Thousands of Oregonians had to evacuate their homes over the weekend because of wind-driven wildfires.
It鈥檚 an experience that鈥檚 become more common for people in the West, as summers grow hotter and drier every year.
For some, this wasn鈥檛 their first time fleeing oncoming flames. Barbara Gaines had to evacuate with her two horses Friday night due to the McIver Fire in Clackamas County, sparking memories of when she evacuated two years earlier during the Dowdy Fire.
鈥淭his fire is not as huge as the last one was,鈥� Gaines said, standing near her horses in the parking lot of Clackamas Community College. 鈥淚鈥檒l be glad when I can go home and have my coffee.鈥�
Gaines said she signed up for emergency alerts after her last evacuation, so this time around, she had plenty of time to prepare her horses for quick departure. At 27 and 30 years old, Gaines said, their old age makes them easy to care for, and easy to evacuate.
鈥淭hey trust me,鈥� Gaines said. 鈥淭his trailer is their second home, so that鈥檚 why they stand so well.鈥�
The fire near Estacada鈥檚 Milo McIver State Park took off Friday night, leading to an evacuation order for nearby residents, as gusty winds fanned flames across the state. By , most of those evacuation orders had been lifted.
Around that same time Friday, a fire in South Salem also exploded, triggering evacuations. Among the evacuees was Judy Turner and her daughter, Shane Cooper, who evacuated with their 18 rabbits, six Tibetan mastiffs, two cats and a lizard.
鈥淪o I have three kinds of rabbits here,鈥� Turner said, pointing to the opened hatch of an SUV, where several variations of rabbits peered from cages. 鈥淭hese two little ones are Lionheads, and they鈥檙e just a small breed pet rabbit. These guys here are American Chinchilla rabbits. And I also have a Rex rabbit there.鈥�
Turner lives on a six-acre farm. She wasn鈥檛 able to bring all of her pets with her; the 11 Tibetan yaks that she keeps for fur and milk, for instance, had to stay home. She said she released them into the safest pasture, where there was little that could burn.
Although this was her first time evacuating her pets because of a wildfire, Turner said several years of working as an environmental health and safety specialist manager helped her know how to be better prepared for disasters.
The that triggered the evacuations south of Salem, in the Vitae Springs area, has since mellowed out, and many evacuations have been lifted.
Not everyone evacuated with time to spare. Standing in a parking lot at the Lane Events Center in Eugene on Saturday, Don Griffin said he was on his way home from a trip when he hit roadblocks. That鈥檚 how he learned that his neighborhood in Oakridge had been evacuated.
鈥淪o I didn鈥檛 get anything from home,鈥� Griffin said, standing near his pickup truck. 鈥淔ortunately I had my dog with me, but all of her food and all of that stuff鈥檚 back home. My meds are back home.鈥�
Griffin said he was surprised when he heard the news.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 really expect it to just flash the way it did and get to our area,鈥� Griffin said.
The grew significantly on Friday and Saturday, growing to over 85,000 acres and jumping containment lines. By Sunday, though, many evacuation alerts had been downgraded.
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