November 8th started out like any other day. My husband left the house before 5am for work. The kids and I slept in until about 8am, and then got up and made cheesy egg sandwiches for breakfast. I had no idea that by this time the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history was already racing into town.
The power company had issued a warning earlier in the week that they may cut power to the area that night if winds got as high as the meteorologists were predicting. High winds plus low humidity creates a high risk of fire. But the power was still on despite the very high winds that had been gusting since the middle of the night. I figured that not cutting power was a good sign and didn't think much else about it.
After breakfast, I started hearing what sounded like small explosions (I would later find out that this was people's propane tanks exploding across town and echoing across the canyon). Around this time I also noticed what I thought at first was dark rain clouds, but turned out to be a plume of smoke.
My mom called and told me that we were all under mandatory evacuation orders and that my dad was on his way to pick us up since I didn't have a car at home. I honestly didn't want to go at first. Wildfires are nothing new around here and we've stayed home through evacuations before, but my mom insisted that we leave. Apparently she had spent the morning putting out spot fires at our church, where she works. This fire was no joke.
I asked my 7 year old to pack a bag for her and her little sister with a couple changes of clothes for each of them, which she did amazingly by the way (she even packed them each their favorite stuffed animals and snacks). I got started packing a change of clothes for my husband and myself. Then my dad called and told me he didn't think he was going to be able to make it up to get me. Apparently there were flames engulfing the only roadway between his house and mine. He asked a police officer directing traffic if they could send someone to get us, but he said there was no one to send. We decided that I should walk out to the main road with the girls and try to get a ride out of town.
I realized walking out was going to mean leaving most of my animals behind. There was no way to carry out our bags, and all the animals, and keep the girls safe. I filled the chicken's water bowls and poured all the rest of their feed into a big bowl and left them free in the yard so they could flee if they had to. I gave the reptiles fresh water and food. I put the cat outside with the last of his food and some water. If the fire reached the house, I didn't want him to be locked inside. The hardest part was what to do with my elderly Chihuahua. He can barely walk anymore and has trouble holding his bladder. I tried to find our old cat kennel so I could transport him more easily, but I couldn't find it. In the end, I made the decision to leave him in the house. I gave him a bowl of food and a big bowl of water. I figured it was unlikely the fire would reach my house and we'd be allowed to return home in a couple of days.
At the last minute I decided to grab this years school work and curriculum. I wanted to be able to take a few weeks off in February after our new baby is born, so I didn't want to fall behind schedule. I tearfully gave my Chihuahua one last pet and promised him he'd be safe and that we would be back soon.
I unplugged everything in the house, turned off all the lights, and locked up the house. I put my two year old and one of our bags in my big double stroller. I had my 7 year old walk the puppy. I pushed the stroller and carried the other bag. In the 10 minutes it took me to walk out to the main road, I hardly saw anyone. It looked like most of my neighbors had already gone.
The main road was a circus. There was bumper to bumper traffic both directions. People were yelling that they had closed traffic over the dam and that up over the mountain was the only way out. There was a woman running around in a night gown and slippers screaming that the whole town was going to burn and we were all going to die. She really upset my girls, and honestly freaked me out a little too.
After just a few minutes a woman stopped and insisted we get in her truck and ride out with her. Her kids helped me tie down our stuff in the back of her truck and we squeezed into the cab which was stuffed full of her family's belongings.
I tried to call my dad to let him know we had found a ride so he wouldn't keep trying to get up the hill to me, but my phone had lost service. Traffic moved slow for awhile but eventually spread out and moved along at a reasonable speed. Up the mountain, we finally got our first clear look at the fire. It was massive and so close!
Coming down the backside of the mountain several hours later, all our phones finally regained service. About a million text messages and phone calls started pouring in. The lady we rode with, whose name I never got, got a phone call from a neighbor saying that their neighborhood was already gone.
I checked in with my mom. She had thankfully made it out of town safely and was headed to my brother's house down the hill. She asked if my dad had ever made it to my house, apparently she hadn't heard from him at all since he left to get me. I immediately tried calling him, but his phone went straight to voicemail. I prayed that he was safe and felt so bad that he had had to try to get up the hill to us.
The view of the fire from that side of the mountain was horrific. It was clear that the fire had exploded in size and looked like it had likely spread across the entire ridge that we call home. The sky was black with smoke, and ash was falling all around us. The sun was a barely visible red disc behind the thick cloud of smoke.
After several hours we finally made it down to the valley. I said goodbye and thanked the lady who had given us a ride and started walking toward the mall where my cousin had arranged to pick us up. We met up with my parents (my dad had finally made it down the hill, thank God), my brothers, and my husband who had been down the hill at work all along and was worried sick about us.
