The fires were so bad that the local residents surrounding Lake Berryessa were encouraged to pack their belongings and move to a safe area. Napa County’s wildfires were about to make history, if they hadn’t already. Evan Kilkus’ father thought that the fires were dangerous enough to reach his home as well, so he also joined the other local residents who decided to flee their homes over the first couple days of the wildfires.
Although everyone was leaving the area for safety at a shelter nearby, Evan was staying. But why? What could he possibly think he was going to do?
Northern California News Headlines
Roughly half a year later after Evan discovered the “glory hole” in Lake Berryessa, Napa County was hit with something that would lodge him straight back into the news headlines. Evan was fast asleep on the night of October 8th. Around 11:30 PM he was awakened by many frantic and concerned text messages from people who were checking on him to see how he was.
He was so confused by the text messages that he had to see what was going on. When he got the news about what had happened, he knew that he needed to get there fast.
Up In Flames
On the night of October 8th there was a terrible forest fire. This wasn’t uncommon, seeing as in the fall of 2017 both Northern and Southern California were hit by numerous wild fires, making them the worst in the state’s history. This particular forest fire had broken out in three points across Evan’s county.
The wind was gusting enough in the Lake Berryessa area to cause to fires to spread like crazy. They were spreading so fast that Evan was concerned they would reach his home. Something needed to be done to stop this, and it needed to be done fast.
Safety First
People all around the area had fled and left most of their cherished belongings and homes behind. However, Evan Kilkus understood and felt that he needed to stick around for the sake of his community. He knew that he had a responsibility that not many other people had. In addition to working at the rental shop at Lake Berryessa, he was also a member of the local fire safety council for that area. As with most things in his life, he took this role very seriously.
In an effort to warn everyone in the area of the terrible conditions, he sent out mass text messages and posted on the internet that an evacuation was a must. The wind patterns at the time were showing that they were about to head directly in the direction of the residents and their homes. Then, Evan did the unimaginable.
Evacuating
Before they knew it, there was a public call made for all of the locals of the Berryessa Highlands to evacuate and move to shelters somewhat nearby. The residents didn’t have too much time and needed to grab their belongings and move quickly. The only person staying behind was Evan because he had a plan put in place.
Evan’s father grabbed what he could before leaving. Once he left, Evan arrived at his dad’s place with an important idea in mind. He knew that this idea could possibly help his community, even if he wasn’t a firefighter. Instead of using his drone, he decided to use his phone this time.