The Fires

I heard it on the way into work and I caught my breath. It's one of those things you come to expect on a yearly basis. But it still makes you nervous. The news anchor on the radio mentions the laundry list of fires in Southern California. She mentions Canyon Country and that's when it happened. My mother who is in her 90's lives near Canyon Country. My sister Janet lives there, and three other sisters are also in the area. So obviously I'm nervous and will be calling out west a little later.

The fear of fires in California is real! The picture to the right is where I grew up. Sunland-Tujunga is in the San Fernando Valley. As a teen I'll never forget staying home while my family went away. I couldn't go on the trip because I had to work. What stands out is the phone ringing at about 2 in the morning. I staggered out to the dining room, and picked up the receiver. I was still thinking this was all a bad dream. It took me a little while to comprehend what the person on the other end of the phone was saying. It wasn't a friend or family member on the phone it was a neighbor I hardly knew. It really was a bad dream, in fact it was a nightmare.

Neighbor: "You need to get out of your house now, there's a fire and it's coming our way."

I could hear the winds howling outside. Our enemy the Santa Ana winds were at it again. I opened the shudders and looked out the window. It was as if someone had painted an orange mural on the window. It was orange for as far as the eyes could see. The wind was fueling the fire as it licked away at the dry scrub brush on the hills across the way. It looked like it would race down the canyon and then up the other side of the hill right to our doorstep.

I was just 17 years old, and now I had to figure out what to salvage from our house. What important documents do you grab? What photo albums? What about clothes? Think about that, just having minutes to collect the most important things in your life. The clock is ticking and you have such a short time to cram stuff into your car. You don't have the luxury of time. You have to react, and act!

I was lucky though. My neighbor across the street was a fire captain with the L.A. Fire Department. I ran across the street and sought him out. I wasn't alone. I had to wait in line. I asked him how much time I had to get stuff into the car. He informed me I didn't have to worry. The winds had shifted and that the fire would now likely chew through the homes across the way. He was right. But that shows you how unpredictable, dangerous and deadly these Santa Ana winds that fuel these fires can be. I went to work through the smoke to Shop Easy market the next day. The planes kept dumping the fire retardant on the blaze as it ran up the hillside across the way. The danger had passed for me. The fire would bring misery to someone else. I just hope that my family is okay, but I know what that means. It means that someone else will suffer.