Then we sat and watched the horrific news coverage of our beautiful community burning to the ground. We watched our favorite restaurants, our schools, and homes burn on television. I cried as countless places that held precious memories disappeared.
The Camp Fire quickly became the deadliest and most destructive fire in California history. Over 17,000 structures were destroyed, including over 12,000 homes. At this point, a little over a week later, 77 are confirmed dead and hundreds more are still missing. My parent's, my mother in law's, my aunt's, and my cousin's homes are all gone. Those of us whose homes still stand, are still under mandatory evacuation orders. We have no idea when we will be allowed to return to our houses. We have no idea what kind of damage there might be from all the smoke and toxins that were in the air. It could be months before power and water are restored.
I spent the first 5 days of the evacuation calling and messaging every pet rescue organization in the area trying to get someone in to get my Chihuahua and my chickens, not knowing if my house was even still standing or if they were alive. I hated myself for leaving them behind. Finally on day 5 I got confirmation that they had been rescued and taken to shelters. I cannot even begin to explain the relief I felt when I heard that they were okay!
On November 8th 2018, our lives were changed forever. My hometown will never be the same. At this point I'm unsure if the town will ever even recover. We've lost about 90% of the town's structures. The destruction is unreal. The pictures and videos coming out are apocalyptic. My heart breaks thinking how destroyed our once beautiful ridge is. Our friends and family and neighbors are spread out across northern California, where ever they can find housing. I miss my home, I miss our beautiful community, I miss my life!
We are lucky though to have all made it out safely. We're lucky our house still stands and that at least some of our possessions are not lost. My husband still has a job and they are helping us find an apartment to rent temporarily. We have a warm place to stay in the mean time and have been given enough clothes and other necessities to get us by until we can return home and see how much is salvageable. Our church still stands (quite possibly thanks to my parents putting out those spot fires). Our future is uncertain at the moment but I am thankful to be part of such a caring community while we figure it out.
I love you Paradise! This how I will always see you:
Update: February 8th 2019
As of today, it's been a full 3 months since the Camp Fire. A lot has happened in these last few months. The evacuation order for our neighborhood was lifted at the end of November, but unfortunately we were not able to return permanently to the house we were renting. There was a lot of smoke damage and our landlord decided she would rather just sell the place "as is" rather than remediate it. I am so thankful that we took the apartment we were offered during the evacuation, or we would likely still be without permanent housing, like so many others are. Because of all the smoke damage, we had to throw away most of our fabric and porous furniture and belongings. We had to get rid of our couch, our mattresses, most of our clothing, and the vast majority of my kid's toys. It was absolutely heart breaking telling my girls that even though our house was still there, that we couldn't go back and we couldn't keep our belongings.
We are extremely blessed though, that we got an apartment and had a lot of people in our lives who helped us get back on our feet. There are so many of our community members who are still struggling to find permanent housing. The fire caused a severe housing shortage in the surrounding communities. Many of our friends have had to leave the area or even the state. Many who have stayed are still living in motels, RVs, or even their cars. My parents and my grandmother are currently living in an RV behind my dad's work, waiting to be allowed to return home to their property.
The fire left behind a lot of toxic debris that now has to be cleared out. While the clean up process has started, it will likely be several years until it is completely finished. It's going to be a long time until the town can really begin to recover, and even then, it's never going to be the same. The town I grew up in and planned to raise my children in, is gone forever.
One of the hardest parts of this whole situation for our family has been giving up our pets. I had to rehome our chickens since we're in an apartment with no yard now. My daughter's Ball Python and frog both froze to death in the weeks following the fire, before we were allowed to return home. And while, I received confirmation that my beloved old Chihuahua had been rescued a few days after the evacuation, we were never able to find him at any of the shelters. He was in pretty poor health before the fire, so we're fairly sure he passed away after rescue workers picked him up. I hate not knowing for sure what happened. I hate that I wasn't there with him when he passed. I just hope he was someplace warm and with people who were kind to him. I don't think I will ever forgive myself for leaving him behind that day.
The fire has brought so many changes to our lives. We miss home everyday. But amongst so much sadness, my heart has been warmed by the enormous out pouring of love and kindness others have shown to the Camp Fire survivors. I can't even tell you how many gift cards our family received from complete strangers to help us buy new clothes and items for our new apartment. I've heard many stories about people completely refurnishing survivors new homes, giving families RVs, and paying for people's motel rooms. Our community has a beautiful new sense of togetherness. Sometimes tragedy brings out the best in people. I look forward to seeing what the future has in store for us all.
The power company had issued a warning earlier in the week that they may cut power to the area that night if winds got as high as the meteorologists were predicting. High winds plus low humidity creates a high risk of fire. But the power was still on despite the very high winds that had been gusting since the middle of the night. I figured that not cutting power was a good sign and didn't think much else about it.
