Jan and Jon Pascoe, very blessed and lucky to be alive. |
California
will remember this year for two catastrophic fires, one in October in Santa
Rosa and north of San Francisco, and another one that started in early December
and still not fully contained around Los Angeles, especially in Ventura County.
But the saga of the Pascoe couple was the true survival story of the year. They
were able to save their lives by spending 6 terrified hours in a neighbor’s
swimming pool, slipping below the surface to avoid the flames and embers flying
around. They would come up for air every few seconds, then slipping under the
water again as the devastating wind-whipped storm destroyed their home, their
entire neighborhood and very nearly cost their lives. After six hours in the
pool, at daylight when the fire had died down, they got out of the pool, and
covered in soot, they walked hand in hand, still shivering in the chilly 40
degree temperature, until they reached a Sheriff’s deputy, who described them
as ‘two zombies covered with ash.’
Jon and Jan Pascoe re-visiting the pool that saved their lives. |
Jan
is 65, a retired art teacher, and she borrowed some clothes, an oversized
fisherman’s sweater that dwarfed her slender body and shoes from a friend. Jon,
himself an artist borrowed some jeans and a denim shirt to appear more decently
in front of people. The fire had killed 40 people and destroyed hundreds of
homes. After the ordeal was over, the Pascoes stayed with a daughter in San
Francisco, while the other daughter and her family traveled to meet them from
Park City, Utah. They eventually settled
in a friend’s cottage in Healdsburg, where they will live until spring and
another house is built. Jon and Jan are overwhelmed with grief – they lost many
friends, their elderly cat and Jon lost 100 of his paintings. But they are
alive, because of will-power, sheer courage and a swimming pool that saved
their lives.
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