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3 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories Medford School District budget funds new student success programs RCC President Angstadt retires Rogue jet boat tour company eyes TouVelle for permanent home Prefontaine-style running trail proposed in south Medford Jackson County district election turnout under 17 percent Crime, Courts and Emergency Services Medford police identify woman found dead in field Emergency services, May 18 Body found in southeast Medford field Emergency services, May 17 Public meetings for May 18-22, 2015 Politics and Elections Jackson County district election turnout under 17 percent Arthur I. Cyr: Camp David summit will not help Mideast stability Ashland water bills could go up to fund watershed protection Pacific Connector Gas Pipeline opponents rally in Medford BREAKING: Baltimore prosecutor charges officers in Freddie Gray's death Education Medford School District budget funds new student success programs RCC President Angstadt retires Four South Medford seniors build soccer lockers SOU student's project tells story of devastating Weed fire South Medford, Ashland high schools earn national honors Environment Rogue jet boat tour company eyes TouVelle for permanent home Why is Bear Creek so muddy? Blame Emigrant silt and winter storm Mt. 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Letters to the Editor, May 18 Kathleen Parker: Jeb Bush's unfortunate honesty Editorials Our View: Kicking state government down the road Other Views: Keeping marijuana away from minors Our view: Legislature should fix both marijuana laws Our View: City should let SkyPark project move ahead Our View: E-cigarette bill is half right, half wrong Letters to the Editor Letters to the Editor, May 18 Letters to the Editor, May 17 Letters to the Editor, May 15 Letters to the Editor, May 14 Letters to the Editor, May 13 Columns George Barnes: We need to help free Tom Brady Kathleen Parker: Jeb Bush's unfortunate honesty George Will: Santorum — The return of the GOP's runner-up Dana Milbank: The domain of 'dot-sucks' Arthur I. Cyr: Camp David summit will not help Mideast stability Guest Opinions Guest Opinion: Ample water? 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King dead at 89 Steve Poltz, Grant-Lee Phillips at Old Ashland Armory Victor D. Infante: If loving bad pop songs is wrong ... The Farr Side: Contest open for singer-songwriters Community Events Third Friday: 'Into the Woods' is a must-see 5 things to see at Art in Bloom Flowers, art and music highlight Art in Bloom Hip-Hop Poetry Open Mic at OSF's Black Swan in Ashland Ashland's First Friday Art Walk showcases new exhiits by regional artists Movies Movie review: ‘Mad Max’ is a fresh, fantastic approach to a classic idea Your A-to-Z guide to the ‘Mad Max’ franchise Movie review: ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ will leave your inner 12-year-old giggling with glee Movie review: ‘Hot Pursuit’ is a hot mess George Miller returns to his ‘Mad Max’ roots Dining 6 stars of the Rogue Valley food universe Cool down with a cold one (or two, or three) Nguyen Street Food From rustic to elegant: Wine tasting in Southern Oregon Quick, easy, versatile Tempo Videos Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obits Blogs TV Listings Movie Listings Oregon Outdoors Oregon Healthy Living Special Sections Business Services NEWS NOW Senate panel passes medical pot rules ... Medford School District budget funds new student success programs ... RCC President Angstadt retires ... Senate panel passes medical pot rules ... Medford School District budget funds new student success programs ... RCC President Angstadt retires ... BOLES FIRE SOU student's project tells story of devastating Weed fire SOU student's project is telling the story of devastating fire that destroyed her Weed home By John Darling for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By John Darling for the Mail Tribune Posted May. 14, 2015 @ 2:00 am Updated May 15, 2015 at 4:48 PM By John Darling for the Mail Tribune Posted May. 14, 2015 @ 2:00 am Updated May 15, 2015 at 4:48 PM » Social News p bs:newslist StartDate="20121121" EndDate="p bs:datecalc Months="3"" DateSort="1" UseObjects="1" ObjectClass="81" Taxonomywords="2325,665" ExactTaxonomyMatch="1" Image="1" Count="4" --> As she was about to start her senior year at Southern Oregon University last fall, Elizabeth Leydsman never dreamed her senior capstone project would be writing up a memoir and interviewing scores of family friends about a fire that burned down her home and 156 others in Weed, Calif. The call came to her Monday, Sept. 15, as she and husband Tanner were stopped at a Dairy Queen in Eugene on their way to Ashland from the coast. It was her mom, Sue Tavalero. She said there was a fire and it was serious. “I thought maybe it was the old lady next door with her cigarettes, no big deal,” said Leydsman. “But, 10 minutes later, there was another call. It was a giant fire was headed toward their home, moving rapidly in high winds. Now it had jumped the elementary school and taken hold in their block. Embers were on their roof. Her mom had to evacuate." Leydsman got on Facebook and saw “the whole town had burned down. People were tending to freak out more and more.” She heard the news that her family’s house was gone. All the houses were gone from the whole neighborhood. Don’t bother coming home. It doesn’t exist. Stay at your apartment in Ashland. Tavalero had about one minute, maybe two, to grab what she could and run. She snatched family photos off the wall by the front