After breakfast, I started hearing what sounded like small explosions (I would later find out that this was people's propane tanks exploding across town and echoing across the canyon). Around this time I also noticed what I thought at first was dark rain clouds, but turned out to be a plume of smoke.
My mom called and told me that we were all under mandatory evacuation orders and that my dad was on his way to pick us up since I didn't have a car at home. I honestly didn't want to go at first. Wildfires are nothing new around here and we've stayed home through evacuations before, but my mom insisted that we leave. Apparently she had spent the morning putting out spot fires at our church, where she works. This fire was no joke.
I asked my 7 year old to pack a bag for her and her little sister with a couple changes of clothes for each of them, which she did amazingly by the way (she even packed them each their favorite stuffed animals and snacks). I got started packing a change of clothes for my husband and myself. Then my dad called and told me he didn't think he was going to be able to make it up to get me. Apparently there were flames engulfing the only roadway between his house and mine. He asked a police officer directing traffic if they could send someone to get us, but he said there was no one to send. We decided that I should walk out to the main road with the girls and try to get a ride out of town.
I realized walking out was going to mean leaving most of my animals behind. There was no way to carry out our bags, and all the animals, and keep the girls safe. I filled the chicken's water bowls and poured all the rest of their feed into a big bowl and left them free in the yard so they could flee if they had to. I gave the reptiles fresh water and food. I put the cat outside with the last of his food and some water. If the fire reached the house, I didn't want him to be locked inside. The hardest part was what to do with my elderly Chihuahua. He can barely walk anymore and has trouble holding his bladder. I tried to find our old cat kennel so I could transport him more easily, but I couldn't find it. In the end, I made the decision to leave him in the house. I gave him a bowl of food and a big bowl of water. I figured it was unlikely the fire would reach my house and we'd be allowed to return home in a couple of days.
At the last minute I decided to grab this years school work and curriculum. I wanted to be able to take a few weeks off in February after our new baby is born, so I didn't want to fall behind schedule. I tearfully gave my Chihuahua one last pet and promised him he'd be safe and that we would be back soon.
I unplugged everything in the house, turned off all the lights, and locked up the house. I put my two year old and one of our bags in my big double stroller. I had my 7 year old walk the puppy. I pushed the stroller and carried the other bag. In the 10 minutes it took me to walk out to the main road, I hardly saw anyone. It looked like most of my neighbors had already gone.
The main road was a circus. There was bumper to bumper traffic both directions. People were yelling that they had closed traffic over the dam and that up over the mountain was the only way out. There was a woman running around in a night gown and slippers screaming that the whole town was going to burn and we were all going to die. She really upset my girls, and honestly freaked me out a little too.
After just a few minutes a woman stopped and insisted we get in her truck and ride out with her. Her kids helped me tie down our stuff in the back of her truck and we squeezed into the cab which was stuffed full of her family's belongings.
I tried to call my dad to let him know we had found a ride so he wouldn't keep trying to get up the hill to me, but my phone had lost service. Traffic moved slow for awhile but eventually spread out and moved along at a reasonable speed. Up the mountain, we finally got our first clear look at the fire. It was massive and so close!
Coming down the backside of the mountain several hours later, all our phones finally regained service. About a million text messages and phone calls started pouring in. The lady we rode with, whose name I never got, got a phone call from a neighbor saying that their neighborhood was already gone.
I checked in with my mom. She had thankfully made it out of town safely and was headed to my brother's house down the hill. She asked if my dad had ever made it to my house, apparently she hadn't heard from him at all since he left to get me. I immediately tried calling him, but his phone went straight to voicemail. I prayed that he was safe and felt so bad that he had had to try to get up the hill to us.
The view of the fire from that side of the mountain was horrific. It was clear that the fire had exploded in size and looked like it had likely spread across the entire ridge that we call home. The sky was black with smoke, and ash was falling all around us. The sun was a barely visible red disc behind the thick cloud of smoke.
After several hours we finally made it down to the valley. I said goodbye and thanked the lady who had given us a ride and started walking toward the mall where my cousin had arranged to pick us up. We met up with my parents (my dad had finally made it down the hill, thank God), my brothers, and my husband who had been down the hill at work all along and was worried sick about us.
Then we sat and watched the horrific news coverage of our beautiful community burning to the ground. We watched our favorite restaurants, our schools, and homes burn on television. I cried as countless places that held precious memories disappeared.
