Jessica Bortman, a landscape architect, and Michael Andrews, director of Boxtales Theater Company, lived on Mountain Drive for nearly ten years. They had to leave their place a year ago and waited patiently for something to become available. Michael is a descendant of the legendary Hyde family, who purchased the Mountain Drive property, marking the beginning of an era. His father and uncle built many of the houses on the hillside. Exactly one week before the fire, they moved into their new home on the Drive with their three-year-old son, Oliver.

The night of the fire they were sitting in the kitchen when a call came from friends on Cold Springs Road who could see the flames at the Tea House. They looked out the window, shocked to see the blaze so close. They ran in circles for a few minutes unsure of whether or not the danger was real. They called a neighbor who said, “Act like it’s real. Get out.” Michael is no stranger to fire. He lost a home in the Painted Cave fire in 1989. In the ten minutes it took to gather valuables, the Tea Fire had begun rolling down the hill. The half unpacked boxes turned out to be a blessing with photo albums and belongings all ready to go. Michael returned for a second load of computers, guitars, and his wife’s feather boa and polka dot dress, admittedly his favorite items in her closet. When he had evacuated to a safe vantage, he parked to watch the beloved hillside burn. H could hear people shrieking and crying in the cars as they drove past him.

Jessica’s mother also lost her home to the fire on Coyote Road. But throughout the trauma there has been the solace of community. A community, as Jessica put it, which saved itself. And will continue to do so in the coming days and months. For Jessica the sadness and loss is mixed with a feeling of lightness. For every possession she is heartbroken about – letters, books, childhood treasures – there is something she is relieved to have let go. The false starts, the unfinished projects that weigh you down. She calls it, “an immense spiritual opportunity. And one you would never choose for yourself.”

They were able to return briefly to survey the damage. In the ashes Michael found three unburned items. A teacup, a creamer, and a Hopi seed pot. “You have to read the signs,” she said, “a teacup for the tea house, a creamer for the milk of abundance, and a seed pot for renewal. It’s going to be alright.” As three-year-old Oliver said the day after, “Look at it this way, we’ll find a new house, new toys, new rabbits. The only bad thing was the fire.”