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2B ܂ WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 15, 2018 ܂ APPEAL TRIBUNE House is ‘an island surrounded by nobody’ Rampaging Carr Fire spares the home of a former Salem couple “Living here, like this, is just horrid.” Psychologists call it survivor guilt. Olivia Heersink Salem Statesman Journal USA TODAY NETWORK A strange mix of grat- itude and guilt consumes Alisa Robinson. You probably saw the photo of her home: A pic- ture-perfect house sur- rounded by ash, burned trees and the skeletal re- mains of several vapor- ized houses. It appeared in newspa- pers and on websites across the country after the Carr Fire jumped the Sacramento River and leveled entire neighbor- hoods in and around Redding, Calif. Robinson and her hus- band, Bill, had only been in the home for four months. After living in Salem for 30 years, they chose the property in Lake Redding Estates as the perfect retirement spot. No one can explain why the fire skipped their house, destroying every- thing around it. But after evacuating and spending a week back in Salem with her daughter, authorities let them return Aug. 3 to no power and no neighbors. “All you can see is rub- ble. ... My house is an is- land surrounded by no- body,” Robinson said. Obituaries Bruce Everett Huntsman SILVERTON - Bruce Everett Huntsman passed away peacefully at home on July 9, 2018 at age 83, with his wife Nanci and their beloved pets by his side. He is survived by his wife, Nanci Huntsman, and 5 children, Russell, Mark, Denise, Bart and Diane. He is preceded in death by two broth- ers and a sister. In lieu of flowers a gift/dona- tions may be made in his name at Ken’s Auto Body and Service Cen- ter 2333 N. Pacific Hwy Woodburn, OR., 97071, 503-981-3550, for the many medical bills he acquired. Funeral/me- morial services will be held at The Chapel in the Hills 111 Silver Falls Hwy, SE, Silverton, OR., 97381, on Saturday Au- gust 25, 2018 at 2pm. We would welcome anyone who would like to share/speak regard- ing your memories of Bruce. Refreshments immediately following at the Chapel.. Moving to Redding Robinson and her hus- band wanted a change in scenery, having lived in the same South Salem home for two decades. They were looking to retire somewhere with an abundance of sunshine, a place to ride bikes and es- cape the bustle of urban life, a place like Redding, population 92,000. “It was a little para- dise,” the 57-year-old Robinson said. “The house was absolutely beautiful with this lush garden that had all these fruit trees — lemon, lime, plum, peach, pear.” The couple, married for 21 years, made the 380-mile trek south in April following two years of planning. But it wasn’t easy to say goodbye to Salem. Robinson, a Connecti- cut native, came to Ore- gon’s capital city via Southern California in the late 1980s to raise her daughter, Ashley Greer. “It was very quiet there, and it had this country feel to it,” Robin- son said. She was a travel agent with a Salem company before launching her own business, Alisa’s Sunny Day Travel, in 2011. She met her husband, Bill, who worked for 24 years at a WinCo Foods warehouse in Woodburn, through a Salem dating network. “Salem was a big part of our life — it’s where we met, where I raised my daughter,” she said. “I miss it, but it was time for a new adventure.” Making a narrow escape The Robinsons didn’t think the Carr Fire would come near their home, believing the Sacramento River offered a barrier to the ruthless blaze. Nonetheless, they packed up important documents, clothes, pho- tographs and their six cats as a precaution. “We thought it was just on the other side (of the water), heading up north to the Shasta Dam,” she said. “That’s what we kept hearing.” But from their back- yard, the Robinsons watched in horror as “the cloud of fire” switched its course to the east late in the day, July 26. A fleeing passerby told the couple that flames had jumped the river and were headed toward the neighborhood. “(Bill and I) looked at Top: The Carr Fire burned all the homes surrounding the Robinsons (lower center.) Bottom: Bill Robinson tapes broken glass at their Redding home which avoided major damage from the Carr Fire. Many homes in their neighborhood were burned to the ground. PHOTOS BY DAVID DAVIS AND KELLY JORDAN/STATESMAN JOURNAL each other and we were like, ‘It’s time to go.’” An hour later the fire ripped through the area. “We just got out of there, and thank God we did,” Robinson said. “It was so scary.” They stayed the night at a hotel with their cats, anxious about their home’s fate. Robinson’s daughter was combing through Twitter around 12:30 a.m. July 27, looking