The Camp Fire quickly became the deadliest and most destructive fire in California history. Over 17,000 structures were destroyed, including over 12,000 homes. At this point, a little over a week later, 77 are confirmed dead and hundreds more are still missing. My parent's, my mother in law's, my aunt's, and my cousin's homes are all gone. Those of us whose homes still stand, are still under mandatory evacuation orders. We have no idea when we will be allowed to return to our houses. We have no idea what kind of damage there might be from all the smoke and toxins that were in the air. It could be months before power and water are restored.
 |
| My parent's house after the fire |
I spent the first 5 days of the evacuation calling and messaging every pet rescue organization in the area trying to get someone in to get my Chihuahua and my chickens, not knowing if my house was even still standing or if they were alive. I hated myself for leaving them behind. Finally on day 5 I got confirmation that they had been rescued and taken to shelters. I cannot even begin to explain the relief I felt when I heard that they were okay!
On November 8th 2018, our lives were changed forever. My hometown will never be the same. At this point I'm unsure if the town will ever even recover. We've lost about 90% of the town's structures. The destruction is unreal. The pictures and videos coming out are apocalyptic. My heart breaks thinking how destroyed our once beautiful ridge is. Our friends and family and neighbors are spread out across northern California, where ever they can find housing. I miss my home, I miss our beautiful community, I miss my life!
We are lucky though to have all made it out safely. We're lucky our house still stands and that at least some of our possessions are not lost. My husband still has a job and they are helping us find an apartment to rent temporarily. We have a warm place to stay in the mean time and have been given enough clothes and other necessities to get us by until we can return home and see how much is salvageable. Our church still stands (quite possibly thanks to my parents putting out those spot fires). Our future is uncertain at the moment but I am thankful to be part of such a caring community while we figure it out.
I love you Paradise! This how I will always see you:
Update: February 8th 2019
As of today, it's been a full 3 months since the Camp Fire. A lot has happened in these last few months. The evacuation order for our neighborhood was lifted at the end of November, but unfortunately we were not able to return permanently to the house we were renting. There was a lot of smoke damage and our landlord decided she would rather just sell the place "as is" rather than remediate it. I am so thankful that we took the apartment we were offered during the evacuation, or we would likely still be without permanent housing, like so many others are. Because of all the smoke damage, we had to throw away most of our fabric and porous furniture and belongings. We had to get rid of our couch, our mattresses, most of our clothing, and the vast majority of my kid's toys. It was absolutely heart breaking telling my girls that even though our house was still there, that we couldn't go back and we couldn't keep our belongings.
We are extremely blessed though, that we got an apartment and had a lot of people in our lives who helped us get back on our feet. There are so many of our community members who are still struggling to find permanent housing. The fire caused a severe housing shortage in the surrounding communities. Many of our friends have had to leave the area or even the state. Many who have stayed are still living in motels, RVs, or even their cars. My parents and my grandmother are currently living in an RV behind my dad's work, waiting to be allowed to return home to their property.
The fire left behind a lot of toxic debris that now has to be cleared out. While the clean up process has started, it will likely be several years until it is completely finished. It's going to be a long time until the town can really begin to recover, and even then, it's never going to be the same. The town I grew up in and planned to raise my children in, is gone forever.
One of the hardest parts of this whole situation for our family has been giving up our pets. I had to rehome our chickens since we're in an apartment with no yard now. My daughter's Ball Python and frog both froze to death in the weeks following the fire, before we were allowed to return home. And while, I received confirmation that my beloved old Chihuahua had been rescued a few days after the evacuation, we were never able to find him at any of the shelters. He was in pretty poor health before the fire, so we're fairly sure he passed away after rescue workers picked him up. I hate not knowing for sure what happened. I hate that I wasn't there with him when he passed. I just hope he was someplace warm and with people who were kind to him. I don't think I will ever forgive myself for leaving him behind that day.
The fire has brought so many changes to our lives. We miss home everyday. But amongst so much sadness, my heart has been warmed by the enormous out pouring of love and kindness others have shown to the Camp Fire survivors. I can't even tell you how many gift cards our family received from complete strangers to help us buy new clothes and items for our new apartment. I've heard many stories about people completely refurnishing survivors new homes, giving families RVs, and paying for people's motel rooms. Our community has a beautiful new sense of togetherness. Sometimes tragedy brings out the best in people. I look forward to seeing what the future has in store for us all.
 |
| Rest In Peace my sweet old boy! |
Because I wanted people from out of area to know Paradise for more than just destruction, I wrote this post about Paradise before the fire:
Oh my goodness! I'm so glad you are all okay. It brings tears to my eyes. Praying for all of you in Paradise.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the prayers, we all appreciate them :-)
DeletePraising the Lord for keeping you and your girls safe, Brandy, but oh... (HUG) Praying for Paradise and those that have been affected, friend.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your prayers, we appreciate them!
DeletePrayers for you and your family and everyone affected.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your prayers. They are much appreciated.
DeleteI'm so sorry about your beloved dog. I really appreciate you sharing from your heart like this.
ReplyDeleteI miss him so much :-( Thank you for your condolences.
Delete