Horrible, horrible story from Oregon -- Warning: It's truly heartbreaking

[Blecht]

https://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/2020/09/the-desperate-fight-to-save-his-family-ends-in-tragedy.html

SALEM — Chris Tofte blew past the blockade, his green Jeep Cherokee aimed for the bowels of the raging Beachie Creek fire.

It was around 4 a.m. Tuesday morning, and he was desperately searching for his wife, son and mother-in-law. The family lived 4½ miles up North Fork Road SE, about 10 minutes from Lyons and 30 minutes from Salem.

Halfway there, the road flanked by walls of fire and fallen trees, he stopped for a man whose arm was badly burned. The man wanted a ride but didn’t get in when he found out Chris was headed deeper into the wildfire.

Chris agreed to pick him up on the way down, but the man wondered out loud whether he’d make it.

Back in the Jeep, struggling to navigate a road once so familiar but now shrouded by smoke-filled darkness, Chris almost ran over what looked like a bikini-clad woman on the road. Once he was closer, he realized she was wearing underwear. Her hair was singed, her mouth looked almost black, and her bare feet were severely burned.

He impatiently tried to help her into his car, explaining how he needed to find his wife and son, feeling like she was resisting.

Finally, she spoke. “I am your wife.”

It gets worse from there. Chris's son and mother-in-law, along with their dog, died in the fire.

[StarryNite]

1. Horrifying

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

2. How sad.

It's also an object lesson in how terribly fast fire can spread. Leaving to go borrow a trailer was beyond foolish. They should have grabbed what they could, piled in the car, and gotten out.

People watch dramas on TV or movies that show people going back into burning buildings to rescue a dog, or some such, and have no clue that the fire in question is incredibly well controlled. The real thing is a voracious monster.

[Blecht]

3. I'm sure they'll be regretting that decision for the rest of their lives

Sad, sad, sad.

[MissB]

4. Yeah I learned that lesson early in life

My parents had some good friends that had a daughter my age. These folks were “aunt” and “uncle” even though they weren’t.

One day the mom and daughter were in the house when a log rolled out of the fireplace and started a fire. The mom got the daughter out but then the mom went back in to grab some stuff.

She didn’t survive.

You get out and stay out. Nothing is worth going back. Nothing.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

6. It's why I am so crazed at how fire is shown in movies and on TV.

The reality is more like this:

It's one of those controlled burns in a research facility, and since it's of a fire that starts in a trashcan in the room, it certainly isn't quite the same as a wildfire.

But then there's this:

which is a Christmas tree, which more closely simulates the wildfires currently happening in the west. Note how this fire spreads far rapidly than the first one.

[shrike3]

7. Yes, I was thinking the same thing. They should have left with the clothes on their backs, if

necessary. My husband said they probably thought they had more time than they did. People don't realize how fast fires spread.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

8. See my post #6 for a couple of videos

that make it vivid.

[UpInArms]

5. My heart breaks for all of them