The first irony of our evacuation was that we had offered our home as shelter to others. As we were scurrying out, we got a call from friends announcing they were going to take us up on our kind offer. They were in their car and heading over. Oops… don’t come here, we had to tell them. We are leaving!
Next stop was the gas station, with lines snaking out into the street …. and tempers short. Horse trailers were everywhere … as were cars with cats and dogs. Howard renamed his car Noah’s Ark… as he was taking our animals out two by two: a pair of cats and a pair of dogs. The air was full of smoke, and winds were whipping wildly.
Because we had lots of offers of places to roost, we never considered going to the local shelter. At the end of the first day, we ended up 100 miles away at my dad’s house. Before that though, we had stopped at both a friend’s house, and then Howard’s brother’s house. Unfortunately neither was any safer than our own home, and we moved on.
Getting on the freeway, trying to out pace a wild fire, the guy in front of us threw a cigarette butt out his window. Can you imagine? What an idiot. From the safety of our car (with windows rolled up) we shouted at him.
Doug Lemmon, who handles the Surfnetkids website and email, had less work than usual because I didn’t write a column or prepare a regular weekly newsletter. He lives within the San Diego city limits, in a part of town that was not threatened. So he spent his afternoon buying supplies at Costco, and taking them down to the shelter at Qualcomm stadium The Rock. I asked for pictures .. and he sent a few over. I wish he had included himself in the pix, or pictures of the evacuation center. I understand that the evacuation experience at the stadium was excellent, with plenty of donations, food, water, clean bathrooms, and even entertainment. The citizens of San Diego did a great job! Kudos to everyone.
At my dad’s house, detailed updates from San Diego were hard to get. I understand one of the local TV stations had streaming video news, but their server couldn’t handle the strain of the traffic, and they shut it down. I had similar difficulties reaching other San Diego sites. The news in LA was covering fires closer to LA .. and my interest was specifically in the west end of the Witch fire … because that’s where our house is.
A spokesperson for the Witch fire had said that the fire was heading to the coast… putting it right in our path. I, however, tried to focus on positive thoughts, and told Howard that “the fire WANTS to be stopped” and “we will have Thanksgiving IN OUR HOUSE.”
Positive thoughts aside, there were those quiet moments when the “what if” creeps in. I mentioned to my family that if the worse did come to pass, I would buy a Sleep Number bed .. because I had slept on one in a hotel recently, and thought it was really comfortable. My daughter admitted that she was daydreaming about a new bathroom.
We also had time to think about what we should have taken, but left behind. I hadn’t taken our wedding video, and Erica was thinking about a locket she left at home. And I realized that we had not shut off the gas to the house. Dumb move.
By Wednesday night, however, my positive thoughts won out. The fire was stopped … and we WILL have a large family gathering at OUR HOUSE for Thanksgiving.
I am so happy that you are all safe!!
WOW! indeed. So glad to hear that you and your family + Noah’s “ark angels” are all safe and sound back home. there is such a big difference between Soot and Ash.
May this experience bring you and your husband closer and to your daughter as well. Keep your family safe.
You can never imagine what the experience was to see your email in my mailbox again
Best wishes from Ninian in Guyana, South America.
Dear Barbara,
I’m so happy to hear you and your family are safe. I can only imagine how scarey it was for all of you. Please know that you are in our thoughts. Patti K.
Hi Barbara,
Good luck to you, your family, and your house!
I’ve been checking the news (on the ‘net of course) and your posts, and have been rooting for you.
– Barry
Dear Barbara,
I am very happy to hear that you and your family have safely come through this evacuation and fire.
In reading about your decisions of things to take and things to do before leaving, I was thinking that you are in a rather unique position now to help others who might have to evacuate in the future. Perhaps you could post a list of things you took with you and things you remembered later that you wished you’d taken. Another list would be preparations such as turning off the gas. Naturally, everyone’s list is a little different, but it would be a good starting place for people in such emergency situations.
You have listed many of the things in your blog post, but my suggestion is for just a checklist with no extra text. Other readers might have suggestions to add.
Once again, I am glad to hear that you will be having a very special Thanksgiving in your own home.
