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FRUITLAND — Deborah Andrus had to see it all for herself.
“This was our happy place,” she said as she stood on top of a mountain ridge looking out over thousands of acres of burned land and trees.
“I can’t even believe it.”
This is the first time Deborah Andrus is seeing what’s left of her property since the Dollar Ridge Fire burned through this part of Duchesne County last week.
As of Sunday, the wildfire had burned 56,734 acres and was 65 percent contained, according to fire officials.
“I was at the fire meeting and I knew our cabin was gone,” she said.
Her husband, Mark Andrus, pointed to a red cabin on a fire map.
“Red means it’s gone,” he said.
“It’s true. We had cried together and what we said was, we know it’s gone,” said Deborah Andrus. “We mourned it. But, we believe in miracles, and so we did have that 1 percent hope.”
Sometimes, that 1 percent is enough.
“It’s just amazing. I still can’t believe it,” said Deborah Andrus.
When Mark Andrus was allowed to visit the area a few days ago, he was shocked to see the family cabin was still there. It wasn’t even burned. However, almost everything around it, in all directions, was burned.
“It’s all crispy now,” said Mark Andrus as he touched some bushes near his home. “It’s totally singed. If I do this, what, six feet? I’m six feet from the building.”
Of their ten acres, 9 and a half burned. Their cabin is on the half acres that didn’t.
“It’s just a miracle, really. Because the winds were so fierce. There’s really no explanation,” said Deborah Andrus. “It’s very emotional. I just can’t believe it. You can see how the fire just split. It came up to the right of us and it came up to the left of us. And behind us. But the cabin is okay.”
Even though they consider this their own personal miracle, they feel horrible for all those people who lost their homes.
In their particular area, on their side of the mountain, every other cabin burned to the ground.
“We feel so bad for our neighbors and our friends who have lost their cabins and homes all around us. Very sad,” said Deborah Andrus.
Their spectacular views now include devastation in every direction.
Departments and volunteers respond as a cooperative unit to protect the communities that have been affected by the #DollarRidgeFire.
— Utah Fire Info (@UtahWildfire) July 15, 2018
We want to thank the local departments that responded to this emergency and dedicate their life to protecting the communities they serve. pic.twitter.com/8185SDeZBo
#Fire_tweet
However, they are thankful.
They’re thankful for the firefighters who were around their home and helping to protect it.
They’re thankful for the helicopters dumping water from above.
They’re also thankful for what they feel is a miracle — and one they can’t deny.
“We just really can’t believe that it’s still here,” said Deborah Andrus.