IN PERGOLA

#128 - Steam rose from the debris already drying out in the morning sun. It was surreal.

Welcome to Before I Forget . .

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IN PERGOLA

part 1

Arthur and Beth got in the SUV for the rest of the ride up to the pergola. Beth was crying and Arthur was trying to console her.

They got about halfway but like the sedan, and even with all-wheel drive, they came to a standstill, tires spinning in the mud.

Arthur flattened the rear seats and he and Beth climbed in. This was it for the night.

Rearranging their bugout supplies, they changed into their spare set of clothes and settled in for the night, each absorbed in their thoughts.

It was a long night. If they slept, it was in fits and starts, interrupted by bouts of their new reality. It rained until dawn, then stopped, replaced by a thick slow-moving fog.

By nine o’clock, the fog had lifted, burned off by a glorious sun. The last of the rainstorm clouds were moving east in tatters over the higher hills.

They got their first look at what was their home.

There was nothing left but a fountain of water from the broken water line, the overflow following the lowest path down to the creek.

A debris field carpeted the stream bank up to the house becoming thicker after hitting it. It fanned out over the fifty yards to the woods before disappearing, knocking down trees at the edge as it continued downstream.

Steam rose from the debris already drying out in the morning sun. It was surreal.

They walked through the debris, seeing here and there remnants of the house, furniture, and clothing. No hoped-for pictures or anything worth saving.

They walked up past the vehicles to the pergola. The blue ocean and islands on the horizon stood out stark and crisp in the cool clean air.

Arthur retrieved the gear from the SUV and set up the Starlink so he could call the kids and Carl Johnson.

He called his son, David. They knew of the reservoir collapse and were greatly relieved that they were okay. He and his sister, Rebecca, wanted them to come stay with either of them. They lived over in the East Bay a few miles from each other.

“The road’s closed.”

“I'll charter a helicopter, for as soon as possible.”

“I think we’ll stay here for the time being. We’ll be fine.”

David said he would get more gear up to them. He had portable solar panels and battery generator that would power their Starlink and charge their cellphones. It could handle a small microwave and Instapot and small fridge.

And a four-man canvas wall tent and chairs. They would be much more comfortable. We'll bring food, and a two-burner propane stove.

He called Carl to let him know their situation.

Carl said “Four people are missing from the five homes destroyed down at the confluence. We’re doing search and rescue, doesn’t look good for them. Do you need blankets? Food? We have MREs. Water?”

“That would be great. Much appreciate it. If you have a couple of large tarps, and tiedowns or rope, we’ll take ‘em. More than willing to pay for whatever you can bring up.”

“Don’t worry about it. We’ll try to get by your place this afternoon.”

Beth got out the mini camper propane stove and a couple packets of coffee while Arthur set up the popup tent and sleeping bags under the pergola. It would suffice for the time being.

They enjoyed their first homeless meal of bland coffee and granola bars, their only food source and of which they had many, looking out on the ocean to one side and the remains of their home in the debris on the other.

The broken water line stopped its spraying. Public Utilities must have turned it off at the source.

“This isn’t so bad,” Beth said with a smile. Arthur smiled back and added, “Yes, it‘s rather nice, isn’t it. We sure downsized, didn’t we?

“Kind of romantic, if I remember ‘romantic’ right. Reminds me of when we first met and we would just take off somewhere on my motorcycle. We had each other and that was enough. Remember the screw cap wine?”

The afternoon passed quietly on a beautiful spring day.

Just before sundown, they heard the wop wop wop of the copter sounding through the hills. Arthur met them down the hill on the flat and they dropped off supplies and a couple cases of water.

One of the crew members gave Arthur a bottle of wine and a cork popper. Carl Johnson says, “Enjoy - it will help the MREs go down. We’ll be checking up on you.” They were there and gone in hardly a minute.

Arthur got the big blue tarp over the roof of the pergola and the two smaller ones on the side walls. They were now protected from rain and wind and could be adjusted as needed.

Watching the sun set in the ocean, they passed the wine bottle back and forth and ate the first of their provided MREs with a granola bar for dessert.

“We’re living large, now, aren’t we!?” said Beth. Her usual upbeat self had returned.

“You and me, Babe!” added Arthur.

TIMELINE

- Three days later, David and ‘Becca arrived, by helicopter, with their promised supplies.

- Two and a half weeks later, the same helicopter brought in more food and camp items.

- The road was cleared and repaired as needed three weeks plus after the flood. Debris was piled up like a snowbank between the road and stream.

- Public Utilities repaired the broken water line, adding a faucet. They reconnected the electricity. Now they had power.

- The Forest Service had started rebuilding the up-canyon reservoir, the hum of heavy machinery filled the air when the wind was right.

- Arthur hired Joey Conners and his do-it-all tractor to clear the yard of debris from the east and north sides.

He made piles of debris alongside the road and excavated two large pond-like holes on the north side near the forest line, dozed the debris in the holes and covered them over with the excavated soil. It took over three weeks because of rain.

Maybe in a couple of years after the soil settles, Beth would put in fruit trees, maybe some grapes.

- Plans for a smaller two room house on a raised foundation were drawn up and construction began after the July 4^th holiday.

- They moved in on the first day of fall.

Thank you for reading Before I Forget . . !

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