Unforgetable Birthday

Most everyone has heard our story about the big O.C. fire on Nov. 15. We had quite an experience here in Yorba Linda. I was having a leisurely morning at the mall when someone mentioned there was a fire in Yorba Linda and Brea. When I left the mall, there was smoke on the other side of Brea mall, and saw a small plume of smoke as I was heading home toward Y.L. The wind was blowing hard. When I pulled up Via del Agua most of the cars were heading out the other direction. Our neighbors were loading up their car s and said we better prepare to evacuate, so I went in and started pulling some things out I might want to take with me should we need to leave. Suddenly Joel started shouting GET OUT NOW!!! He was in the yard with the hose when suddenly there was a wall of fire behind of him We had the animals in both cars and tried to get out and go down Agua, but so was everyone else. The street was backed up and there was a wall of flames probably 120 ft high right at the edge of the road and moving toward the cars. It was that quick. The line of cars wasn't moving and it was the most helpless moment of my life when I realized this well could be it. I put my foot on the gas and pealed over onto the sidewalk toward the flames as it was the only way I could see to get out, and I drove down the sidewalk toward YL blvd. By the time I got down to the blvd. , a biker had jumped into the street, had stopped traffic on the main street, allowing the line of cars coming out of our neighborhood to finally move. Most of them I am sure did not know what was going on behind us. So I waited on the corner for what seemed like 15 min., but it was probably only 5, waiting for Joel to come out, but he didn't, and I just sat there scared to death that he and the dogs didn't get out, not knowing if he even had the phone, and frantically dialing praying he would answer. FINALLY the phone rang, and I saw his car. We were about 99% sure that we had lost the house, from the way things looked when Joel last looked back. Our neighbor's palm trees were on fire and the wall of fire was right at the entrance to Blue Mountain. About 2 later,Joel and our neighbor Joe hiked back up through the barocade to find, miraculously, that our neighborhood was intact, save just one house down the street. Our next door neighbor had thrown on his sprinklers, and that is what saved us, as his slope had burned up to that point. Had his slope burned, ours would have too, and once the pine trees ignited, that would have been it for our house, and probably every house up the hill. So yes, we are exhausted, but so very very grateful for our lives and for our beautiful home, that we certainly will appreciate this holiday season. 20 of our neighbors up the street weren't so fortunate. In all, 90 homes in Yorba Linda were lost, (160 total), 27,000 acres burned, and 22,000 Yorba Lindians evacuated.