The film has an eerie quality (especially the music) that made me think of the perseverance life requires, even when we don't know why things happened in a specific way. His descriptions of what the neighborhood was like showcase how ordinary they all were, leading me to ponder his extraordinary experience.
Contemporaries Club it really doesn't I drove through several months after it happened and it's like the hand of God came through and left a stripe of nothing, photos just can't do it justice.
Hello all! I am the filmmaker of this short and wanted to answer a question that has come up a couple times and will inevitably come up a couple more times :) Question: How did his house survive? Answer: The answer is that we do not know. Mr. Buhrz had a number of theories, which I will outline below. But ultimately, because we cannot be sure, and because the reasons outlined were also characteristics of other homes in the neighborhood that burned, I made the editorial decision to leave it a mystery... that felt like the most accurate telling of the story. Mr. Buhrz's theories for why the house survived: 1.) The house is oriented east to west and the fire came from north to south (I believe those are the correct directions, but I would have to go back to the interview audio to be 100% sure). As a result, Mr. Buhrz said the fire didn’t catch on the front and back wooden doors, but rather, hit a stucco side wall which had just one aluminum window pane. 2.) His wife, who declined to take part in the story, waters the lawn at night to conserve water. Mr. Buhrz said that the sprinkler system was on shortly before the fires started. 3.) They have a highly fire rated roof. 4.) My. Buhrz mentioned that another reason could be that he has leaf guards on the gutters so there were no leaves on the house for the fire to catch. Hope that gives people some insight into the situation. Mr. Buhrz would be the first to say he can't be sure how or why it was saved. He told me in the interview, "I have been lucky all my life." It will forever remain a mystery. Thank you to everyone for watching my film. It means a lot to me.
National Geographic my pleasure! I think it’s important for a filmmaker to engage with the audience! And it’s an honor to represent National Geographic with this film.
It could've been worse: 300 or 400 years ago, he probably would've been called a witch and accused of bring the fire down because his house survived the blaze.
People like this who were fortunate to still have the house are being criticized by their neighbors who lost theirs in the area, so similar but not nearly that bad.
I have a real problem of not having a turkey sammie in my hand and or mouth right now. Only you can help. Please make a turkey sammie and give it to someone you love today!
His house was lucky, but not the only one that survived. We can see other houses from the drone video at the end. The other surviving houses had wet leafy trees around them.
The significance of this story is about being an island after the firestorm. There were other houses that survived in the same manner. It's like after mowing the lawn and then discovering that 'one' blade of grass right in the middle that is still four inches tall.
I am from a little town 30 minutes away from Santa Rosa. I knew Santa Rosa very well it was my hometown but I moved away from it 11 years ago. I am 14 now and I grew up in pretty much two towns. My uncle lost his house, his dogs, his cars, and pretty much everything he owned. I am traumatized from this tragedy and never thought this would ever happen. I always visit Santa Rosa almost every weekend and when I go to my uncles neighborhood which is Coffey Park I see nothing but burned up trees and barely any houses almost the whole neighborhood was burned. My uncle and my aunt have a little daughter they live there for a long time that was their first house ever they Never moved out. All the memories I had there is now burned. I feared that the fire would come to my town where I live. When the fire was Going on and every time I went to Santa Rosa and left I saw the mountains burning it was scary. Hopefully this does not ever happen again and I just hear hopefully nowhere in this world
Positive vibes! Over 200 of my friends and customers lost their homes and businesses that night. A few of them lost even more. Its hard for some of us that escaped harm than night to not feel just a small bit of guilt, or at least feel that we want to try and take on some of the pain for those neighbors and friends that lost so, so much.
