When I moved to L.A. in 1996 I was aware of earthquakes. The 1994 Northridge quake was fresh in our minds and so was the 1989 San Francisco earthquake, which happened during the World Series.
But I don’t remember thinking anything about fires. In the Northeast we only have hurricanes to deal with.
The area of Altadena that burned is 20 minutes from us and I know two families who lost homes. When we were looking to rent a house in 2015, I looked at one at Altadena, but all I remember is it wasn’t suitable for one reason or another. But I remember thinking the area was beautiful, and feeling soothed by the natural beauty and atmosphere of the foothills. You can smell and feel the nature and I always loved it.
As it turns out, we settled in a more suburban, picket-fence area which is far from danger in these current fires. But it could have just as easily been our neighborhood which was threatened, depending on what power line landed in what pile of brush.
The heartbreaking stories are now coming out of families who lost their homes and all their belongings—their keepsakes and treasures—and you can’t help but wonder about what it would be like to go through that experience. What would you grab? What would it be like to drive away knowing you might never see your home again? To say nothing of the fact that we’ve never actually made a plan to do that.
We’ve also spent the week with the kids home from school, and the air smelling like ash and soot, so people are masking. Shades of Covid which nobody ever wanted to go through again.
It’s all so awful and heartbreaking. I am so sorry for the families affected.
We're in a similar situation in Culver City. The Palisades fire isn't far from us but we don't seem to be in any immediate danger. The winds were terrifying Tuesday night but luckily we never lost power. I'm glad you and your family are safe.