White flecks fell from the sky as if heaven were shedding dry skin.
Instead, it was ashes from the 78,000-plus acre Creek Fire — burning in the mountains in Fresno and Madera counties and forcing evacuations of the residents there.
Emergency officials are encouraging evacuees to stay with family or at a hotel room. If needed, the Red Cross has set up service locations at Clovis North High School and the Oakhurst Community Center.
For some that GV Wire℠ met, they didn’t want to leave town just yet.
Related Story: ‘We’re Not Losing That School’: Firefighters Save Big Creek ...
Double Panic for Davis Family
Sandra Davis-Orlandella received a text to evacuate her Beal Fire Road home in Auberry on Sunday morning.
“I called my son and my grandson. They came up and we got the trailers out and the trucks and everything, grabbed personal items, photographs, trying to get on my cats. We got two,” Davis-Orlandella said.
Her son, Brandon Davis, tried to keep a level head.
“You kind of panic. You get up there and you have to get a plan because you can run circles real fast, trying to figure out what to grab. Thankfully, we had about five or six people. Everybody had a job to do,” Davis said.
She spent the night with family in Fresno but returned to the Auberry area Monday to bring water and supplies for firefighters.
Davis-Orlandella said this is the fifth time in 24 years fire has forced her from her home.
“This is the worse though. I’ve actually had fire close to my house, but not at the magnitude of this fire,” she said.
Davis-Orlandella also returned hoping to hear from her husband Vita Orlandella, who spent the weekend on a hiking trip at the Dusy-Ershim trail by Courtright Reservoir.
He was supposed to return Tuesday but cut short the trip because of the fire. He is also a tanker pilot, with a shift starting Monday.
His family hasn’t heard from him all weekend.
“We are hoping they are not broken back down back there,” Davis-Orlandella said. “We are just waiting for them to come out. I’m sure they’re fine.”
Later in the afternoon, Sandra learned that her husband was being led out by sheriff’s deputies.
Related Story: Local Stations Could Go Dark if Creek Fire Reaches Broadcast Towers Near
Brandon Davis (left) awaits in Prather with his girlfriend Katie Hayes and mother Sandra Davis-Orlandella (GV Wire/David Taub)
Waiting at the Park and Ride
“I’m trying to get home so I can help my 80-year old grandmother and my parents get to get their small amount of animals out.” — Almon Hill, evacuee
Around 11 a.m., northbound Auberry Road at Highway 168 was closed following an evacuation order of Auberry. Almon Hill received word of the evacuation while he was at work.
“ I need to get home and help out,” Hill said was his immediate thoughts. “I’m trying to get home so I can help my 80-year old grandmother and my parents get their small amount of animals out.”
The California Highway Patrol wouldn’t let him or other drivers through. Many pleaded their cases, but the most a CHP officer could do was write down their names and phone numbers on a notepad.
“It’s frustrating, but at the same time, I understand that it’s protocol,” Hill said.
Hill decided to wait it out at the park-and-ride lot at the corner of Auberry Road and Highway 168.
“I’m just waiting as best I can do at the moment,” Hill said.
Hill and the other drivers thought the road was opening up. It was a false alarm. The CHP moved the roadblock further down Auberry Road at Blue Heron Road in order to prevent back up on Highway 168.
Residents are pleading their case to return home through Auberry Road at Highway 168 but being stopped by @CHPCentralDiv #CreekFire pic.twitter.com/7tgx4M8BRM
— David Taub (@TaubGVWire) September 7, 2020
Take Their Pets and Go
Several evacuees waited it out at the shopping center in Prather, next to the roundabout.
The Subway restaurant offered free meals to anyone who had to leave their home.
@SUBWAY in Prather offering free food for evacuees. pic.twitter.com/9C7gl18niX
— David Taub (@TaubGVWire) September 7, 2020
Sue and Steve Taber said they only had five minutes to vacate the Sandy Creek Village Mobile Home Park.
“Pack everything up and leave,” Sue said. “It’s scary.”
Fortunately, they had pre-packed most things, but Steve left his phone behind. They managed to bring along their two dogs.
Related Story: Creek Fire Creating Own Weather System, Havoc for Firefighters
The Tabers aren’t sure what to do next.
“We’re going to have to hang out here,” Sue said.
Steve Taber felt the lack of tree cutting and logging created fuel for the Creek Fire. He was vocal on who he blamed.
“It’s the environmentalists’ fault. Tree huggers. That’s my opinion,” Steve Taber said.
Creek Fire evacuee Steve Taber (GV Wire/David Taub)
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