In less than a decade maybe even in the next couple of years, those ashes will help nourish new vegetation and it’s going to be the only house surrounded by beautiful healthy vegetation
Wala Lopez Not exactly. I went through this fire and lost my house in the Coffey Park neighborhood. The ash is toxic and there was a massive cleanup organized by the Army Corps of Engineers that lasted for months. All the lots have been completely cleared and the topsoil removed. Some rebuilding has begun and houses are starting to pop up. A lot of people decided not to rebuild or just couldn’t afford to and put their lots up for sale. These empty lots have been quickly getting bought up. Many by large developers.
Bc of dioxin. Cheap shmucks using vinyl siding and laminate flooring etc. could have built stone houses and still had a place to live but it costs too much.
I live in Santa Rosa and I didn't even know about that house. When I came back to Santa Rosa I saw how the fire missed buildings and houses but everything around them was gone. It's strange and I hope the people who lost their homes are doing better today.
My heart goes out to all those affected by fires, it is a horrible thing and these people lost everything they had. I hope everyone can pull together to ease the pain of their loss and stay strong.
Amazing. My aunt lost her house on Parker Hill rd in fountain grove. Her house backed up to the small ravine near riebli rd. Her neighbor has cement all around the house, no landscaping within 15 feet or large trees growing too close to it. I believe it is stucco and brick. It was the only house on the street to make it out unscathed. Completely devastating to see it up close. Many memories just reduced to ashes. My heart goes out to all those affected. May they all be rebuilt soon.
Fire is the greatest fear of every Arizonan. We live with this terrible reality on a daily basis. Fire is swift and deadly - while a lack of water is slow and painful. Both are extremes we deal with continually. Stay safe out there my friends.
If we where a little more tough in building codes it would be a lot less dangerous here in Az. In summer there are so many trailer park fires. It is truly ridiculous!
It’s the same in Australia. Bush fires are what everyone fears. The weeks before summer are the worst in Victoria. My whole neighbourhood has fire bunkers under the houses after Black Saturday a few years ago people started to build fire safe bunkers in their backyards or under the house.
The fire was beyond terrible, smoke blocked visibility past 40 yards or so and breathing the air burned if you were out too long. Something i will never forget.
Things happen. My house burned a couple of years ago. Fires can be destructive. California, especially in the windy season, is no exception. For a state that is regulated, i am surprised they dont have building codes that include wildfire resistance. Or even community Fire Safe codes!! Planting trees that hold a lot of water is a heck of a good start.
i feel this pain of seeing something you love burnt away....i live in the columbia river gorge, oregon, we had a fire that burned beautiful old growth forests this time last yr. it was started by a careless teenager...this will never come back in my lifetime
A similar thing happened to my granparents in Hamilton Montana during the Roaring Lion Fire. All of their neighbors houses burned down, and theirs was the only one left. The fire was started about a 1/2 mile from their house by some kids who left a campfire burning at a trailhead. They had about 20min warning from when they first saw smoke, to when the fire was at their front door.
I am buying that more than anything, considering the landscaping survived as well. It happens the same way with twisters. Not knowing how the house was constructed makes it impossible to determine why it was spared, but most certainly not divine intervention.
I'm guessing that he had a big yard with not many things that let the fire jump into their property, but even if that's case it's still an amazing outcome.
Just kept the undergrowth cleared, and no big flammable torches of trees near the house, plus fire resistant finishes on all the exposed surfaces and roof underside.
It was tragic what has happened. I still see those missing pet posters. I was in an evac zone but our house wasnt hit. 3 of our friends homes have already been burnt down when we got up at 3 am in a rush. Two of those homes had pets stuck inside. Sadly both of them had animals i had fostered. Really sad to see them just gone.
Very interesting. A similar incedent happened in Cairo not long ago. But was a single flat that stayed untouched by fire of all the surrounding buildings including the building with the flat. It is said the person inside it just prayed at that special time. Who knows best?
it's called the mosaic pattern . Fuel burns, the fire finds better fuel source, wind shift draws flames in different directions finding more fuel and so it goes. He was very lucky .
