Fire Monks (40 page)
Authors: Colleen Morton Busch
July 9.
Head cook Mako Voelkel and fellow residents leave Tassajara during the final evacuation. But Mako and four others would return within the hour.
Head cook Mako Voelkel and fellow residents leave Tassajara during the final evacuation. But Mako and four others would return within the hour.
July 10.
Flames descend from Flag Rock, above the zendo, into Tassajara.
Flames descend from Flag Rock, above the zendo, into Tassajara.
A dragon of fire near the confluence of Tassajara and Church creeks. This photo of the advancing fire front was taken at dusk on the evening of July 9, a few hours before flames closed the road, cutting off access to Tassajara.
Graham Ross, Mako Voelkel, David Zimmerman, Steve Stücky, and Colin Gipsonâ“the Tassajara Five”âposed for this portrait after facing the flames for six straight hours.
July 14.
Abbot Steve Stücky and Colin Gipson clean the Buddha after unburying the statue from the bocce ball court. This 2,000-year-old Gandharan relic had previously been restored after being damaged in the 1978 zendo fire.
Abbot Steve Stücky and Colin Gipson clean the Buddha after unburying the statue from the bocce ball court. This 2,000-year-old Gandharan relic had previously been restored after being damaged in the 1978 zendo fire.
Cartoonist Tom Meyer's take on what it means to be a fire monk.
July 26.
Sixteen days after the fire's passage, Shundo David Haye hikes the Tony Trail, surveying the bare ridges and burnt brush left behind.
Sixteen days after the fire's passage, Shundo David Haye hikes the Tony Trail, surveying the bare ridges and burnt brush left behind.
This wooden plaque, called a
han
, hangs outside the zendo and is struck to call residents to meditation.
han
, hangs outside the zendo and is struck to call residents to meditation.
Stripped of vegetation four days after the 2008 fire, Tassajara Road appears even more isolated and exposed than usual.
Tassajara Road in May 2009, nearly one year later. This photo was taken from Ashes Corner, where five priests turned around during the final evacuation to stay at Tassajara and meet the fire.
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