A Good Read

An example for us all: The remarkable kindness of Escalante
By Alex Calderon

Published: Sunday, June 26, 2011 1:45 a.m. MDT
Every year my family drives 10 hours from Phoenix, Ariz., to a small
town in southern Utah called Escalante. We either camp near a lake or
rent out a cabin up in the mountains near Escalante. We enjoy visiting
that part of Utah because of the beautiful scenery and great fishing. We
have gone to Escalante for the last 15 years.

Recently, we started our drive up to Escalante for our wonderful visit.
It was the first time that I had brought my 7-year-old son along. Also
on the trip were my cousin, his sons (ages 7 and 4) and my brother. So
we had a total of three adults, three kids and one teenager. We arrived
at our cabin safely on a Saturday afternoon, and we started unloading
our trailer and our two trucks. The kids were excited about the trip and
the opportunity to go fishing.

That Saturday night, around 1 a.m., a fire broke out in the kitchen
area of the cabin. My brother was the first person to notice the fire
and quickly tried to control it and put it out. Fortunately, the whole
family was able to get out of the cabin just in time. The fire happened
so quickly. The fire burned down the cabin, a small storage area, our
trailer, our small boat and one of our trucks. We were so lucky to get
out alive.

Also, the fire had taken our wallets, keys and all of personal items.
We only had what we had on. My brother suffered second degree burns on
his head, and my son was having trouble breathing because of the smoke.
We waited for help for about an hour because of the distance between the
cabin and the nearest town, which was Escalante.

The story starts to take a turn; we were experiencing a scary situation
and did not know what to do. I get really choked up when I start to
think of what the town of Escalante did for us. The citizens of this
town were so generous and kind to my family. The owner of one of the
motels, Elaine Lott, put us up in two rooms, provided food for my dog
and attended to all of our needs until we could get help from our
families in Phoenix.

A second person, her name was Nancy Porter, was one of the EMT's and
one of the first to respond to the fire. She provided us with a ride
from Panguich General hospital back to Escalante where we had motel
rooms provided by Elaine. That trip from Panguich to Escalante was about
120 miles round trip. I was so appreciative to Nancy for helping us with
that transportation.

We felt the warmth and kindness of the town; we were so grateful for
what they were doing to make us feel comfortable while we were arranging
help from our families. These are only some of the folks that helped us
get through this ordeal. Another person, Melanie Torgersen, would stop
by the motel and deliver food from the neighbors along with snacks and
souvenirs for the kids.

A second motel owner donated lunch to my family. The town provided a
car for us while we were staying at the hotel and Jeannie Davis arranged
to open up the thrift shop so that we could get clothes for the next two
days. This town came together and helped my family feel safe.

In a time of tragedy, I am grateful that my family was able to get out
of the cabin virtually unharmed, and because of this difficult
situation, I feel we will have friends for life. The town of Escalante
is a wonderful example of what our society should be — helping each
other in need.

Alex Calderon is a pharmacy contractor supervisor and a resident of
Queen Creek, Ariz.