I can't imagine how conflicted/ambivalent he must feel about the whole ordeal. On one hand, he's extremely fortunate not to have lost everything in the wildfire; on the other hand, he's now completely alone, and all of his neighbors and friends have had their homes completely destroyed. I'd be feeling some survivor's guilt right there, even though it was completely out of his control.
This reminds me of the demolition of people’s houses near the airport in my town that the government one day woke up and termed as illegal and unsafe. They tore down hundreds of houses only leaving one. The owner of the one spared house was in such a state of shock that he had to be put in a psychiatric institution.
Stoned Homer Your right about the wildfires. Besides that whole area of Sonoma and Marin counties os quite "special"...i do not think just anyone can live there.
We share that sentiment - it's very emotional to see how the events played out. Our thoughts go out to this community and we hope they're able to recover and rebuild.
He whom God wants to save cannot be affected by the worst of all disasters or calamities . This guy truly seem to a God fearing individual. I Wish people that are not humble learn from his calm & patience . Aameen!
This happened to me about a year ago, just about my whole street was burnt to ashes, but our house, which was surrounded by dry forest, because of a 7 year drought survived, it was so odd.
That was an intense couple weeks. I live in Santa Rosa and woke up that morning and all I saw was red smoke and ash wafting on the wind. Wasn't forced to evacuate, but went to Fairfield anyways to stay with family and we almost had to evacuate their house. Felt like nature was hunting you.
But these other factors were there out of luck, so that's mainly a lucky event. The watering of the grass : coincidental luck (the wife did not do it in order to prevent fire so it's a lucky coincidence that it helped). The abscence of leaves on the rooftop : Same, the owner probably never choose this house because it had no tree above it that could leave leaves on the rooftop.
+Lucas R to me, that's not REALLY luck, since these things were pretty much consistent occurences. (He mentioned his wife only watering at night) and the trees stood in their place all the time too. To me, that's not REALLY luck, but then again, "luck" has a loose definition.
Not sure how to feel. Its absolutely amazing how his house was spared. Almost as if it had an invisible shield around it. I can only imagine how he and his wife must feel. I think I would have a mix of emotions. Of course blessed but sad and guilty my friends/neighbors have lost their homes and belongings. 🤔
What kept that place from igniting? The paint have a higher flame rating? More heat reflective? Did the tree adsorb the brunt of it? There's a lesson here. Learn it.
LagiNaLangAko23 Take a moment and realize how selfish that would sound if you said it when your house survived a fire. "Yay, my house survived because god loves me and my family! Nobody else though hehehe!"
They weren't lucky, they were smart! 1. Large yard watered at night. (Better saturation of water by grass and soil). 2. Good roofing, high fire-melt temps. 3. Clean gutters. No where for fires to start. 4. Good house design, top grade building materials. Concrete driveway, walkway. 5. No large dry plants next to house. No dry grasses or weed patches. That's my evaluation.
I can't believe this! Our Lord God was watching over you. Your a lucky person...God bless you and the people in your neighborhood that had to go through this horrible nightmare.
If God is everywhere - you know the entire omnipresent thing, then you cannot be without God... So anytime you think or call someone Godless - you are saying God is not omnipresent. Or Anytime you in your power command God be with someone, you are saying God was not there, ipso facto not omnipresent, and also that God doesn't just help those in need, but only the ones you think to tell this all knowing God to help or be with. (So by you saying may God be with someone you are discounting or disclaiming all knowing and omnipresence - also all powerful because God must wait for you to say or type it). This is why you believe in God. You are not smart. If you just looked at your own scriptures you'd see you violate them and the scriptures contradict themselves a lot. But don't think - just keep on being self righteous ;)
I live in the area and we suffer from fires every year. Big ones going on again. people have died including fire fighters. Wild fires are so demoralizing.
I continue to be surprised by people who will not prepare when a massive fire is nearby. If one has been going for a few hours or a few days, there will have been a great deal of news reporting on it, not to mention the sight and smell of smoke. Too many residents in such places will deny that the fire could reach them - "it's still way over there" - till suddenly, they're literally running out the door with nothing.
