On Labor Day 2020, Xochilt Diaz stood in her wooded backyard in the McKenzie River Valley, savoring the last moments of summer. The next morning, she would be back in her kindergarten classroom welcoming a group of 5-year-olds for the first time in half a year, after the pandemic suspended in-person teaching.
But as she flipped tortillas on the grill, she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. The intense wind, coupled with 95-degree days — abnormally hot for September — made her nervous. Then smoke trickled in and the power suddenly went out. She listened to the police scanner on her phone.
