Horry County Wildfires {Myrtle Beach Event Photographer}

It seems like it's been forever since I have posted. Well, it has, but for good reason. The studio really seems to be taking off. Our friends and clients are spreading the word and making referrals. Nick has had the privilege of designing a logo for a local company and I just got to shoot an extremely fun beach wedding. Despite all the positive things that have occurred recently, there was a tragedy last week. Wednesday afternoon a brush fire started in Horry County, just a few miles down the road form where we live and attend church. By Thursday morning the fire had burnt up 15,000 acres and moved into a very highly populated area of North Myrtle Beach, SC. I decided to go to the House Of Blues, where we had attended a 311 concert the night before. The smoke was so thick that morning that you could barely see 50ft in front of your face. Everyone in the Barefoot Resort had been evacuated and forced to leave their homes, some for the last time. Since a large majority of the members of Barefoot Church live at the Resort, naturally Nick and I were very concerned about our friends and church family. We learned that our church was a Red Cross Disaster Relief Shelter and went to help out. When we got there we found out that some very dear friends had completely lost their homes and escaped their home within seconds of it being overcome by the flames. Bob and Mrs. JoAnn Portteus are the sweetest people I know, I have known them since I started at Barefoot over 4 years ago. That was the news that finally brought me to tears. When it was all said and done 70 homes were destroyed, 100 more damaged and 19,600 acres were burnt. Of those 70 homes lost, 4 of those families were from our church and many of the damaged homes also belonged to close friends and Barefoot Church members. We are still in the process of sorting everything out, but the community has really stepped up and come together to help the families that were affected by this tragedy. God is definitely working, even in something that seems so senseless - there is beauty coming from the ashes.

These are photos taken Friday afternoon after the residents of Barefoot Resorts were allowed to return to their homes. This is what's left of Bob and JoAnn Portteus' home.