Have you ever had a situation where a natural disaster is happening, and everyone you know from around the country calls to see if you are surviving the said disaster? Example: On a national news broadcast, they show the map of a blizzard blowing through the middle of the country, and you pick up the phone or text a relative to see if they are safe from the storm. It never fails; you get a response saying the storm is a thousand miles away and the family is safe.
That is happening to my wife and I at the moment. We live in Southern California, and the worst fires the County of Los Angeles has ever seen are tearing through the west side of Los Angeles and Alta Deana, just east of the city. Unlike other disasters, this is very close to where we live, and we can see the smoke and some of the fires from our houses. It has been tense because our safety depends on which way the Santa Ana winds are blowing. As of this writing, the fires have chosen to move in a different direction, and we can relax.
2018, we had a similar situation: high winds, dry brush, and idiots combined to start some fires. We were in Hawaii on vacation when I received a notice in the middle of the night from our Ring camera in the front of the house. My wife’s elderly aunt and mother were being moved out of the house by a friend and my wife’s son due to an evacuation order. It looked like it was snowing on the camera. When we got home from our vacation, we were not allowed to go to our house, so we joined her mom and aunt at a motel miles from where we lived. It turns out the hills that surrounded our area were all burning. Fortunately, our track was spared, but when we did arrive home, we had about 3 to 4 inches of ash on everything in our yard. I tried sweeping it up, but that was futile. I finally got my shop vac and vacuumed the patio and yard.
Santa Ana winds are a condition where two weather systems pass each other over the western third of the country, and it develops winds that whip through Southern California. We have been very dry lately, and combined with the winds and some idiot throwing a cigarette out a window or a pyromaniac trying to get their ya-yas, it can turn into a very dangerous situation. Our winds were gusting up to 100 miles an hour, and the fire spread like…uh, well…like wildfires. Many houses burned in L.A., including Malibu, were in a very high-end area. Each day, we would find out which celebrity had lost their home. Though these folks have more money than most of us, it is still a tragedy for them, and our prayers go out to them.
Firefighters from all over the world have come to SoCal to help fight the fires. Canada has been providing fire-fighting aircraft, Mexico is sending firefighters with experience in this kind of fire, and even Ukraine has offered to send firefighters as a thank-you for California’s support during its terrible war. Let’s hope they can get this dreadful fire under control before the next guy in the White House can deport them.
Many of our activities in the area have been canceled, some due to the fires and most because of the high winds. The NFL moved the Rams and Vikings playoff game to Arizona, and the NBA postponed several local teams’ games.
A disaster like this tends to bring out the best in people, like providing food, water, and shelter to the victims, but it also brings out the worst in others. A few people have been arrested for burglarizing homes in the evacuation areas. It’s only a handful, but enough to put even more stress on the victims.
While we feel blessed for our safety, we pray for those going through the worst event in their lives.
The one thing about this country is how it comes together when tragedy hits. When hurricanes ravage the southeast, the government and everyone pitch in to help in recovery; if there is flooding in the mid-west, we all jump and lend a hand. When fires ravage the West, the nation pitches in with supplies and manpower. Damn, I just noticed…we have a lot of natural disasters in this country, and I haven’t even mentioned earthquakes.
Unfortunately, who the State of California voted for in the last election may affect if we get any support from the federal government. That would be petty but not unexpected. I’m hoping for the best in people to come out in the worst of times and that this country will take care of its citizens.
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