Resident Rescues Genealogy Papers from Wildfire

John and Liza Dart spent Friday night at an evacuation center after fleeing an 800-acre wildfire that threatened 30 homes in the Pine Valley subdivision of the Village of Oak Creek near Sedona, Arizona. They worried about a cat that was left behind but seemed unfazed that they were without clothing, medication, or even a toothbrush.

When the fire broke out, Liza, 55, and her daughter were in Cornville. John, 53, was at the family home without a car. Soon, the phone lines went out.

For the next three hours, Liza worried about whether her husband got out. Local residents filled her head with rumors: The whole subdivision was burning; people couldn't escape. She saw a helicopter dropping water. Her mind raced.

"I'm thinking, where would he run to?" she said. "The neighbor has a fish pond. I kept seeing him and the dog in the fish pond. I imagined absolutely everything. That's me."

In the beginning, John thought the flames would miss their house. He tried to sprinkle water on some trees but soon realized it was "an exercise in futility." When the wind shifted, John said, "I knew it was time to get out of there." He hitched a ride, bringing only the dog, some genealogy paperwork, and a laptop computer with pictures in it.

The flames destroyed the Dart's home, along with all the other homes in their neighborhood.

"I was just so glad to see him that nothing else really mattered," Liza said. "It's just stuff. And I'm not a big stuff person."

Comments

[Rosemary Filyaw]

For several years now I have always put a copy of my genealogy in my purse when I know that we could be in the path of a tornado. Although I keep a copy in our bank deposit box, I am so afraid I will loose the newer information that did not make it into the last back-up.

This last Christmas, one of our daughters bought me a 1 GB device that I can put all my genealogy and old family pictures on and it is on a lanyard to wear around my neck.

Is there anyone else as paranoid as I am?

I have many years worth of information that I would hate to replace.

Thanks,
Rosemary

[Kathy]

I email my gedcom file to a friend every so often so it is on her computer too. She just stores it there for me. I also have uploaded it to my free Yahoo account. Of course that doesn't cover all the paper things I have that are not in digital form.

[Michelle]

Like Kathy, I backup using a free account. I send a copy of my latest compressed genealogy backup to my free gmail account, in case the worst ever happens and I lose everything. I think this is just practical given the huge time investment!

[Moultrie Creek]

Right now we're waiting for a visit from the season's first hurricane. Last year, I wrote about how I prepare for hurricane season (http://www.moultriecreek.net/family/2005/05/trying_to_reaso.html). Some of those ideas could be useful in many disaster situations.