I'm finally getting around to writing about my trip to Portland, Oregon (which was about a month ago...I know, I know). I went the last week of September (about three days after we were let back into our house after the fire), and I was there a little over four days.
Day 1--Saturday (Sept. 25)
I went to the airport around 1 p.m. Now, to be honest, I hate airports. I don't like all the busyness, all the people, and the rush, rush, rush. When I went to Hawaii last year, that is just what it was...noisy, tons of people, and me about ready to freak out. However, this airport experience was much smoother. I was dropped off at the curb and got my bad checked in curbside. Then I went in and pretty much walked through security. The plane ride wasn't too bad either (I don't like flying either). I was flying on a small 70-seater jet and had been told you feel a lot of turbulence on them. Wasn't the case on this flight (thank goodness).
After a little under 2 hours of flying I arrived in Portland. I got my bags and went outside for Sommer to pick me up (Sommer is the friend I was going to visit). I haven't seen her in about 7 years. It was good to see her after so long.
We drove to her house. I couldn't believe all the trees! Or how green in was! It was beautiful! And I couldn't wait to take pictures. It was a beautiful sunny day, too (which I hear is rare this time of year in Portland). Her daughter (Aubrey) was in the car with her. She is about 4-years-old. As soo as I got in the car, Sommer said her daughter needed to know who my favorite Disney princess was. I answered Aurara (aka Sleeping Beauty). Apparrently that was the right answer becasue she befriended me right away.
We got to Sommer's house and I unpacked. I was then introduced to her husband and her son (Tyler). Then she suggested a Girl's Night Out for the girls (me, Sommer, and Aubrey) and a Guy's Night Out for the guys (her husband and son).
We went to one of the local malls and planned to have dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. I have never eaten there before, but had heard it was really good. When we got there it was about a 45 minute wait, so we explored the mall and got orange julius drinks (mine was actually strawberry). We talked some more and got a little caught up on each other's lives these past few years.
Sommer kept joking about how the menu for the Cheesecake Factory was a book...at least I thought she was joking. When we were finally seated and handed the menu, it was a book! I was wondering how I was going to decide what to order...it seemed like there were 200 things to choose from, all of which sounded good. I finally decided on garlic noodles, which consisted of pasta noodles, aspargras, mushrooms, and sundried tomatoes tossed in a garlic sauch (a very rich garlic sauce, I may say). So yummy! Sommer also got a garlic type pasta. I kept joking about how horrible our breath would be after dinner. Then we ordered some cheesecake to go. I picked the chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecake (couldn't have thought of a better combination).
After dinner we went back to Sommer's house for cheesecake and a chick flick. The chick flick was The Last Song. So we donned our pj's, got out our cheesecake, and watched the movie. The movie was cute, even though I'm not much of a Miley Cyrus fan. Oh, and the cheesecake was heaven. Yep, it was love.
herriman fire--sept. 19, 2010: part 2
Monday, October 11, 2010
I'm finally getting around to part 2...sorry, things have been hectic.
Anyhoo, the next day after the fire we all got up at about 6:30 or 7 in the morning to turn on the news and get an update on the fire. Much to our relief, it wasn't as bad as we had thought. Driving down last night we thought more homes would have been burned (we were guessing anywhere from 10-20 homes), but luckily it was only four (that was later changed to three homes because one of the other structures was an out house--such as a barn).
We ate some breakfast and just kind of hung out at the house all day. We spent most of the day sleeping (we were all so exhausted from the night before) and then waking up to watch the news to see if they would lift the evacuation order. They didn't, and it sounded like the fire wouldn't be under control anytime soon.
Tuesday came...again, the evacuation order had not been lifted. I spent most of that day reading, writing in my journal, and watching the news. I have never watched the news so much in that short amount of time. We learned about people making the claims, the people who lost their homes, and the damage of the fire. From the news that afternoon we were hoping to be back home that night. The evacuation order was lifted for some areas (like the Cove), but not for ours. They said it would be later in the week. Ugh.
Also on Tuesday I went up to where the evacuation order had been lifted and took some pictures of the fireline. I went up into the Cove and in the neighborhoods up along Butterfield Parkway. The smell of smoke was so heavy in the air that I almost started coughing again. I couldn't believe how black everything was. It was my first time seeing where the fire had burned in daylight. The whole mountain was black! I did manage to get some pretty good pictures of the burn scar (I will upload those in a separate post).
Wednesday came and I was definitely sick of not being able to go home and sleep in my bed. I read some more and then babysat my niece. My grandparents had gone out to run errands that day. Then around 3:30 p.m. I got a call from my grandpa saying to pack up, we were going home. FINALLY! At the time, the Canyon was the last place to have the evacuation order lifted (about 250 homes and we were part of that last 250). So then we packed and headed home.
Herriman fire timeline:
Sunday
2:40 a.m. — The National Weather Service issues a Red Flag Warning, meaning hot and windy conditions that could spark a wildfire are likely.
