Into The Smoke

The fire had jumped six lanes of traffic. Now our escape route was cut off

- Marianne Campbell

I SWERVED TO THE LEFT. A CAR WAS slanted across the freeway near the Hopper Avenue exit, engulfed in flames. A lone sheriff’s deputy stood in the middle of the off-ramp, wildly gesturing for the cars to turn back. I slowed down. Fire consumed everything on both sides of Highway 101, and the night sky was thick with smoke. I had my elderly mother in the car. I didn’t know what to do. Should we turn back? Or keep going? What if we got through the smoke only to hit a wall of fire? I had to make a decision.

I’ve always had trouble trusting God’s direction. Usually with small things. But now I knew God was our only hope to make it home safely.

More than an hour before, the call from my mom had woken me up.

“Sorry to call so late, but we just got an evacuation alert.” She and Dad lived in Windsor, just north of us.

I glanced at the clock beside me. 1:15 a.m. “Evacuation?”

“Apparently there’s a fire, although I can’t see anything. I hate to ask, but could you come get us?” “We’ll be there in 10 minutes.” My husband, Scott, and I dressed and jumped in the car. By the time we reached Highway 101, we could see smoke and flames to the north. The hills to the east were dotted with small blazes. The wind was so strong, I had to grip the steering wheel to keep the car from veering off the road.

When we got to my parents’ house, the neighbours were outside watching

INFERNO Santa Rosa was hit by the most destructive wildfire in California history.

an orange glow on the ridgeline. Mom, dressed and ready to go, replayed the evacuation message on the phone. Scott went to the living room and turned on the TV to see if the news had any updates.

“But the flames are so far away,” I said. “All the way south of River Road. Do you really need to evacuate?”