OUR BIG FAT JANUARY SURPRISE!

by Rosemary Lord

And so, a new year begins, filled with expectations and promises of magical things to come.

But then, Mother Nature had a different idea for Los Angeles.

We held our collective breath as we watched a hungry fire race through the SoCal shoreline, devouring parts of Malibu and the picturesque town of Pacific Palisades. House after house on street after street. The ferocious winds carried the flames through acres of unfettered dry brush and vegetation, erasing entire homes, lives and neighborhood shops, schools and businesses.

In just moments so many lives were changed forever. Not just the wealthy, not just the celebrities, many of whom have called this part of Paradise home for decades, but the working people who have lived there for generations, living everyday lives with everyday jobs. They, too, lost everything in an instant.  

This swathe of destruction was not limited to Pacific Palisades, which took the brunt of it. Malibu, Santa Monica and on the other side of Los Angeles, Pasadena, Altadena and environs became engulfed. Altadena suffered desperately for days. That was where the awful death toll was greatest. This is a lovely, peaceful area with lovely houses.  Just good, honest hardworking residents; many multi-generational family homes were lost.

 Everywhere, the sky was a dull yellow and thick with smoke, as the sun kept trying to peek through. And in the middle of LA, even Hollywood was caught in the crossfire.

 The rumor is that arsonists set the Runyon Canyon fire behind the Woman’s Club, which was evacuated. Nearby, Laurel Canyon, where I live, was set alight. Our buildings were evacuated. These were the Sunset Fires.

I first received an alarm on the Woman’s Club cellphone to “be prepared” and then the order to evacuate the area. Minutes later a similar alarm sounded on the phones throughout my building. Neighbors were gathering on the patio, with bags already packed.

And so I quickly grabbed a bag and stuffed my lockbox that held vital papers, passports etc. in it and, with my hands shaking at the enormity of what was happening, reached for my laptop: iPad, charging cords, several writing files and notebooks followed. I picked up thumb-drives, recent bills and my checkbook. After a couple of deep breaths to calm myself so I could think rationally, I selected a few photographs, a small carving my dad had done, my late-husband’s great aunt’s small 1918 diary of her time in WWI Paris.

Clothes! I’d forgotten about that. So, I darted into the bedroom, found a wheely-case and threw in shoes, a sweater, shirt, jeans, nightie and a handful of undies, plus moisturizer, mascara, lip balm. My toothbrush, I threw that in along with my hairbrush – and some English Tea-bags. All the essentials! I loaded them in my car, then returned to my apartment where my neighbor Tyler was following all the reports on his phone. My other neighbor Sharon had joined me, waiting for instructions. We were then told the roads were gridlocked, so we should shelter in place. Some of our neighbors had left earlier as they had family or friends nearby.

But where was I to go? My family are in England!

Sharon said we could go to her sister in Agoura, about 50 minutes away. Then, I was very touched to get calls from friends offering shelter in their homes. People were so kind. We were told our Evacuation Centre was at Hollywood High School. I envisioned us in the huge auditorium, with rows of cot-beds, trying to sleep…

 We decided to stay in my living room, watching ongoing reports on tv. They showed the police cars, fire trucks and barricades at the end of our street. We felt a bit safer, knowing everyone was watching out for encroaching flames. Tyler regularly walked outside, checking progress from the street to the canyon and checked for evacuation updates.

I regularly checked the security cameras covering the Woman’s Club property after the evacuation order. All looked calm. Except – suddenly it looked as if it was raining. Then I heard the drone of additional helicopters overhead. It was the wonderful, brave Fire Fighters, getting water from the Hollywood Reservoir and dropping it on the fires in Runyon Canyon behind the Woman’s Club and on the Laurel Canyon fires behind our apartment building. There was a collective sigh of relief as we learned they were successful at putting out the majority of those fires, while ground-crew battled the stubborn embers blown around creating new fires in unexpected spots throughout the night and next day. 

So, we waited, listening to updated reports. Eventually, close to 10 pm, we felt safe enough to declare, “that’s it. We’re staying!”

I retrieved my case from my car. Some of our other neighbors were doing the same thing, dragging bags and suitcases back indoors. Sharon went back to her apartment and Tyler assured us he would be on guard all night and alert us if anything changed.

I think we all slept fitfully that night, packed bags by the front door, everything ready.

The next morning, things were eerily quiet. Slowly traffic appeared along Laurel Canyon once police had removed the blockades. I dressed hurriedly, prepared for a sudden departure. False Evacuation alarms from the city went off over the next couple of days. “Sorry! Mistake!” messages followed. Raw nerves everywhere. But the winds died down.

People had a respite to check on friends, family, survey the damage, start to clean up.

God bless those Firefighters, Police, First Responders and volunteers. Heroes, all of them.

Almost a week later, things have quietened down, although we are currently on alert for a new High Winds forecast. So ,I remain vigilant. We all do.

Eventually I unpacked my bags, knowing now exactly what to take, important papers in a ‘go-bag’ at my feet as I type. But I cannot find that toothbrush anywhere! Never mind, I have others…

Life really is bigger than fiction, I recognized. And we have had time to reflect on what really are the important things to save, once you know that people around you are safe. What really matters. And to count our blessings every day.

If you were given 10 minutes to pack for evacuation – what would you take?

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