The Alpine "Quail" Fire

Charlie was two weeks old, and we were making our way to our next doctor’s appointment (for that special “boy procedure”...poor guy), when I saw some smoke billowing in the distance...appearing to be coming from the Alpine area. We had a little time to kill before the appointment, so we decided to head to Alpine to check it out. As we got closer, we could see that it was getting bigger and it was definitely in Alpine.

We pulled into a nearby neighborhood with a fantastic view. Cars were lining the streets, as people would drive by, pull over, and get out to watch the fire grow. The residents of the neighborhood were all out in the yards, staring in disbelief at this roaring fire. While the fire was devastating and scary to see, it was also amazing an exciting. 

We continued on to the Gruber house where we found Amy and the kids watching the fire with their binoculars. We watched the fire burn all the way up the mountain, completely torch a barn, and threaten nearby homes. We couldn’t believe what we were seeing. Being the “mountain-man” that Jason is, seeing the fire destroy the mountainside was especially devastating. Alpine already had a scorched side of the mountain from a fire about ten years ago.

Eventually we had to head on to the doctor’s office, but the huge volcanic-like smoke cloud could be seen from all around and for several days. Once the fire was contained (thanks to a rainy day and the great work of the firemen), Alpine was happy to announce that no homes were destroyed by the fire. What a miracle!!