Noon — The Utah National Guard conducts a live-fire training exercise atCamp Williams
12:30 p.m. — A fire starts atCamp Williams
1:30 p.m. — Guardsmen training at Camp Williams learn of the Red Flag Warning, a delay Maj. Gen. Brian Tarbet said resulted from a communications error.
3:30 p.m. — Utah National Guard notifies the Utah Fire Authority that the exercise had sparked a field fire; 232 homes are evacuated within a few hours in the Cove subdivision area of below Black Ridge.
8 p.m. — All homes south of 14000 South and west of 5575 West are evacuated; evacuations total 1,652 homes.
Monday
2 p.m. — The majority of evacuated residents is allowed to return home.
8 p.m. — Forest Service officials say the fire covers 4,346 acres and is 25 percent contained.
10 p.m. — 450 homes in the Hi Country II, Majestic Oaks View, Rosecrest (South of Emmeline Drive) and Lookout Ridge subdivisions remain under mandatory evacuation.
Tuesday
8 p.m. — Fire 50 percent contained; residents from about 225 homes east of 7400 West are allowed to return home.
Wednesday
4 p.m. — All remaining evacuees are allowed to return to their homes; fire remains 50 percent contained.
Herriman fire by numbers:
--Homes destroyed: 3
--Acres burned: 4,356
--Homes evacuated: 1,652
--Fire engines responding: 17
--Air tankers: 2
--Helicopters: 2
--Animals sheltered overnight: 14 dogs, 7 cats, 83 horses
--Schools closed: 7
--People evacuated: 5,000
--Fire and police involved: 150 firefighters, 100 police, 124 National Guardsmen
Anyhoo, the next day after the fire we all got up at about 6:30 or 7 in the morning to turn on the news and get an update on the fire. Much to our relief, it wasn't as bad as we had thought. Driving down last night we thought more homes would have been burned (we were guessing anywhere from 10-20 homes), but luckily it was only four (that was later changed to three homes because one of the other structures was an out house--such as a barn).
We ate some breakfast and just kind of hung out at the house all day. We spent most of the day sleeping (we were all so exhausted from the night before) and then waking up to watch the news to see if they would lift the evacuation order. They didn't, and it sounded like the fire wouldn't be under control anytime soon.
Tuesday came...again, the evacuation order had not been lifted. I spent most of that day reading, writing in my journal, and watching the news. I have never watched the news so much in that short amount of time. We learned about people making the claims, the people who lost their homes, and the damage of the fire. From the news that afternoon we were hoping to be back home that night. The evacuation order was lifted for some areas (like the Cove), but not for ours. They said it would be later in the week. Ugh.
Also on Tuesday I went up to where the evacuation order had been lifted and took some pictures of the fireline. I went up into the Cove and in the neighborhoods up along Butterfield Parkway. The smell of smoke was so heavy in the air that I almost started coughing again. I couldn't believe how black everything was. It was my first time seeing where the fire had burned in daylight. The whole mountain was black! I did manage to get some pretty good pictures of the burn scar (I will upload those in a separate post).
Wednesday came and I was definitely sick of not being able to go home and sleep in my bed. I read some more and then babysat my niece. My grandparents had gone out to run errands that day. Then around 3:30 p.m. I got a call from my grandpa saying to pack up, we were going home. FINALLY! At the time, the Canyon was the last place to have the evacuation order lifted (about 250 homes and we were part of that last 250). So then we packed and headed home.
Herriman fire timeline:
Sunday
2:40 a.m. — The National Weather Service issues a Red Flag Warning, meaning hot and windy conditions that could spark a wildfire are likely.
Noon — The Utah National Guard conducts a live-fire training exercise at
12:30 p.m. — A fire starts at
1:30 p.m. — Guardsmen training at Camp Williams learn of the Red Flag Warning, a delay Maj. Gen. Brian Tarbet said resulted from a communications error.
3:30 p.m. — Utah National Guard notifies the Utah Fire Authority that the exercise had sparked a field fire; 232 homes are evacuated within a few hours in the Cove subdivision area of below Black Ridge.
8 p.m. — All homes south of 14000 South and west of 5575 West are evacuated; evacuations total 1,652 homes.
Monday
2 p.m. — The majority of evacuated residents is allowed to return home.
8 p.m. — Forest Service officials say the fire covers 4,346 acres and is 25 percent contained.
10 p.m. — 450 homes in the Hi Country II, Majestic Oaks View, Rosecrest (South of Emmeline Drive) and Lookout Ridge subdivisions remain under mandatory evacuation.
Tuesday
8 p.m. — Fire 50 percent contained; residents from about 225 homes east of 7400 West are allowed to return home.
Wednesday
4 p.m. — All remaining evacuees are allowed to return to their homes; fire remains 50 percent contained.
Herriman fire by numbers:
--Homes destroyed: 3
--Acres burned: 4,356
--Homes evacuated: 1,652
--Fire engines responding: 17
--Air tankers: 2
--Helicopters: 2
--Animals sheltered overnight: 14 dogs, 7 cats, 83 horses
--Schools closed: 7
--People evacuated: 5,000
--Fire and police involved: 150 firefighters, 100 police, 124 National Guardsmen
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