Corolla Beach House Fires

Published on Sunday, May 6, 2012 by Katherine

“Several beach houses catch fire in Corolla!”

That is what I heard the minute I turned on the television. Where! Mom’s house?! When!

It was with great relief that they immediately began to show pictures of the three houses on fire. These were McMansions, not my mother’s modest beach cottage.

In one breath I felt relief for us, and sadness for the owners and regular renters of those houses. Apparently, the weather was “just right” (WRONG!) to take a small fire and turn it in to three blazing houses.

Thank heavens no one was injured. The fire spread so quickly on this dry and windy day that the renters were unable to move their cars before they were set ablaze.

Two weeks ago, as the kids and I were leaving the beach house to go home, I made a mental note to look out for the area in which the houses burned. Sure enough, I saw a few pieces of burned timber just above a line of brush. Turning on the signal, I slowed Old Bessy and set a course towards the burned homes.

The three of us caught one collective breath as we looked at the remains of the Corolla beach houses. Although these were used for rentals, they are still homes to a family, if not many returning families each year. The loss is enough to make you count your blessings.

With a smattering of rain hitting my face, I got out of the car and walked towards the yellow line. “MOM! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?” I turned towards the car, smirked and CROSSED THE LINE. Oh YEA I did!

Tiptoeing to the burned out cars, I took out my camera. Did you catch that? Tiptoeing? It was broad daylight, rainy and OUTSIDE. Shake your head, I know.

The kids were a bit hesitant to cross the line… but with my eager waves, they walked up to join me. Some lines are meant to be crossed.

We didn’t go any closer to the house because I didn’t want anyone to step on glass or nails. Had we been in our hiking clothing and boots, it might have been a different story. Furthermore, we needed to get on the road before any big storms began to brew.

Here are the pictures I took from my cell phone. I am still stunned by the images of the burned out cars.