VIDEO: It's been a few months since the McKinley Fire threatened parts of the Mat-Su Valley, but for many, gratitude for the firefighters has become the overwhelming emotion.
For Robert McCoy, whose house was spared, that gratitude became a work of art.
The McKinley Fire started on Friday, August 17, just four-and-a-half miles from McCoy's home, which sits along the Parks Highway in Talkeetna.
"We could see all of the helicopters and planes making drops from our porch and from our bedroom window," said McCoy.
That following Sunday, he got the alert to evacuate. As a former firefighter himself, McCoy knew it was serious.
"I knew how quickly it could move, especially with how dry it was and how windy it was getting," McCoy said. "Once we got those alerts it was probably just about an hour or so and we were out of here."