Gerard Buhrz's home was the only one in his neighborhood left standing when a wildfire hit. What are your thoughts on his experience?
Infinite Aseem no, his house was.
biryanikebab why would that matter
What about the houses to the right.
The film has an eerie quality (especially the music) that made me think of the perseverance life requires, even when we don't know why things happened in a specific way. His descriptions of what the neighborhood was like showcase how ordinary they all were, leading me to ponder his extraordinary experience.
So what was the reason it survived?
That aerial shot in the end really puts in perspective how incredibly fortunate he was. Amazing.
Thank you! I am glad you found that shot powerful :)
Contemporaries Club it really doesn't I drove through several months after it happened and it's like the hand of God came through and left a stripe of nothing, photos just can't do it justice.
There more homes on the right LMAO
So fortunate to keep his material goods! Yay
jason hernandez
And they’re burnt.
Hello all! I am the filmmaker of this short and wanted to answer a question that has come up a couple times and will inevitably come up a couple more times :)
Question: How did his house survive?
Answer: The answer is that we do not know. Mr. Buhrz had a number of theories, which I will outline below. But ultimately, because we cannot be sure, and because the reasons outlined were also characteristics of other homes in the neighborhood that burned, I made the editorial decision to leave it a mystery... that felt like the most accurate telling of the story.
Mr. Buhrz's theories for why the house survived:
1.) The house is oriented east to west and the fire came from north to south (I believe those are the correct directions, but I would have to go back to the interview audio to be 100% sure). As a result, Mr. Buhrz said the fire didn’t catch on the front and back wooden doors, but rather, hit a stucco side wall which had just one aluminum window pane.
2.) His wife, who declined to take part in the story, waters the lawn at night to conserve water. Mr. Buhrz said that the sprinkler system was on shortly before the fires started.
3.) They have a highly fire rated roof.
4.) My. Buhrz mentioned that another reason could be that he has leaf guards on the gutters so there were no leaves on the house for the fire to catch.
Hope that gives people some insight into the situation. Mr. Buhrz would be the first to say he can't be sure how or why it was saved. He told me in the interview, "I have been lucky all my life." It will forever remain a mystery.
Thank you to everyone for watching my film. It means a lot to me.
Austin Meyer you are amazing!
Simply amazing!
Thanks for jumping in and for producing such a captivating film, Austin! The additional information you provided is greatly appreciated.
Marshe Reluao aw, thank you!
National Geographic my pleasure! I think it’s important for a filmmaker to engage with the audience! And it’s an honor to represent National Geographic with this film.
It could've been worse: 300 or 400 years ago, he probably would've been called a witch and accused of bring the fire down because his house survived the blaze.
Not even that....
The last Official witch trial was in 1878.
People like this who were fortunate to still have the house are being criticized by their neighbors who lost theirs in the area, so similar but not nearly that bad.
Yep and today people will claim god saved his house. What about sky daddy killing people and burning all the others down?
Hes a satanist you can tell by his mouth and his soulless eyes.
It would have been ok since America is only 200 years old 😂😂
Seems like he will not have problems with noisy neighbours in the next time
Kristoffer Lillje just think of the construction and hammering and machinery.
+Brian Simonson - That's only during daytime hours. The chiming noise was at night.
I dont have problems with turkies
haha, I loved that line. Had to put it in the film :)
I have a real problem of not having a turkey sammie in my hand and or mouth right now. Only you can help. Please make a turkey sammie and give it to someone you love today!
"I believe the human being and the turkey can co exist peacefully."
I cannot wait to coexist with our turkey brethren. Love how you spelled it as "turkies" btw. Good laugh.
The turkeys clean all the cracks in my driveway I never have one weed
His house was lucky, but not the only one that survived. We can see other houses from the drone video at the end.
The other surviving houses had wet leafy trees around them.
