“You will feel the fire!” Peggy Sanders, author of The Civilian Conservation Corps In and Around the Black Hills.
About the Book
At one minute to seven on the evening of July 7, 2007, after seven years of drought in the Southern Black Hills of South Dakota, lightning struck in Alabaugh Canyon, directly below a new development of twenty-seven homes on the top of the canyon. The canyon was overgrown with tall grasses and brittle-dry ponderosa pines and cedar trees. Many of the homes were nestled among trees, with one-way, winding dirt roads exiting the area.
Within hours, the peaceful rural neighborhood was overtaken by raging, out-of-control flames. Homeowners fled through fire and smoke, while volunteer, state and federal firefighters fought rampaging flames and, at times, ran for their lives.
Cascade of Flames tells the stories of firefighters and homeowners who lived through this disaster. Their first-hand accounts are starkly honest, frightening, gut wrenching, soul searching and hopeful.
The author and her husband also fled the flames, in their case just minutes before their fire-resistant home disintegrated in the fire, shattering their dreams in one overwhelming night.
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For more information regarding the fire, or to schedule a presentation by the author and her husband, contact the Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce at hschamber@gwtc.net.
Mary’s books can be purchased on Amazon or Barnes and Noble. If you would like an autographed copy at no extra charge, you can call the book store in Hot Springs: Black Hills Books and Treasures, 605-745-5545.
The 2007 Alabaugh Canyon Fire
The Aftermath
Hope and Recovery
“Preserving history through the words of those who’ve lived it provides the most stirring and accurate account of any event—large or small. Cascade of Flames does just that.” – Jim Kent, writer and columnist.
“A gripping account of the Alabaugh Fire that impacted so many lives—detailed, personal, devastating. Reading this opened a whole world to me.” – Marion Dane Bauer, author of the novel On My Honor, an American Library Association Newberry Honor Book.
Personal & Impelling "I will never, ever look at a natural disaster in the same way. The people involved, the toll it takes on the rescuers and the rescued, will not be forgotten. "Cascade of Flames" could happen to anyone one of us. As we read, we become aware of the real costs to all involved: the amount of physical and mental stress; the coordination of resources - local, state, national; the fickleness of "Mother Nature;" and the affects of just plain luck. It may be a local happening, but we see it every day in the news. This is a good, but not easy, read. You will begin to feel personally for each of those involved." - Amazon Reviewer: Jake W
This Story Will Go Down in History! "In Mary Goulet's first book, "A 'Not So' Simple Life: Our Return to Rustic Roots", the author told of her life and how she and her husband came to the southern Black Hills of South Dakota with a dream to build a house "off the grid" and one that was fire resistant, considering the terrain of ponderosa pine and prairie grasses that covered their property. Not long after moving in, and after the hard work of hand-building this home, they watched their dream go up in smoke, surrounded by flames in their new living room, mesmerized, until they were rescued at the last minute as flames were towering overhead and all around.
My wife and I watched this fire in horror from our home on the south side of Hot Springs. Thick black smoke was headed towards town and there was an erratic strong wind. Many homes among the trees on those hills were in trouble in hidden subdivisions. A fire camp was quickly created in the 20-acre city park across the street from our house and things started hopping. My wife went over there to the fire headquarters several times to learn of the progress of this fire and was told it was frantically creating it's own devilish weather, hopping canyons, blocking roads, and causing the occupants of those homes to flee for their lives. No one had time to grab any possessions - things got so hot so quickly, trees were visibly crowning from our standpoint in town, and we, too, were wondering if this quickly spreading, seemingly crazy fire would burn its way into town.
We could tell those firefighters had labored hard, obviously out for hours at a time, returning to home base in the park exhausted, as black as night with soot and dripping with sweat in the awful heat. It took several days for the fire to be contained, and in the meantime we watched the parade of homeowners who were coming down Cascade Road to shelters or private homes nearby. Everyone pitched in to help them; this fire belonged not only to those who lived in the immediate area but to all of us in town. These were our friends and relatives and many homes were in ashes, one man lost his life.
Mary's book brings healing to those who lost so much during this destructive time, bringing so many personal stories to life and creating a network of compassionate people coming together. You will never forget this book once you have read it. If you have ever been through a fire yourself, and especially if you lost your home or a loved one, it will bring back many memories of that time, and some consolation as well. You will learn a new perspective of the meaning of "community" and of love." - Amazon Review: Raymond J. Gronwall
