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We would like to extend our gratitude to our many clients who have expressed concern over the last few years for the Zion fires and floods. They have affected us in very profound ways!
In 2006 a range fire raged over the ranch and continued on to burn over 17,000 acres in the area. Several local homes were burned to the ground. We had 20 minutes to evacuate, and that’s barely enough time to get the propane tanks turned off. We had time only to open the gates on the pastures and hope the horses and cows could outrun the fire. Time would not allow for saving any treasures. Renters were with us (a dear woman in a wheelchair!) and we had to get them out as well. We drove up our steep driveway and looked behind us at the 200 ft. flames, assuming we would never see our homes ever again!
It burned our equipment sheds and outbuildings and a great many trees and fences. We lost every piece of equipment and tool necessary to run the ranch and it has been quite an effort to pull things back into working condition. To add insult to injury, a major flash flood followed that eliminated 4 dams that provided water for our irrigation systems.
Now, for the rest of the story:
Every home on the ranch was miraculously spared. The fire took highly unnatural courses, as it burned around each home, with the trees burning only half way through. It was as if a force field had been placed around each home to safeguard it. No animals or humans sustained so much as an injury. The fire departments were unable to fight any of the fire on the ranch because there is only a single road access to the bottom of the canyon. They renamed the ranch “The Miracle Ranch” because they insisted there was no logical reason the fire missed each and every home! If you were to ask us if we believe in divine intervention, the answer would be an unequivocal “YES
2007 brought even more disaster. Due to both the 2006 and the 2007 Zion fires, there were no trees or plants to absorb the rains that came pouring in August. A flash flood, the size of which no one in our area has ever seen, plunged down our little North Creek and rose the height of the stream to 28 feet, carrying with it tons of debris from the fires. Every rebuilt dam was burst open again, and the banks of the stream could not contain the mass of water and debris. It rose to the level of our barns and shop and garage and deposited 3 feet of mud in each building, smashing in the walls and pushing through them as if they were not even there. We lost 3 cars and a quadrunner to the stream as well. We’ll be rebuilding, once again. Still, the homes and amenities remained unscathed. We were lucky – our neighbors to the west lost major portions of their homes, their garages, and many vehicles.
Suffice it to say, nature has redecorated the ranch in a unique way. Still, it is as beautiful and peaceful as ever. We continue to welcome old and new friends as our guests and invite them to feel the miracles we encountered as they hike around the ranch. Thanks for your loving support.
Hank & Vickie Moyle
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