Almost all of the houses had wet leafy trees around them
The significance of this story is about being an island after the firestorm. There were other houses that survived in the same manner. It's like after mowing the lawn and then discovering that 'one' blade of grass right in the middle that is still four inches tall.
I am from a little town 30 minutes away from Santa Rosa. I knew Santa Rosa very well it was my hometown but I moved away from it 11 years ago. I am 14 now and I grew up in pretty much two towns. My uncle lost his house, his dogs, his cars, and pretty much everything he owned. I am traumatized from this tragedy and never thought this would ever happen. I always visit Santa Rosa almost every weekend and when I go to my uncles neighborhood which is Coffey Park I see nothing but burned up trees and barely any houses almost the whole neighborhood was burned. My uncle and my aunt have a little daughter they live there for a long time that was their first house ever they Never moved out. All the memories I had there is now burned. I feared that the fire would come to my town where I live. When the fire was Going on and every time I went to Santa Rosa and left I saw the mountains burning it was scary. Hopefully this does not ever happen again and I just hear hopefully nowhere in this world
Love from windsor
Interesting, however, I wish they expounded more about the building dynamics that enabled it to survive the fire.
bricks and good insulation
Thank you for your comment Wenesha. I am the filmmaker and I made a comment above that talks about this.
I applaud your use of the word "expound". Aside from you, Lemony Snicket and myself, I know nobody else who uses this word.
Hugh G Wrection You could use that word, but "expound" is a much more interesting, nearly lost word.
Wenesha Edwards investigate the anomalies how can entire houses in vehicles become ash trees and bushes untouched
What's crazy is that fire would be surpassed by the camp fire as the most destructive a year later :(
Positive vibes!
Over 200 of my friends and customers lost their homes and businesses that night. A few of them lost even more. Its hard for some of us that escaped harm than night to not feel just a small bit of guilt, or at least feel that we want to try and take on some of the pain for those neighbors and friends that lost so, so much.
I could listen to him all day, his voice so calm
Truly blessed, a very deep story. Touching. Miss the neighbors who are on to better places.
A better title would have been " An Island in a Sea of Ashes"
Goodness, even his garden and trees are intact!
This is my hometown every one will remember that night forever
I live in Napa and I will never forget this fire. I remeber seeing ashes falling from the sky like if it was snowing.
The drone shots in first minute are great.. what a beautiful place to live..
SVJ 007 it is. Sonoma county is near perfect. 😌
In less than a decade maybe even in the next couple of years, those ashes will help nourish new vegetation and it’s going to be the only house surrounded by beautiful healthy vegetation
Wala Lopez
Not exactly. I went through this fire and lost my house in the Coffey Park neighborhood. The ash is toxic and there was a massive cleanup organized by the Army Corps of Engineers that lasted for months. All the lots have been completely cleared and the topsoil removed. Some rebuilding has begun and houses are starting to pop up.
A lot of people decided not to rebuild or just couldn’t afford to and put their lots up for sale. These empty lots have been quickly getting bought up. Many by large developers.
Bc of dioxin. Cheap shmucks using vinyl siding and laminate flooring etc. could have built stone houses and still had a place to live but it costs too much.
I live in Santa Rosa and I didn't even know about that house. When I came back to Santa Rosa I saw how the fire missed buildings and houses but everything around them was gone. It's strange and I hope the people who lost their homes are doing better today.
My heart goes out to all those affected by fires, it is a horrible thing and these people lost everything they had. I hope everyone can pull together to ease the pain of their loss and stay strong.
Amazing. My aunt lost her house on Parker Hill rd in fountain grove. Her house backed up to the small ravine near riebli rd. Her neighbor has cement all around the house, no landscaping within 15 feet or large trees growing too close to it. I believe it is stucco and brick. It was the only house on the street to make it out unscathed. Completely devastating to see it up close. Many memories just reduced to ashes. My heart goes out to all those affected. May they all be rebuilt soon.
