It’s 3 am and there’s a faint knocking on my door. I hear it
through a sleepy haze. I pull myself out of bed, nearly trip on my two
kittens and make my way to my apartment door. When I get there, I hear Peggy
my neighbor saying, “Rachel, please wake up you need to get your kittens and
get out of here. This place is burning!” As I open the door my senses are overwhelmed.
There’s heavy smoke in the air, I hear sirens and what sounds like an
explosion. I see Peggy, have a short conversation with her and shut the door. I
am overwhelmed, sleep deprived, and a little frozen by fear. I grab my phone
and call my family, waking them up. I pack a bunch of useless things in a bag,
grab my 5-month-old kittens, and run to my car. The smoke is heavy and it almost
looks like fog. I turn on my car and go. As I make my way to the highway, I am
in a daze. There's a steady flow of traffic for 3:30 am in the morning. As I
drive away from Santa Rosa and the Tubbs fire, I see a car on the side of the
highway on fire. It feels like Armageddon.
I was lucky. Most folks I know were lucky. So many others
were not. Businesses and neighborhoods less than a mile from me were burned to
the ground. Over a year later, that night and that awful October week still
haunts me.
Now it’s happening again. My beautiful love, California, is
burning. My heart breaks for all those in the mist of this madness now. We pray
for containment and fast. The Camp Fire is said to be the size of Atlanta. It's
already the deadliest and most destructive in state history. Forty-eight people
are dead and over 6,500 homes have burned to the ground and this beast is not
contained. Fire is unpredictable and hops kind of like tornados. The Woolsey
Fire in Los Angeles and Ventura counties and the Hill Fire in Ventura County
rage on.
When the fires hit last year, I was at a low point in my life. I had
just left my job and was starting to fall back into depression. I am so
grateful that I had a place to go and people to look after me, while I waited to
hear about my home. I hope that those in need will find the same care I did.
California may be burning but her spirit is strong and her people kind.
If you’re looking to help and donate please go here.
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| A store .5 miles from my Santa Rosa apartment. |
