The fire

Monday morning, 1:05 a.m., Steve rang my doorbell, having just been evacuated from his house in Kenwood. I was asleep, of course, knew nothing of the fire but we spent the next hour or so trying to find information online. We found enough to be very worried.  I was up again that morning at 5:45, planning on going to work out at the coast.  Showered and headed out to walk the dogs around the block before I drove to Pt. Reyes.

The air was already toxic, so smokey.  Walking down Mendocino Avenue, we could see flames shooting high into the air, and even from my block we could see huge flames. It was shocking and terrifying.  Came back, found radio news and more online, the fire was at Kaiser Hospital, about a mile from my house. The evacuation zone was three blocks from my house, so I just was outside that zone. (Needless to say, I did not go to work.)

The air got worse and worse, the news worse and worse, the fire simply expanded over more and more acres. At 10:30 Steve snuck back to Kenwood, using backroads, and his house was, at that time, still standing. Driving out of there, however, he drove through roads with fire on both sides.  He met me in Petaluma at our friends Stacey and Ben's house, where we spend the next two nights.  We went to Santa Rosa on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, just to check on my place, and yesterday you simply could not breathe the air for more than a few minutes without a mask. The visibility was about one block. There is no way I was willing to stay in that atmosphere, so Steve and I drove to Gabe and Annie's in Daly City.  We are here now and will be for another night at least.

Steve can't get back to Kenwood, probably won't be able to for another three or four days at least.  I won't be able to be in my Santa Rosa place until the winds shift and some of the smoke and particles are gone.  But we have such good friends and family, we have places to stay and we are safe.

There is no way to describe this situation, so I won't try to other to say it is unbelievable and almost incomprehensible.  I know so many people who have lost everything except what they carried as they had to run from their homes. The situation in Sonoma County is catastrophic in so many ways.

This is the fourth day and it begins to wear on your body as well as your mind. Shaky, nervous, anxious, on edge. But again, we are safe and whole and so many thousands are not.

Give money to any charity that is servicing Sonoma and Napa areas, they will need blankets, clothes, so much in the coming weeks.  They do not need goods, they need to be able to go out and buy what individuals require, especially since many are going to be in shelters for more than a few days.

More to you all when I can.  Thank you to everyone for your concerned thoughts.  Knowing people are out there thinking of us and thinking of all who are affected is such a comfort.

much love....