Fire is the greatest fear of every Arizonan. We live with this terrible reality on a daily basis.
Fire is swift and deadly - while a lack of water is slow and painful.
Both are extremes we deal with continually.
Stay safe out there my friends.
Bert Shackleford Well said brother.
If we where a little more tough in building codes it would be a lot less dangerous here in Az. In summer there are so many trailer park fires. It is truly ridiculous!
It’s the same in Australia. Bush fires are what everyone fears. The weeks before summer are the worst in Victoria. My whole neighbourhood has fire bunkers under the houses after Black Saturday a few years ago people started to build fire safe bunkers in their backyards or under the house.
Here in the south east our fear is of drowning in rain water. Or being steamed to death by the humidity. What a difference
Arizona? Hi, I’m California, I win.
Good place and scenery for post-apo movie :)
spike those 44 people
Aw, you can tell he has a caring heart♥️ godbless
For those who would like to explore the area in more detail, the location is 38.4958°, -122.7086°
The fire was beyond terrible, smoke blocked visibility past 40 yards or so and breathing the air burned if you were out too long. Something i will never forget.
Things happen. My house burned a couple of years ago. Fires can be destructive. California, especially in the windy season, is no exception.
For a state that is regulated, i am surprised they dont have building codes that include wildfire resistance. Or even community Fire Safe codes!! Planting trees that hold a lot of water is a heck of a good start.
I was his neighbor down the street very amazing family ✊✊
This is just eerie.......he is heart broken though....he misses his friends.
i feel this pain of seeing something you love burnt away....i live in the columbia river gorge, oregon, we had a fire that burned beautiful old growth forests this time last yr. it was started by a careless teenager...this will never come back in my lifetime
What's with the background music its soo loud
Truly a Miracle
A similar thing happened to my granparents in Hamilton Montana during the Roaring Lion Fire. All of their neighbors houses burned down, and theirs was the only one left. The fire was started about a 1/2 mile from their house by some kids who left a campfire burning at a trailhead. They had about 20min warning from when they first saw smoke, to when the fire was at their front door.
The wind is a mysterious thing. The sudden shift of the fire saved his house.
I am buying that more than anything, considering the landscaping survived as well. It happens the same way with twisters. Not knowing how the house was constructed makes it impossible to determine why it was spared, but most certainly not divine intervention.
Great story! Thank you!
Very well done video👍
I'm guessing that he had a big yard with not many things that let the fire jump into their property, but even if that's case it's still an amazing outcome.
Just kept the undergrowth cleared, and no big flammable torches of trees near the house, plus fire resistant finishes on all the exposed surfaces and roof underside.
that, bricks and good insulation
he might want to thank his architect...
SeanBZA um.....There is a tree at the front of his house.
Ian Goldsworthy there is also a house that was to the left of his house and trees behind his house.
It was tragic what has happened. I still see those missing pet posters. I was in an evac zone but our house wasnt hit. 3 of our friends homes have already been burnt down when we got up at 3 am in a rush. Two of those homes had pets stuck inside. Sadly both of them had animals i had fostered. Really sad to see them just gone.
reminds me of looking at the ashes of my house after a wildfire as a child and then looking over at the neighbors unscathed house
his yard was wet.. stucco house also helps
He must of done a lot of good things through out his life.
Absolutely Incredible!
I would love to see his house value before, during and after (per year scale).
How is that possible? It's like the hand of God came down and covered his house. Incredible!
Katherine Uribe Gods hand really?
What did the other 9000 house did wrong to be burnt down?
More like thermodynamics and a little lucky randomness.
More like a house thats not mostly outta wood
Katherine Uribe incredible
Attributing it to a god how pathetic and deluded.
WOW😮 BEAUTIFULLY BLESSED
That must be so peaceful now. I no joke wanna live in this house when I grow up
Very interesting. A similar incedent happened in Cairo not long ago. But was a single flat that stayed untouched by fire of all the surrounding buildings including the building with the flat. It is said the person inside it just prayed at that special time. Who knows best?
