@Jenny - Even though I didn't lose my ski condo in the Buffalo fire in Silverthorne I can tell you what this feels like. First you hear all your neighbors had been evacuated. You start with feelings of disbelief. At first you try to reassure yourself that every thing will be ok. Not knowing exactly where the fire is located you start searching for information. How close is it, where did it start, can it be contained or will it burn all summer, is our condo really in danger or were authorities just being cautious? Will the fire mitigation around the buildings work? The first day I wondered around in a daze. We were in Springfield, Ill. so we occupied ourselves touring President Lincoln's historical sites. We found ourselves talking to total strangers about the fire. We shared our concerns with each other. Dumb thoughts like "will they be able to install our new carpet next week"? I didn't sleep well that night. I felt so helpless. As soon as we heard we grabbed the computers in the hotel lobby searching for information.
The next morning we streamed the local radio station who went from "Your traffic information station to you fire information station". The local sheriff gave updates and shared information about the fire fighting process. We learned more about fire fighting than we wanted to know. Every evening there was a community meeting which was streamed online. Various officials spoke. For me those meetings saved my sanity.
I kept saying to myself, it's just a little ski condo. If it gets damaged I can fix it up the way I want. Since I always worried about forest fire this thinking made a lot of sense to me. In reality, the condo wouldn't be the same. We may not have the condo for the ski season, dealing with insurance, contractors, etc. That became the reality. Then I started listing what I had left there. Clothes had been removed due to new carpet installation. We had left a framed photograph of our ski club group at Steamboat. It was my first western trip. The photograph was a gift to my SO in appreciation of his being trip leader for that ski trip. All of a sudden, that picture became so important. Fortunately, I had taken my wreath home. I made it out of the grape vines we had in our back yard in our Cincinnati home. I had it decorated at a store Frisco. Every year at the end of the ski season it goes home with me.
If a fire had to happen timing was perfect. Had we been there and gone out before the area was evacuated we would not have been able to get to our cat. We would have depended on strangers to rescue her. I trust the volunteers would have done a good job but it's an experience that I wouldn't want her to go through. We had a home to evacuate to, many did not. The fire came within 50 yards of our condo building. When I saw the damaged forest and how close it came to ours and nearby condos I stood there and cried.
This event had been so well planned for that no lives or property was lost. Potentially $913 billion in damages to property in the evacuated area was avoided. The cost to fight the fire was a million dollars a day. Thankfully, no firefighters or residents were lost. Firefighting in beetle killed areas is very dangerous. I'm extremely grateful to the men and women who risked their lives for us.