
We lived in the small town of Santa Flora, California, deep in the Modoc National Forest, close to the Oregon line. Our home was a modest cabin, surrounded by trees. Everyone knew everyone in Santa Flora.
After five years of drought, the forest was tinder dry. Trees were dying. The Selby fire started the night of September 20th. We never found out why. Probably lightning, out in the wilderness.
When we were first alerted, there was no panic.The fire was miles away. Then the winds whipped up, some of them created by the fire itself. The fire wasn’t miles away anymore. Smoke jumpers from California and other states began arriving.
Santa Flora burnt to the ground. Nothing left standing but chimneys.
No residents were killed or injured. We evacuated in an orderly fashion.
It was the forest wildlife and many of our pets who suffered. We couldn’t find our eighteen-year-old cat. She perished.
Photo by Enisa
For FFfAW
Words: 155
Filed under: flash fiction | Tagged: FFfAW, flash fiction, flash fiction challenge, Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers | 10 Comments »