He "almost" cried? This guy is one stoic bloke.
it's called the mosaic pattern . Fuel burns, the fire finds better fuel source, wind shift draws flames in different directions finding more fuel and so it goes. He was very lucky .
I live in Solano County and it was so scary last year. I remember the ash just raining down. So sorry for all that lost their homes. :(
He don't have Neighbors In his Neighborhood in that's why they call it Hood.
TheFOfficial...silly and clever.
I can't imagine how conflicted/ambivalent he must feel about the whole ordeal. On one hand, he's extremely fortunate not to have lost everything in the wildfire; on the other hand, he's now completely alone, and all of his neighbors and friends have had their homes completely destroyed. I'd be feeling some survivor's guilt right there, even though it was completely out of his control.
I live in long beach, and i just remember the ENTIRE sky was orange and burnt, ash falling everywhere. It looked like an apocalypse, terrifying.
This reminds me of the demolition of people’s houses near the airport in my town that the government one day woke up and termed as illegal and unsafe. They tore down hundreds of houses only leaving one. The owner of the one spared house was in such a state of shock that he had to be put in a psychiatric institution.
I have lived in Santa Rosa for nearly 31 years and the fires were the craziest thing that have ever happened.
Stoned Homer Agreed mate. I had to evacuate as well but the flames stayed about a quarter mile away.
Stoned Homer
Your right about the wildfires. Besides that whole area of Sonoma and Marin counties os quite "special"...i do not think just anyone can live there.
Beyond amazing
Wow.....amazing and sad. Very emotional footage.💓🌹🙏
babygirlgibbs thank you for watching my short film. Glad you found it compelling
We share that sentiment - it's very emotional to see how the events played out. Our thoughts go out to this community and we hope they're able to recover and rebuild.
Absolutely amazing. Makes one wonder...
He whom God wants to save cannot be affected by the worst of all disasters or calamities . This guy truly seem to a God fearing individual. I Wish people that are not humble learn from his calm & patience . Aameen!
Wow that last shot!
It must be tough to live like this. Hang in there
Î saw some more buildings stil lstanding at the end. Did they leave?
That’s truly amazing
I live in santa rosa my Dr's office got burned down on fountain grove. I was almost evacuated this fire took about a quarter of the city
An astonishing story.
This happened to me about a year ago, just about my whole street was burnt to ashes, but our house, which was surrounded by dry forest, because of a 7 year drought survived, it was so odd.
I just cry..
That was an intense couple weeks. I live in Santa Rosa and woke up that morning and all I saw was red smoke and ash wafting on the wind. Wasn't forced to evacuate, but went to Fairfield anyways to stay with family and we almost had to evacuate their house.
Felt like nature was hunting you.
This is so sad.
WOW, unimaginable!!!!
Why do bad things happen to good people? All of his friends lost their houses... and that area was so so beautiful too.
That was the worst night of my life. The fear and terror of that night stilll haunt me.
With the water system damaged in Fountaingrove, revealed months later, it's sad to think how long if will take for Fountaingrove to recover.
I knew a guy, that during Texas wild fire, he stuck sprinklers on top of his house and left. When he got back, it was the only thing standing.
Talk about being lucky.
I wouldnt call it "luck". There were alot of things that limited the fire. But yeah, with these temperatures, couldve been over too.
But these other factors were there out of luck, so that's mainly a lucky event.
The watering of the grass : coincidental luck (the wife did not do it in order to prevent fire so it's a lucky coincidence that it helped).
The abscence of leaves on the rooftop : Same, the owner probably never choose this house because it had no tree above it that could leave leaves on the rooftop.
+Lucas R to me, that's not REALLY luck, since these things were pretty much consistent occurences. (He mentioned his wife only watering at night) and the trees stood in their place all the time too. To me, that's not REALLY luck, but then again, "luck" has a loose definition.
