The fires that have raged this year have affected millions.
A combination of conditions ripe for forest fires, as well as people not adhering to grill and BBQ bans, has meant that this hot summer will go down as one to remember … and not necessarily for the right reasons.
We’ve all followed the tragic scenes in Greece, where 91 people have already lost their lives due to the blazes.
However, it’s another story that truly struck me hard. One coming out of California…
Ed Bledsoe lived with his wife of many years, Melody, in Northern California. Together they raised and took care of their two great-grandchildren, Emily, 4, and James, 5. They had been their guardians since birth.
In recent weeks, the areas around where they lived had been affected by the Carr Fire – one of nine major wildfires burning across California – but their house wasn’t at risk. Or so they thought.
According to CBS News, Ed had no idea there was danger. He left Melody, Emily and James and went to run an errand. He gave no thought for the fire, or how close it could be. No one had warned him.
A short while later, he received a call no one should ever have to take. It was his wife. The fire was upon them; they were trapped.
Ed immediately turned his car around and rushed back towards his home in a fit of panic. However, the fires had caused people to flee the surrounding areas, and the roads were blocked with traffic. Ed abandoned his car and ran home instead. All the while, his wife stayed on the phone.
Children calling for help
While he was on his way, Ed could hear the children shouting for help down the phone. He said his great-grandson was begging him to save them.
He did everything in his power to get to them, but it was already too late. The fire had engulfed both his wife and their great grandchildren.
Their bodies were later recovered from the ruins of what had been Ed’s home. Melody had wrapped the children in wet blankets, but all three perished.
Now, Ed is left to wonder why nobody told him of the imminent danger his family was in. Had anyone informed him there was the slightest risk, he says he would have evacuated his family immediately.
When asked if he’d received information, he said: “Nothing. Absolutely not a word,” Bledsoe said. “Nobody told us nothing. If I’d have any kind of warning, I’d have never ever left my family in that house.”
Ed Bledsoe raced to get home to his wife and two great grandchildren. He says the road was blocked with cars and the fire stopped him from running to the house, so he stayed on the phone with his great grandson. Bledsoe says when he left, the fire was two to three miles away. pic.twitter.com/ANDwj3xfgq
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) July 30, 2018
I can’t imagine anything worse than talking with a loved one on the phone and knowing that they’re going to die.
Ed’s life is now in pieces; it will never be the same as it once was.
Share this story with your friends on Facebook so that everyone understands the severity of these fires, and the reason there are bans put in place when it comes to BBQs and the like.