door, especially the one that showed the kids at intervals of months and years, growing up. That will go on the wall of the new house, for which they broke ground a few days ago. It’s exactly the same floor plan and size, on the same spot. It will be ready for move-in, her mother swears, by her 25th wedding anniversary in October. “It’s something you never expect, such a shock. You can prepare as much as possible but in one minute, it’s all disappearing and you don’t know what to do,” said Leydsman, the daughter of CalFire worker Scott Tavalero. For the capstone project, Leydsman interviewed her family and many neighbors. It will include visuals of the fire and she will deliver it at 12:30 p.m. Thursday, May 14, Room 329, in SOU’s Hannon Library, with all her family in attendance. The hard part of the project, she said, was interviewing lifelong friends who had lost everything — although, “miraculously,” all were evacuated with no deaths or serious injuries.  “It was difficult. I was raised there. I could see how hard it was for them,” she says. “People are still fighting with insurance and mourning the loss of all their possessions.” Now, eight months later, everyone is rebuilding on the same land as part of what her mom calls “the new normal.” Leydsman displays the charred remains of her beloved bass clarinet, which she played through her teen years but had set in her closet so she could focus on college. “Dad rescued it and gave it to me. It’s special to me. I was going to pick it up again,” she says. “Nothing will ever replace it.” The day after the Boles Fire, as it was called, her dad got the family past travel barriers in his official rig, so they could stand before the ashes of their home. They took pictures. “Our jeep was toast. We could only walk on the street. The ground was still too hot. It looked like the moon, just the base of chimneys and a few gun safes,” she said. “Guns in a gun safes don’t survive a fire like this, by the way, not this intensity, this duration.” When the fire struck at 1:38 in the afternoon, her dad was fighting a big fire near Sacremento. He hurried home and joined in fighting blazes that threatened the Roseburg mill, a critical task, since it is the employer of most of the townfolk. Her dad and three other CalFire workers in the neighborhood were personally honored by Gov. Jerry Brown with the California State Safety Award for their work on the job, as well as in the Weed fire. Leydsman, a senior in English, wants her written and audio record to live and survive as a record of the heroism of that and following days, when the community bloomed as one, in long efforts of recovery. “Everyone went door-to-door, knocking, getting dogs out, offering to donate lodging. It was amazing to see a community come together like that.” The family’s insurance company was “fantastic,” showed up immediately and gave them a debit card for the essentials of a new life, she says. From work and insurance, the family was financially good to go on a new life. Her parents donated their extra funds to neighbors, where needed. Her brother Andrew, 22, was just finishing a long hike on the Pacific Crest Trail in Canada, so Leydsman and her husband Tanner drove there and fetched him. The local College of the Siskiyous created an emergency “construction academy” and Andrew enrolled. He is now augmenting a shortage of builders and is pounding nails on the new homes.  As for Ronald Marshall, 25, the man charged with intentionally setting the fire, Leydsman says, “That’s focusing on the past. I know he’s being punished for what he did. He knows it was wrong and he can see how hard and horrible this has been for everyone.”  Given her unique window on the fire, Leydsman is considering publishing the story as a book or at least self-publishing enough copies for all who want it.  “People need to know we are still here and that people are healing and adjusting to it,” she says. “We’re healing but there are some people who still need help. Hearing the story can help them. It was easier for people to open up to me because I’ve been there and felt the loss and I’m here to help other people — and I can be humorous about it. Like the couch. Mom always hated that couch. Well, now it’s gone."  Asked if she can embrace the old saw that all things happen for a reason, Leydsman said, “Yes, I believe that and, while it was very sad, it’s brought the community closer together and shown us how big the human heart is and how kind people really are. We’ve all learned to be a lot more compassionate.”  Donations to the Weed Fire survivors may be made to Siskiyou Habitat for Humanity, c/o the Boles Fire, P.O. Box 1482, Yreka CA 96097; or online at habitatsiskiyou.org. John Darling is an Ashland freelance writer. Reach him at [email protected]. By John Darling for the Mail Tribune MailTribune.com By John Darling for the Mail Tribune Posted May. 14, 2015 @ 2:00 am Updated May 15, 2015 at 4:48 PM » Comment or view comments /* $( document ).ready(function() { // Jquery mobile is trying to style the button and leaving a blank gry button on top of a white button $("#viafouracoms .vf-comment-controls li.vf-right").html(' Submit '); });*/ » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with MailTribune.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services Home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Announcements Obituaries Story ideas Since you asked Alerts Email Alerts RSS Feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Propel Marketing Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. 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