O'Briens survived Paradise fire

Though Keith and Amy O'Brien had plans to move to Thermopolis when they retired, tragedy put them here a couple years ahead of their schedule.

The O'Briens are many who lost their home in the devastating Camp Fire that started on Nov. 8 in Paradise, Calif. The couple came to Thermopolis Dec. 28, though they've been visiting family and friends here for years.

Living in Paradise, Keith said they were no strangers to forest fires around their town, as they lived in a mountain community with plenty of timber and brush. "That morning, because of the winds that were happening, and it was a red flag day to boot, when that fire started everyone was already on edge." Though sparked eight miles east of Paradise as the crow flies, the fire was driven by the almost daily Jarbo Gap Winds that regularly come out of the Feather River Canyon.

"That fire sparked on a 40-50 mile per hour Jarbo Gap Wind day. Because we lived there our whole lives, when there's a fire in the Feather River Canyon and it has the influence from those Jarbo Gap Winds it automatically puts you on edge because you know it is going to be a wind-driven fire."

Amy said they didn't think much of it at first, but then the sky started darkening. Keith said the fire started at about 6:30 a.m. but an hour later, and the fire still a good distance away, embers and ashes were falling around them. "It put so many hot embers out ahead of the main fire that it started lighting things on fire miles ahead of the brunt."

By 8:30 a.m., people were starting to pack up. Though they knew it would be a windy day, Amy said, "nobody ever expected that until the sky started turning black and things were falling from the sky." The couple loaded up, but got stuck in traffic, as trips that normally took 10 minutes stretched into four hours.

"There's three main streets off of that ridge," Keith said. "With all of those people trying to evacuate at the one time the three main roads were jammed up with cars." Amy noted fires were catching on those roads so traffic had to be rerouted, adding to the chaos. For some, abandoning their vehicles and running was a quicker option.

"There was literally fire almost everywhere at one time," Keith said. "There were hundreds, if not thousands, of people who went through the same thing we're telling you. It was experienced by the large majority." The O'Briens were lucky to get out with two vehicles, a truck and a car. Keith said the fire didn't catch up to them from the back, it was there to meet them from the front and sides.

As he worked for the water department at Paradise, Keith returned the next morning to inspect facilities and he estimated seeing at least a couple thousand abandoned cars pushed off the road by bulldozers. However, not everyone made it out, he said, as some died in their cars and others in their homes with no means of getting out.

"It was like a war zone. I've never been to war but this must be what war looks like, to see that destruction and all the mayhem."

The next day's trip also brought the revelation that the O'Brien's had lost not only their home, but also the one owned by his parents John and Patty. Though the older couple has lived in Thermopolis for nearly 25 years, they still owned a home in Paradise and used it for vacationing.

It wasn't just a loss of a house for Keith. The property was where he'd grown up. "I'd been on that property since I was three months and I'm almost 53 so I'd literally been on that place my whole life and Amy had been on it for the 30 years of our marriage."

In a reflection of circumstances, the O'Briens are staying in a home near Keith's parents, offered to them by the owners who are out of town for a couple months, but are looking for a home and various items they never thought they'd have to.

"We were lucky to get out with two vehicles and a couple duffel bags with some clothes and a few pictures. We grabbed what we could but this happened so fast you couldn't dilly-dally. You had to save whatever you thought was important and I'm here to tell you things you think are important aren't, and a few things you wish you had grabbed but when you're in a panic like that there's no time. You just have to go."

Though arriving 2.5 years earlier than expected, the O'Briens said everything has been excellent. "Everything is so amazing here," Amy said. Keith said they've always been impressed with the people and past experience influenced them to want to live here.

"The welcoming has just been incredible," he said.