Driving up to the hill in Black Forest. Our house is somewhere under the smoke.
At the corner of Black Forest Regional Park. At this point we were stopped by the deputy. Our stuff is in that smoke.
Taken from a mile or so away, next to the high school.
The first photo of the fire. It caught the pine tree on fire behind the garage.
The "poster child" photo, shown frequently on the news.
You can see inside the garage and the house.
Satellite photo after the fire. I saw this before they allowed us to return to the site.
Fire personnel conducted three sweeps through the properties, each from a different angle. Each unit left a tape with the unit's information. Firefighters came from all over.
The view when we approached the house. Two flags flew outside. One fell over, and the firefighters put it up "Iwo Jima" style.
Our classic photo of the site. The large items are metal items such as ductwork, a file cabinet, the dishwasher, etc.
Pikes Peak in the background.
I had been working all day. Normally I'm not quite that gray.
A little humor.
The front yard. This shows the extent of the fire damage.
The drive, taken six months later. Along the drive had been creosoted cross ties; all were burned away.
I include this photo because it was the view outside my office window. IF I had been able to slip through the window, I would have been running through these woods.
The first item we found, and the only book that survived: The Walk Thru the Bible notebook.
The black smudge was the second American flag.
One of the Saint Francis statues.
The medal from the Atlanta Half Marathon. The phoenix is staring up from the ash.
Tubby and his master.
The remnants of the Appalachian Trail plaque.
The AT plaque in better days. The large Starbucks mugs give a sense of perspective regarding its size.
Look closely and you can see the RGIA APP letters (Georgia Appalachian Trail Club).
The home of our elderly neighbors across the street. If their daughter had not been with them, you can imagine the result.
The site a year later. All of this had been thick trees. The house site is the lighter colored surface in the background.
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