The Fires Rage On

How much I have wanted to sit and write and how fast the time has flown. A whirl of packing and driving and smoke and phone calls and emails and where-is? and how-is?

Wednesday will be day four of our evacuation from a massive wildfire that has consumed our beloved Lost Pines forest in Bastrop County, Texas.  This fire, oh this fire, how can I describe it?

Huge. Furious. Fast.

This huge...

This furious...

This fast...

34,000 acres. Close to 600 homes. And the fire rages on.

Never in my life have I had so many completely speechless moments. Words are my commodity and words have failed me over and over and over again the past three days.

Dear friends have lost all in minutes. Dear friends have barely made it out alive.

We are safe, three families cozy together, sleeping on floors, sharing life. Last night we sat down to compile a list of the families we know who have confirmed they lost everything, those who we suspect lost everything, and those who are evacuated but whose homes are likely intact. I had to step away from the computer, from that list, and try to breathe. The list was too long and too full of faces and hearts I love.

When the evacuations lift we expect to return to our homestead. We are 99% certain that our property was not touched by the fire. I am awed by this. It was so very close.

I have been asked by so many how you can help. There will be incredible need in the coming weeks and months. I will be asking you not to sprinkle, but to pour.

Now? I ask for your prayers. The winds have died down so the fire is not spreading as fast. But it is still huge. And it is still furious. 



I would like to list credits for these photos but I do not have the information. If this is your photo please let me know.
The top photo is of the city of Bastrop with the fire behind. Our home is on the other side of that fire.
The bottom photo is of Bastrop State Park.

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