burning in East Texas and around Texas and Louisiana.
 
Every Sunday, The Boy, Hubby, and I join my Little Sis at my dad’s house for Sunday dinner and just visiting time. The past few Sundays have been interesting because my dad and stepmom are doing a mini remodel of their living room so every Sunday there is something new to look at and talk about.
 
They have opened up their living area where there was a porch cut-out on the front lawn and built a larger, half wrap-around porch on the front with a ramp (there was some dangerous steps on the front before). On the inside, they have new hardwood floors, a new big screen TV with a large cabinet, all new furniture, a new dining table…
 
This Sunday, Dad had a new surround sound system that he wanted us to hook up for him, but instead we all sat around and talked about the fires…
 
My dad lives just on the edge of the city limits in Palestine, Texas and his back field is almost adjacent to FM 315. Just up the road, my step-grandparents live on the side of FM 315.
 
Reports are that FM 315, where it meets with FM 321, is on fire. It comes and goes reporting whether the fire is contained or not, but my dad has several friends who have already lost their homes or are being evacuated.
 
Little Sis was telling Dad that they needed to prepare, but Dad was saying he didn’t think it was needed. He had planned to cook steaks on the grill, but we ordered pizza instead.
 
The Boy was trying to get me in the den to watch cartoons when the phone rang. Dad and Stepmom rarely answer their phone unless the caller ID has a number they recognize so when the ID said Emergency, Dad just ignored it.
 
Little Sis picked it up and it was a warning message stating families in Dad’s area should “prepare to evacuate”, but not “evacuate” yet.
 
Yesterday, Hubby called me from work to tell me that another fire had begun in Anderson county and was closer to our side of town (we are in Palestine, too). We are about 10-15 miles north of the fire, but at the time he called, it was on a path toward our area.
 
He told me to pack a bag in case we needed to evacuate. I think I may have just shut down because I had no idea what to do. A few weeks ago, I wrote about what I would take if the house was burning down, but something inside me was refusing to accept that something like this could be happening.
 
Unfortunately, it has been a little difficult to get information about whether we need to evacuate. I am praying that people are receiving the messages in the areas that are more closely affected.
 
This post seems really choppy to me…I don’t really know what to say.
 
In my mind, there are two things going on: (1) I’m naively refusing to admit that a fire could threaten my home or my dad’s home and (2) I want to run home and look through all my stuff to see what I need to protect.
 
In my heart, I’m scared for the people who are affected at this moment, who have been affected in the past few days, and for the firefighters who are exhausted and beat and who risk their lives so we can be safe.
 
Please pray for all of those people who are affected, have been affected, and will be affected during this time.
 
 
 
 

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  1. Heather H says:
    September 6, 2011 at 9:48 pm

    The fires are so scary. We went to visit relatives in Louisiana this weekend, and right before we left to come home, a friend called to tell me that I-20 was shut down between Hallsville and Longview. By the time we drove through, they had reopened the road, but you could tell where the fire had been burning north of the interstate, jumped the westbound lanes, burned up the median, and then jumped the eastbound lanes – where a trailer park sits. I think I heard a young mother and her toddler died in that.

    When we woke up this morning, you could smell smoke inside our house, and when you walked outside, smoke was everywhere. Luckily nothing is burning in our town yet, but land is burning all around us. I just pray that being inside the city helps keep the fires away from our home. I have many friends who have been evacuated from their homes and a few who have lost their homes. I hope you and your family aren’t affected any worse than some warnings!

    It scares me, especially, how vast the fires are. They are everywhere it seems! And here I thought the heat and drought were the worst things we were facing this summer…
    Heather H recently posted..Something to CelebrateMy Profile

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    • janet says:
      September 7, 2011 at 8:57 am

      I pray that your family stays safe!! This morning the smoke and smells have been the worst, but it seems the fires may be more contained…

      Reply
  2. Working Mommy says:
    September 6, 2011 at 4:18 pm

    Such a tragedy!! Prayers are definitely being said for those in Texas who have to deal with such a force of nature.

    WM
    Working Mommy recently posted..Lesson #134 – Diet Food Doesn’t HAVE To Taste BadMy Profile

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  3. Becky Jane says:
    September 6, 2011 at 2:51 pm

    You are so close to it all…I’m praying for you and your loved ones. Do you want me to come help you pack? :o )
    Becky Jane recently posted..Mom’s Can’t WinMy Profile

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    • janet says:
      September 6, 2011 at 3:25 pm

      Aw…thanks!! I guess someone would probably have to help me. I just ended up pulling the clothes out of the dryer (which were the three outfits we had worn the day before) and put them in a bag. Of course, this morning when I needed clothes for work, I just pulled out the outfit I had put in there for me. I am in SERIOUS denial!!

      Reply
  4. Shanda says:
    September 6, 2011 at 2:18 pm

    I’m praying for you today: that the fire will not affect your home nor your dad’s and praying for peace and discernment. Thank you for linking up today so I could pray for you.

    Reply