Eleven yr. old Noah Hall stood in his yard, looking at the flames on the ridge above his half-built home in Boulder Creek, preparing to evacuate. Holding a small 6” wooden cross he had made during vacation bible school, Noah wondered, ‘Should I take it with m-? Should I leave it here?’ Noah set the cross down beside the garage of the half-built home, got in the car, and evacuated to Felton to a parking lot to spend the night. The next 2 weeks were spent in an evacuation center, eyes peeled to TV updates, to see if their houses made it.
When the family of 4 returned to the property 2 weeks later, their tiny house they had lived in for 10 years was gone. Nothing but ashes. 2 trucks were burned up. Some of Joes tools burned up, along with all the doors he planned to install in the new home. Also, the new kitchen stove, a propane heater for the bedroom, a chop saw, and more.
For 10 years the Hall family of 4 lived in a very small “glorified shack” in Boulder Creek, as they worked on building their dream house next-door. The new house would have room for closets. It would have a real kitchen. They would finally have room for a dining room table.
The CZU fire in Santa Cruz took out its fury on their old tiny house, leaving a pile of ashes – but spared the shell of the newer home. There was no insurance on the tiny house. The Halls are temporarily sharing a house in Ben Lomond.
Joe, a carpenter by trade, and his family spent every weekend for the past 10 years working on the new house, and still managed to squeeze in a few hours every weekend doing volunteer work at local charities and their church. Over the years the boys learned valuable carpentry skills as they helped Mom and Dad with numerous construction projects. Being able to afford a limited number of dollars each month to purchase building materials, the project has taken 10 years so far. Mom Cynthia manages the boys home education and volunteer services at various places in the community.
Did Noah’s act of faith indeed spare the house? The fire singed corners of the new home but did not consume it. The blaze swallowed everything around it . The Halls feel blessed that they have a partially finished home (that already has permits) and they can continue to make it livable. Insulation, sheetrock, and a paved driveway -hopefully they will be able to move in soon.
