I remember driving up to Waterfall lodge shortly after the CZU complex fire. Even months after, the smell of smoke lingered in the air.
Alba road was almost indistinguishable as I drove down from Empire Grade.
My heart was heavy for all that was lost for the community.
But the venue endured.
I thought to myself, how? How could each and every one of those cabins survive when 1/3 of the county burned. When you could see the charred landscape just feet from the lodge.
Much like many of the homes in the area, the caretakers stayed to defend the properties while Calfire couldn’t with the resources they had.
I can’t think of many other venues where a staff member would risk their life to protect the property they have grown to love.
A space where so many have shared some of the most intimate and meaningful moments of their lives.
A space that endured, like the love of so many before, and to come.
