Monday, July 06, 2015

Wildfire Strikes near North Idaho Paradise
























Take a retired forester who used to serve on logistics teams when fires broke out in the region and a retired freelance journalist/photographer whose "nose for news" still loves sniffing out a fascinating story, and you'll not be surprised that Bill and I drove down to Bayview last night. 

I first heard of the Cape Horn fire, just around the mountain from Bayview, when Bill called yesterday afternoon on his way home from Costco in Coeur d'Alene.

"Have you heard about any fires near Cape Horn?" he asked, knowing full well that I tend to check my Facebook occasionally. 

Well, at that moment, I was in the midst of downloading some photos just taken at my friend Betsy's house where I got to visit with our mutual friend Pam from California. 

At the end of our visit, we had done silly things with the camera, set on self timer and sitting on a stool atop a platform on Betsy's deck.

Among the silliness were a couple of shots of taped-up noses, always a crowd favorite whenever our trio, along with a bunch of other teaching colleagues, would get together for fun back in the '80s.  

Eventually Pam went her own way, graduating from San Francisco Culinary Institute, later working in the kitchens at Sunset magazine. 

Nowadays, she's back to teaching middle school in Davis, Calif., and with summer vacation, she took a road trip with various stops along the way, including Sandpoint.

The pictures turned out fun, but I promised I wouldn't post any of the silly shots.  I'll try not to break my promise.

So, when Bill called and asked about the fire, I had to re-focus.  I told him I'd check my Facebook sources and see what I could find.

Shortly after hanging up, I saw posts by some family friends, the Bockstrucks, who live out Bayview way.  To say that Roxzene was disgusted, knowing a fire had broken out in her area, would be an understatement.  

When Bill arrived home, we had more information, and once we'd seen the reports on the television news, he, with his Go Pro and I, with my camera, jumped in the car.

We walked around Bayview.  We visited with some Idaho Dept. of Lands fire team members, who suggested they kidnap Bill to help them do their planning. 

The dramatic images appeared near the docks where float houses and sailboats colorfully dominate the scene next to the small village on the south end of Lake Pend Oreille.

Police cars aplenty at key intersections, people standing in their yards or sitting on their porches with faces pointed east, sprinklers spewing water at virtually every residence AND on the dock gave a clear indication that this was not your usual summer night in Bayview. 

In one case, down at the docks, I met Ben and Angela Tuttle, a very nice couple who manage the Bitter End Marina.  The marina deck near the docks provided them a front-row seat to the action on the water, up the mountain side and in the air above. 

Chain saws could be heard on the mountain, up there in all that smoke.  I was thinking that the scene there was hardly paradise to whoever was up there working.  

A steady siege of overhead planes and helicopters, toting buckets for dipping water from the lake, indicated an all-out assault had been underway to stop the various paths of a quickly spreading fire which had first been announced as 20 acres and soon increased to 500.  

This morning's latest report is 600 with half a dozen structures (of unknown classification) destroyed. Word on the street was that the fire may have started from a campfire down on the beach, but that was word on the street. 

We'll eventually know the true origin, but for now halting the fire and making sure people and animals were safe took precedent. 

While looking for our various photographic opportunities, Bill and I got separated, both taking separate trips across town back to the car, looking for each other.  

On my trip to the car, Susie Knaggs Gazdik and her hubby Jerry, who live down Selle Road, pulled up next to our Suburu.

Susie and I visited while walking back to the Bayview Community Center and watching a crew of firefighters from the Missoula area pull in, get their gear in order and wait for their marching orders. 

As we walked back toward our cars, Bill came along from downtown Bayview, and we headed home, knowing that "what's in our blood" was satisfied----his fire fighting experience, my chasing down some pictures to tell a story. 

Let's hope and pray that this devastating incident in one of the most beautiful areas on Lake Pend Oreille comes to a speedy end and that, God willing, we have no more fires.  

I'd much rather chase down other stories, like a good huckleberry patch or another great drive through our beautiful back country. 

Happy Monday. 

4 comments:

Janis said...

Prayers for the safety of all living things in The Panhandle...esp. the firefighters. You and Bill be safe and keep us posted. Hugs from Puz

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the pictures and scene report!
Chip

Unknown said...

Always sad when this happens. Here's the latest official report. Fire start under investigation. 6 of the 8 structures were homes.

peppylady (Dora) said...

Are weather sure been something so far this summer.
Coffee is on