for any sort of update to send her mom and stepfather. She found a live- stream newscast featur- ing the Redding neigh- borhood and her mother’s home, in particular. Much to her surprise, the structure seemed un- scathed. The same couldn’t be said for the any of the nearby homes — many of which were still in flames. “It was exciting, yet devastating,” said Greer, who had visited there twice. “The neighbor- LOW COST CREMATION & BURIAL Simple Cremation $595 NO Hidden Costs TUALATIN SALEM 8970 SW Tualatin Sherwood Rd 412 Lancaster Drive NE (503) 885-7800 (503) 581-6265 TIGARD PORTLAND 12995 SW Pacifi c Hwy 832 NE Broadway (503) 783-6869 (503) 783-3393 MILWAUKIE EASTSIDE 17064 SE McLoughlin Blvd 1433 SE 122nd Ave (503) 653-7076 (503) 783-6865 Privately owned cremation facility. A Family Owned Oregon Business. OR-SAL0008503-06 www.ANewTradition.com hood looked like a dysto- pian wasteland. ... It’s hard not to look at the house and the situation and not think of some sort of divine interven- tion.” “Once Ashley called, we had some reassur- ance, but we knew noth- ing was guaranteed,” Robinson said. “Our house could be safe one moment and gone the next.” The Robinsons paid one last visit to their home early the next morning. It was still standing. They fled Redding, driving to Greer’s home in Salem. They tried to relax in the company of friends and family “to feel at peace again,” at least for a little while, Robinson said. “We just tried to es- cape reality for a week.” Robinson even donat- ed money to one of her Salem friends, who was displaced after an illegal yard fire spread to a du- plex. Greer said she admired her mom and Bill’s perse- verance. “I’m just proud of them for how calm they’ve stayed during this experi- ence and their heart for the other people in the community,” she said. “Even though they knew they could’ve lost every- thing, they just focused on the fact that both of them were safe and not on the material items. “It was a real test of character.” Struggling to find meaning The area Robinson once called “paradise” looks like a “war zone.” Most of their once lush garden is gone, including their beloved fruit trees and artichokes. But they still have their home — and, oddly, their watermelon patch. Robinson said the fire practically destroyed the entire backyard and a portion of the side lawns. Alisa Robinson speaks with a utility company to get power restored at their Redding home. The Robinsons, former Salem residents, fled their residence during the Carr Fire which avoided major damage yet leveled homes on all sides. Their irrigation system was damaged, as well as a propane tank used to heat water, which might also have leaked gas un- derground. A window pane was cracked near the propane tank, but an additional layer of glass prevented the blaze from entering the home. She said the fire looked like it went around the house, stopping right at the edge of the structure. “I believe there’s a pur- pose for everything,” Robinson said. “I don’t quite understand it, but there’s still a reason all this happened.” Nothing remains of her neighbors’ houses, ex- cept debris and an occa- sional fireplace. Smoke and ash still hang heavy, polluting the air. “Yeah, I have survi- vor’s guilt. ... I feel so blessed, and yet, so weird.” she said. “It’s like being in a war, like some- body dropped a bomb here. “I don’t think everyone is going to rebuild, but I think some of them will.” Robinson thinks it’ll take a couple years before any semblance of nor- malcy or “rebirth” returns to the neighborhood. “It’s really, really sad,” she said. “But we have hope that we’ll rebuild and be OK again. ... We’re going to get past this.” The apocalyptic blaze The Carr Fire, which has laid waste to more than 186,416 acres across Northern California, started around 1:15 p.m. July 23. The blaze — the sixth most destructive in state history — stemmed from a flat tire whose exposed steel rim scrapped across a stretch of Highway 299 near Carr Powerhouse Road, creating sparks that flew into dry vegeta- tion. Flames grew rapidly due to blistering temper- atures and high winds that reached around 140 mph, destroying more than a 1,000 homes and claiming seven lives. More than 39,000 residents were forced to evacuate with thousands later returning to noth- ing. Twenty-four com- mercial structures and 500 outbuildings were burned, as well. Officials estimate $98.3 million in damage to roads, bridges, utilities and other public facilities in Shasta County, which President Donald Trump deemed a “major disaster area.” Contact reporter Olivia Heersink at oheer- sink@statesmanj ournal.com, 503-399- 6657 or follow her on Twitter @heersinkolivia.