Hello Everyone, I am back from my break. We were evacuated during a terrifying wildfire in early September in Wrightwood, CA. I had packed up that morning and left with the dogs. Later that afternoon, I noticed the live cameras at Mountain High looked very smoky. The air was thick, grey, and dense. A few minutes later, a woman posted an horrifying video of the mountainside burning like an inferno. I felt sick with dread.
I messaged a couple of my close neighbors. One posted video of her family leaving town to stay with in laws. Most ended up staying in hotels. The sky was orange and there was just one road open leading out of town, a two lane highway, Highway 2. I expected pandemonium, but watched my screen as the cars on her videotape exiting slowly and carefully. There had been many meetings discussing what to do if this ever happened, and now it was happening. An arsonist was reported and caught.
I had booked a trip from London to Norway and Iceland for the following day. My friends and neighbors assumed I would cancel it, but I didn’t. The dogs were safe up at dog camp, and I couldn’t stop a forest fire. I received notifications on my iPad all night long at my hotel in London. The hiking trails and areas where we picnic and enjoy nature were all burning. I saw a fire truck and a fireman parked in front of my land on my cameras. The lights were flashing through the middle of the night. I saw embers floating around my yard, and caught my breath. A firefighter was walking through my rose garden and they were calling more fire trucks to the intersection where I live.
I was amazed at how many firefighters and trucks were put on the scene. Their plan of action was extremely well organized and executed. Thirty structures did burn. This is a town of five thousand. I haven’t really been able to see the damage, because Big Pines Highway and part of Highway 2 is closed. They stopped the fire very close to my home, on both sides. All of the preparation guidelines for disasters that are taught by local agencies are so important. I had renewed my home insurance early, just in case. We have returned home and I am working on clean up, raking, and trimming back lilac branches. Everything needed a good watering, and some of the tiny pink roses were still in bloom.
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