He was blessed
That would be awesome! I'd love to have the neighborhood to myself.
This is amazing
Not sure how to feel. Its absolutely amazing how his house was spared. Almost as if it had an invisible shield around it. I can only imagine how he and his wife must feel. I think I would have a mix of emotions. Of course blessed but sad and guilty my friends/neighbors have lost their homes and belongings. 🤔
At the beginning there is a pic of a lazer and then a fire. Anyone? 1:20 timestamp.
What kept that place from igniting? The paint have a higher flame rating? More heat reflective? Did the tree adsorb the brunt of it? There's a lesson here. Learn it.
Good questions. I am the filmmaker and made a comment above that answers this question to the best of our ability.
+LagiNaLangAko23 not sure if you're using sarcasm or are actually that dense.
LagiNaLangAko23 Take a moment and realize how selfish that would sound if you said it when your house survived a fire. "Yay, my house survived because god loves me and my family! Nobody else though hehehe!"
They weren't lucky, they were smart!
1. Large yard watered at night. (Better saturation of water by grass and soil).
2. Good roofing, high fire-melt temps.
3. Clean gutters. No where for fires to start.
4. Good house design, top grade building materials. Concrete driveway, walkway.
5. No large dry plants next to house. No dry grasses or weed patches.
That's my evaluation.
I can't believe this! Our Lord God was watching over you. Your a lucky person...God bless you and the people in your neighborhood that had to go through this horrible nightmare.
Yeah, and your "Lord" randomly made 9000 people homeless and killed 44. What a great thing.
If God be for us, who can be against us..
really wanna know? See a video on YT called KNOW YOUR ENEMY. That's who is against us
It's sad to have to go back there everyday...
May God be with you.
If God is everywhere - you know the entire omnipresent thing, then you cannot be without God... So anytime you think or call someone Godless - you are saying God is not omnipresent. Or Anytime you in your power command God be with someone, you are saying God was not there, ipso facto not omnipresent, and also that God doesn't just help those in need, but only the ones you think to tell this all knowing God to help or be with. (So by you saying may God be with someone you are discounting or disclaiming all knowing and omnipresence - also all powerful because God must wait for you to say or type it). This is why you believe in God. You are not smart. If you just looked at your own scriptures you'd see you violate them and the scriptures contradict themselves a lot. But don't think - just keep on being self righteous ;)
malenotyalc Ok let's find himself ,God, a geround. May an/sth be with you.
God is real. He is love. People don't believe but that's tragic because He loves them. 🌹🌹🌹
God loves everyone, so he burns their houses down?
So god hates everyone else except for this one Dude? Ok god hates 99.9% of people.
I wonder if he prayed that night for that wind chime to just go away and God was like I can make that happen - fire!
+Brittany Holloway - Way to ruin the party........ -_-
Haha I thought it was funny.
I live an hour away from Santa Rosa and it was raining ash on our house
Amazing
bc
Thank you Rocky! I am so glad that you found my film compelling.
Austin Meyer you’re welcome
I live in the area and we suffer from fires every year.
Big ones going on again. people have died including fire fighters.
Wild fires are so demoralizing.
What music is that in the bsckground?
Original score composed by my brother! (I am the filmmaker)
I think owner used decor highly ressistant to fire. Also bricks helped alot.
What if his house was haunted and the ghost was like “ umm nope not today, I still need to scare him!”
This would be a dream come true for me.
Not even as close as bad as the California Camp Fire
This is heartbreaking
I continue to be surprised by people who will not prepare when a massive fire is nearby. If one has been going for a few hours or a few days, there will have been a great deal of news reporting on it, not to mention the sight and smell of smoke. Too many residents in such places will deny that the fire could reach them - "it's still way over there" - till suddenly, they're literally running out the door with nothing.
he is blessed !!!
A family friend was from there she still had people she knew in Paradise her parents are buried there.