looks like he got dragged so badly he’s deleted his Twitter account as of Jan. 9th.
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I didn’t say how strong the twinge was.
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We’re in Pasadena.
Live at the very edge of an evacuation warning zone.
All so f’ing surreal.
Multiple friends and acquaintances have lost homes.
Others are unsure of their home status.
Owner of a cat rescue nonprofit I volunteer with and support lost her home, but she and her sister managed to safely get their sanctuary cats out of the house.
I watched my vet’s office burn on live TV, but the building still stands. They’ve not yet been allowed in to see if flames intruded.
Cannot grasp this reality.
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I’m so sorry, cannot imagine. Glad you are safe right now.
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“Suddenly the thing we could only imagine was upon us, and we could still only imagine it” - paraphrase from We Wish to Inform You … . This keeps running through my mind. The loss of the Altadena is simply not possible to grasp. Surreal. Post-apocalyptic.
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My friend in Santa Monica is safe, but nearly had to evacuate. Her BF that lived in Pacific Palisades is ok also, but his home didn’t make it, as was confirmed today. He’s lucky to be alive, and was among the last on his street to leave. It’s truly almost apocalyptic in scope, and things in the area remain tentative. I can’t imagine how awful it would be to be displaced in any kind of natural or man made disaster.
Thoughts go out to all who have weathered unthinkable calamities and tragedies.
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Thank you for checking in and best wishes!
My brother lives in Sana Monica and is okay, but staying in a hotel.
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Very sad . Now to find a place to live . Awful .
Im sure with the California laws . Its probably going to be high density housing. More than single family dwellings . On the rebuild.
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Fortunately my brother’s house didn’t burn; I think there was a warning and voluntary relocation that is hopefully temporary. @ElsieDee 's friends sound like they will have a tough road back.
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@ElsieDee, thank you for letting us know how you are faring. We are here for you.
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We’ve learned that my wife’s lifelong friend’s home (just below the Summit area) in the Palisades) is OK. A neighbor sent her a picture of it yesterday morning. The night before we’d seen someone interviewed on TV who had been to the street behind hers to fight fire at his mother’s home so we’d thought the worst.
Now comes the reality that she has a home in a community that doesn’t really exist anymore. Devastating in its own way.
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Today I learned my brother in Santa Monica " was mandated evacuation on Tuesday…now it’s been hanging in the lurch as a warning zone, meaning they can mandate again… I think yesterday they added a curfew." and heading back for medical appointments, but “concerned about air quality”
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That “almost” is doing a lot of heavy lifting.
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Yes. As are my quotes!
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The Ukraine offered to send help!?!
All the way from Europe, with all their own intense problems?
I wonder what they’re going to do with the 2 North Korean soldiers they captured, would probably prefer not to return to N Korea.
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Grew up in SoCal, never will forget the Santana winds, but fire never hit when I was growing up. Watched the Oakland fire from SF, knew a few people who lost thier homes. I have not watched any of the LA Fire coverage, too insane and sad.
I think the state is going to change building codes to prevent structure fires, stuff like anti-ember guards on vents and eaves, fire proof paint, etc. Have to stop thinking about these as wild fires. Might start that way but flying embers are what spreads fires from structure to structure.
Also, I see new taxes on high fire areas….for their own good. Oakland passed a special tax assessment for fire protection in the hills, paid by those living there. One result was firefighters and trucks stationed and ready on the streets in high fire areas after warnings. Took a while, since the Oakland Tunnel fire was in 1991.
BTW, all blame for politicians to California (and many completely unrelated groups) can go to bloody ****. No one was going to stop four (4) fires in Santana wind conditions, NO ONE.
Bravo for all the states and Mexico (and Europe?) for sending fire fighters. You find out who your friends and neighbors are when things go bad.
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As of now - 4:03 pm on Tuesday, Jan 14, I know of three close friends who’ve lost everything in the Eaton Fire, and four more casual friends who have lost everything, too.
My favorite cashier at the local grocery lost her home, too, as did her mother and one son and his family.
Us? Our house reeks of smoke but we’re fine.
These fires were inevitable and predicted by scientists, though not happening concurrently and with the unprecedented wind storm.
Failure of imagination to identify worst case scenarios and to extrapolate from there in terms of planning at all levels (feds through individuals).
We all need to be thinking beyond the “this has happened before and so will happen again” in terms of planning. Think of the worst - and keep going.
I’m still not grasping the reality.
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20% (300 of 1500) of the employees (teachers and other jobs) of the Pasadena Unified School District lost their homes. That’s mind boggling!
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