Barbara and Family
Glad to hear you are home safe and sound. God bless and take care of you and others who were blessed to survive the fires with little damage. Thank you for the many positive helps you give to educators. You continue to be in my thoughts and prayers………….Enjoy the many blessings with your family and friends this Thanksgiving. We all have much for which to be thankful…..
angie
Dear Barbara,
Glad you and your family are ok. We have been praying fo all those who lost their homes and possessions throughout San Diego, Orange, Riverside and the other counties affected by the fires.
Rosalie Bray
Anaheim, CA
I first smelled the smoke as I was driving on the freeway last Sunday afternoon October 21st. It was a “wood on fire smell”. I didn’t see much smoke so it was puzzling. I got home and turned on the TV to check the news. Sure enough! there was a brush fire in San Diego. Well it didn’t seem all that serious so I went about other business.
So I gladly said I would. I grabbed a friend and we headed for Costco.
Monday morning my phone rings and it’s Barbara saying that they are evacuating because fire was heading their way and there won’t be a column or newsletter this week. That surprised me because I hadn’t heard any news on the fires yet that morning and after about nine years with Barbara I couldn’t remember ever missing a weekly newsletter. Needless to say my concern was for her and I said “Be safe, I’ll check in with you later”.
One of the things to remember about San Diego is that we occasionally have to deal with what is called Santa Ana winds. The warm dry winds that blow from the deserts east of San Diego over the mountains and towards the coast, usually between October to February. This differs from the usual damper winds that blow in from the ocean to the mountains that are between the ocean and the desert. What happened was that these Santa Ana winds with their low humidity fed the initial fire and whipped it into a frenzy. Fiery embers shot into the air and were carried by these winds and landed elsewhere in San Diego county until there were about 16 others fires started.
As devastating as they may be, these fires are not the only thing we have to worry about here in San Diego. The same winds that blow and whip the fires up also carry the ashes from brush, trees, and also the materials from burning houses. That means plastics, gypsum, metals and whatever materials are used to build a house are sent into the air to land as ashes and dust for miles around. It covers everything! Breathing is hard because this stuff is in the air and you DON’T want it in your lungs! Dust masks provide some but little protection and comfort. I remember in 2003 watching the ashes block the sun and fall like snow. I say snow because the flakes of ash were just like snowflakes. And I live 25 or more miles from those fires!
Anyhow, to the point of my essay. As I watched the numbers and statistics soar for people displaced, homes burned and acres destroyed, I thought I would like to help in some way. I’m not very well suited to be a firefighter but in some way I could fight the fires. I called Barbara after two days to check and see how she and her family were doing. I was happy to hear they were fine. During the course of our conversation I mentioned I was going to go to Costco and secure some supplies for the growing number of relief sites that were opening. One of which was Qualcomm stadium. She asked me to include her in the effort which is totally like her.
I swear that as crowded as Costco usually is I figured about 3/4 of the people shopping there were doing the same as I was. What a GREAT feeling! I figured the relief agencies were letting the Costco people know what items were most needed. So I asked and they filled me in on some items. We loaded blankets, pillows, water, crackers, paper plates, toiletries, ensure and depends, sanitary wipes, and even a dozen packs of playing cards and more on our dolly and headed for the checkout. We had heard from a fellow relief shopper that Qualcomm was pretty well set and were directing donations elsewhere. So my friend Mitch and I loaded the supplies into my SUV and headed for The Rock, a church that recently opened near my home and that my family attends. We drove into a beehive of volunteers. About 900 people were unloading cars and trucks filled with matresses and everything needed to house evacuees. It was kind of mind boggling. I drove away with a great sense of pride, not necessarily all in myself but in ALL the humanitarians and volunteers in San Diego.
Although I know that the supplies I delivered were a drop in the bucket, I figure that drops accumulate and in the end the needs of many are met. So I can’t say my contribution was insignificant. Even a little goes a long way. In a crisis such as this not only people that own homes are effected but renters, homeless people, wild animals, domestic animals and pets suffer for a long time. The water reservoirs are contaminated and even boiling the water does not make it safe. It will remain like that for a while. So the several cases of fresh water I donated will make a difference to someone who is thirsty. In the end I would encourage anyone who reads this to contact the Red Cross and give what you can even if it’s only 5 or 10 dollars. It’s needed and it will make you feel good!
As a mother of 2 teenage children myself, I kept thinking about you and your family since I read your first note about evacuating. I am so glad it’s all over for you and thanks for your postings. They bring us so close to the people who are suffering even though we are so far away.