Wallow Fire

Over Memorial Day Weekend, a fire started in the White Mountains. Due to high winds the fire spread and during almost a month's time, it consumed over 500,000 acres of Arizona's most beautiful forestry. The fire burned many structures in Greer, AZ--the closest town to our cabin, and day by day it traveled closer. When it reached a point less than 20 miles from the cabin, Neil and his sister's husband, John, and his two boys drove to the White Mountains to get as many valuables out of the cabin as they could. Miraculously, the ranch which the cabin sits on (hiddenmeadow.com), had an extra U-haul that they let the boys use, so they filled it with furniture and stored the items in a storage unit in Show Low. It all seemed so distant and surreal until they saw the smoke plumes billowing along the landscape just outside the cabin door. As sad and anxious as the experience was, they had quite an adventure. They slept over night at the Red Cross evacuee shelter at Blue Ridge High School in Lakeside. They wore masks when they went into town to survey the scene. Neil even got interviewed by a reporter from 12 News as he was fueling up the truck before they left town.

So far, our prayers that the Lord might spare our beloved cabin and the ranch which Neil's family made so many childhood memories as they built it have been answered. The fire reached 50% containment after the flames reached within just 6 miles of the cabin, and it seems the danger has subsided. Now we just pray for good monsoon rains to put the rest of the fire out before it does even more harm to the White Mountain communities.