My daughter wanted a swing. Our yard had no trees with low-hanging branches that would work. We decided to go across the tracks into the woods behind our home. We found an old growth cedar tree and built a homemade swing. We used scrap oak for a seat, tail pipe hangers for brackets, three-quarter-inch bowline for rope, and hose clamps to tie everything together.
It was an awesome swing in the shade of the tree, and my daughter spent countless moments idling to and fro. Then came the 416 Fire, evacuation and anxiety about unknown consequences.
Eight days later, on our return, we were excited to see our home, trees and landscaping unscathed. We weren’t home more than 30 minutes when our daughter insisted we hike to the woods and check on the swing. On first sight the woods on the east side of the tracks looked like a moonscape, the undergrowth and groundcover blackened and charred. Then we saw a fire line cut through the woods right up to the base of our tree. A pink ribbon fluttered in the afternoon breeze.
The swing was wrapped around a branch and flagged with the ribbon. The area under the tree was raked clear of fuels. Everything burnable was cleared, and the cedar was unscathed. Hazel’s swing had been releveled, wrapped around its limb and protected from fire and back burning.
The hot shots are our heroes. We thank you for saving our home, and we thank you for your compassion. Our family will forever retell this story about our home and the swing.
Neil, Denise and Hazel Cleaves
Hermosa
