Wildfire destroyed her home, but not her life.When I saw the blinking strip across the bottom of our TV screen--"Douglas County Douglas County is the name of twelve counties in the United States:
v. 1. To empty or remove the contents of. 2. To excrete or discharge waste matter, especially of the bowels. "--I was more irritated ir·ri·tate v. ir·ri·tat·ed, ir·ri·tat·ing, ir·ri·tates v.tr. 1. To rouse to impatience or anger; annoy: a loud bossy voice that irritates listeners. than worried. It was June 2002, and Colorado was in the midst Adv. 1. in the midst - the middle or central part or point; "in the midst of the forest"; "could he walk out in the midst of his piece?" midmost of what became the largest wildfire in the state's history. It burned from early June to mid-July, destroying 138,000 acres and 600 buildings. It cost $39 million to put out and repair the damage it caused. But we didn't know that when the first calls to evacuate came. The threat of the fire became more real when the county sheriffs warned us that we had only two hours to get out. We couldn't see the fire because it wasn't close enough yet and the mountain in our backyard Our Backyard was a series for pre-school children which aired at lunchtime on ITV from August 1984 until January 1987.It was produced by Granada Television. The format was simple. stood in our sight as if it were a great protective wall. But smoke spilled over it, heading toward our subdivision. We had 16 pets--five horses, two dogs, five cats, two rabbits, and two chinchillas--that we had to gather up and bring with us to safety. Taking care of theme-especially figuring out how we would get our horses out, since we didn't have our own trailer--consumed most of the two hours. We just had time to take our computer, some important papers, and photos. My sisters and I went to stay with our dad, who lived right by the high school, while my mom and stepdad stayed with a friend nearby. During that time, we got some news about how the fire was spreading, but not much detail. About two weeks after our evacuation, my mom, my older sister, Gabrielle, and I went to visit the college Gabrielle would be attending in the fall. That's where I was when I heard the devastating dev·as·tate tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates 1. To lay waste; destroy. 2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. news. My stepdad called and told my mom he had just been informed of our house's condition: It was gone. No one cried for a few minutes; it didn't seem real. Then we all cried and hugged. There was no house to go home to, and that's when the devastation really set in. What was upsetting was that it apparently took 10 days for the house to burn down. That would have been more than enough time to get everything out if we had been allowed more time before being forced to evacuate. Our insurance paid for our house to be rebuilt, but we couldn't afford to buy new property so we had to rebuild on our old, now burned, land. It's not very pleasant right now, but in a few years it will be beautiful again. Our new house is beautiful, and I am thankful to finally have a home again. Send us your 500-word story, along with your name, address, and phone number. If we publish it, we'll pay you $100. The New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Times Upfront. 557 Broadway. New York, NY 10012; or upfront@scholastic.com Dominique Settles graduated from Woodland Park High School in Woodland Park, Colo., in June. 5he is now a student at the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design RMCAD is a four-year, fully accredited college, and hosts programs in graphic design and digital media, animation, interior design, illustration, art education, and fine arts majors of photography and video, sculpture, ceramics, and painting. in Denver. |
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