Frank had assured Annie that the evacuation order was just a precaution. He was sure the firefighters would be able to get the wildfire under control in a few hours. They were professionals.
Annie and Frank packed what they could, grabbed their two kids, piled into the car, and headed south. Frank told the kids to think of it as an adventure. Annie told them it would be like they were going on vacation.
They drove to Annie’s father’s home a safe distance from the area of fires. Frank kept checking his smartphone for updates, while Annie played a board game with her father and the kids. She could see how worried Frank was, and that worried her.
The next morning Annie fixed breakfast for everyone. Annie’s father agreed to watch the kids while she and Frank drove back to their neighborhood. But the road was closed because the fire was still out of control.
Franks stopped the car and they looked in the direction of their home. Annie saw the heavy smoke billowing high into the sky. She grabbed Frank’s hand and squeezed hard as she fought to hold back her tears.
They both knew that everything was lost.
(200 words)
Written for Flash Fiction for the Purposeful Practitioner from Roger Shipp. Photo credit: MorgueFile May 2018 1382470355ix82z.
This, That, and the Other 
It seems like the whole western part of the U.S. is on fire. Nothing is too near Boise, but we’ve got the usual summer smoke and haze messing up the air.
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There are many fires right now in Northern California destroying property, homes, and lives, and many of them are not contained. None real close to San Francisco, like last fall’s Napa fires, but that probably won’t last.
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My daughter lives in Napa so I’m pretty much worried all of the time.
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Was she there for the earthquake a few years back. I live in San Francisco and that quake shook my bed and woke me up in the middle of the night!
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I’m not sure. We lived in Southern California until she was five, so she’s been in a few.
I used to live in San Francisco and Berkeley back in the late 70s and early 80s when mere mortals could afford it. From the news I’ve been hearing lately, even if I could afford it, I doubt I’d want to move back. I think I’ve finally adjusted to Idaho.
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I was in SF the day before the quake and I left a few hours ahead of it. I was coming down with the flu, didn’t know it, but felt a strong need to go home. I’m glad I did or I would have been flattened by the falling bridge.
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Yeah, I read that in your post a few days back, the one where you talked about hearing a whisper inside your head. Good thing you listened.
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Isn’t the consistency of these wildfires increasing?
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There are a lot of them and they are all quite intense.
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Too many people are having to face that realization that everything is gone. I have one friend east of Sacramento and one in Mission Viejo… I am keeping an eye on how close the fires are. Glad you are out of harms way!
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I can’t imagine the devastation of losing one’s home and possessions, especially those that are irreplaceable.
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Devastating. You handled the alertness at fleeing and the hidden drama well. Enjoyed. Thanks for participating.
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Thanks for the always interesting photo prompts.
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