Out here in northern California watching the nightmare of the LA fires. All of you who live there and have family and friends there are in my thoughts and heart. So horrible…
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Lots of thoughts on the fires here, and following.
Awful.
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Mrs. ricepad grew up in the LA area and I lived there a few years too, and we’ve been watching the news in horror. We live in Northern California where wildfires mean trees, brush, and dry grasses, but URBAN wildfires are a whole different level of scary. We are grateful that none of our family members still live in the area, but feel terrible for our friends still there.
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As a former Californian and a resident of the Los Angeles area for a few year I find all of the fires just devastating. I checked on my family yesterday morning and as they live south and south east of the fires all are safe. For now.
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A Drink Before the War
“Last night, I was back in the bar at the top of The Huntley Hotel, nursing a gimlet and pondering the difference between “contained” and “controlled” when five guys walked in who did not resemble the typical clientele. Tee shirts, ball caps and flannel. They were looking for room at the bar, and didn’t hesitate to say hello when they recognized me.
“Holy shit!” said one. “What are you doing here?”
I smiled and shrugged. “Everybody’s gotta be somewhere I guess.”
“Are we on an episode of Dirty Jobs?” said another. “Should I call my agent?”
I laughed along with the men and said, “You won’t need an agent for this gig. You’re already the stars of the show.”
The men laughed and paused for a photo, at my request. These were firefighters from up north, who had come down to relieve their brothers and sisters who’d been slogging through hell for the last 48 hours. They had just arrived in Santa Monica, where they’d been put up at the same hotel that I’ve been hunkered down in for the last few days.
“A drink before the war?” I asked.
“You know it,” said the short one.
“It’s important to stay hydrated in our line of work,” said another.
A short guy with a wide grin introduced himself as Andy Garcia, and told me that he and his fellow firefighters were part of Lookout Fire Department around Mt. Shasta. Engine 4822 and water tender 4830.
“We got down here as quick as we could,” said Andy. “This is gonna be one for the history books.”
“I’m afraid you’re right about that,” I said.
Earlier that day my friend Manju, the hotel manager at The Huntley, asked me say hello to one of the fire chiefs, who had a video on his phone that simply defied description. It was filmed at 2pm the day before, but it looked like 2am. The sky was filled with black smoke, and dark as pitch. His men were visible however, illuminated by towering flames that surrounded them as they fought to save another home, only to see it crumble before them. The chief wept as the video played.
“My men are exhausted,” he said. “Would it be possible to free up a few showers in the hotel?”
The hotel was slammed, but Manju vowed to find some empty rooms.
“I know that many of our guests would be honored to give up their beds for a few hours,” she said.
“Thank you,” said the Chief. “But there’s no need for beds, because there’s no time to sleep. Showers though, would go a long way.”
There’s not much new to say about the calamity that continues to unfold here. The situation is, as they say, fluid. Like many of you, I have some thoughts about the policies that precipitated this disaster, and the elected officials who enacted those policies. I also have some strong opinions on what to do with people who fly their drones over a disaster area, and damage the aircraft piloted by men who are trying to fight the fire. Perhaps I’ll share some of those thoughts when the inferno is finally contained, or better yet, under control. For now, though, my thoughts are with Dwane, Paul, Alex, Efrain, and Andy. Five guys who stopped by the hotel bar for a drink before the war. Men who traveled hundreds of miles to risk their lives on my behalf.
Thank you gentlemen and be careful out there.”
Mike
This is Mike Rowe and a bunch of firefighters from Mt. Shasta.
Via the Siskiyou Shutterbugs FB page
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That is the hotel we stay in when we have to go out to HQ in Santa Monica. Many of my co-workers have had to evacuate, a few have lost their homes. My company is paying for lodging and other expenses for all of them. But so many thanks are due to these and other first responders!!
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@John As our lone Mt. Shasta resident, I thought you’d be interested in this.
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The wonderful and winner of many well-deserved awards, Jose Andres to the rescue again! BRAVO❣️
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I saw that MEXICAN firefighters came from Mexico to help out!!
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Great people . Along with Cal fire .
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You found your old password?
Cool.
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Also apparently Canadian firefighters.
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This was big news in Canada today.
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SO angry at those illegal drone operators! That could have been catastrophic if the Super Scooper had gone down.
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Me, too.
Also angry about this guy’s audacity.
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Someone also dug up a tweet from him bitching about having to pay property tax. Which funds the fire department.
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A friend shared those tweets on bluesky. Hard not to feel just a twinge of Schadenfreude for that one.
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If you kept it to a twinge, you’re a better person than me.
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