This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Herriman • A wildfire evacuation center isn't the ideal place for a 6-year-old's birthday party.
But that's what made it such a surprise for Annie Carlson.
On Saturday afternoon, evacuees from the Rose Crest Fire gathered in the school cafeteria at Herriman High School, counted to three and shouted "Surprise!" as Annie walked into the room.
As the little girl timidly walked toward the crowd singing "Happy Birthday" to her, she began to beam with a smile from ear to ear.
But even then, thoughts of the wildfire weren't far. As Annie began blowing out her birthday cake candles, some of the adult evacuees began joking about the candles' percentage of containment.
Annie's mom, Jenni Carlson, said she happened to mention to a friend at the evacuation center that Annie turned 6 on Friday and — before the Rose Crest Fire chased them from their home — they had been planning a birthday party for Saturday.
Her friend told her, "I'll be right back."
She returned with balloons a birthday cake, paper tablecloth and party favors.
At Herriman High School on Saturday, Jenni Carlson and her husband were spending their second day in bathing suits. They were boating at Utah Lake with a youth group when the Rose Crest Fire started and they heard of the mandatory evacuation of their neighborhood.
"It is kind of surreal," Carlson said of hearing the news to evacuate. "You just worry everything is going to be gone. It is scary."
The two only had time to drop the youths off at their homes before going to the evacuation center.
The couple's four children ages 3 to 9 were staying with neighbors at the time and told their mom, "We were so scared; it was so close."
Carlson said they aren't strangers to evacuations. "We have been through this before."
In 2010, the Machine Gun Fire that destroyed three homes was on one side of the subdivision. This time the fire was on the other mountainside.
Twitter: @CimCity