Labor Day was a holiday that was unusual in the typical ways all 2020 holidays have been so far. We didn't have friends over, but did some barbecuing for ourselves, and stayed home. In the evening the winds came up, which was bad news because there was a fire in the wilderness east of us, but we went to bed without too much worrying.
By morning, everything had changed. Big Ag and I both slept in, thinking it was still night, but at 8:30 we realized the clocks were right but....it had never gotten light.
We awoke to this apocalyptic scene:
Basically the sun never came up because the wildfires to the east of us exploded overnight, heading in our direction. We checked with Emergency Services for our county, who told us we were already at a Level Two evacuation request, meaning we needed to be packed and ready to go at any time. Level Three means GO NOW. So we spent the day packing our vehicles, making everything ready inside not only for our valuables and sentimentals, but also for our livestock.
We had two things working in our favor. First and foremost was our background as Californians. Long ago, we'd put together three emergency checklists in case of fire -- what to take if we were given 5 minutes to evacuate, one hour to leave, or several hours to pack up. So we worked off the several hours list and got everything packed.
The second thing that helped was that we'd moved all the livestock from California to Oregon with us, so we knew how to configure the car to fit everyone in comfortably. It was just a matter of putting it all back together like we were moving again.
As of right now, we are still sitting at a Level Two emergency, so we're waiting to see what happens and if/when we'll have to go. We actually plan on leaving once the town next to us goes to Level Three. We won't wait until we are. Until then, I'm trying to keep busy by grocery shopping, canning tomatoes, washing the smoke taint out of my hair, and praying.
If you are the praying sort, we could certainly use yours right now, as we wait to find out what we'll be asked to do.
Oh, I've been thinking of you, reading and watching news of OR and WA. I just printed out a checklist like you mention -- something I've never done, as a lifelong Californian. Denial, maybe? That's not a plan.
ReplyDeleteI hope the fires stay back and you don't need to evacuate. The smoke and ash have been very bad here, orange-brown and dark this AM but not like your pics. Wishing you all the best, stay safe.
Thanks Christina. We are still in a holding pattern today, still packed, still waiting. I had gotten rid of my lists I made back in CA, so had to recall it from memory! Luckily it came back to me. Big Ag thinks it's pretty funny that I may not remember where my keys are half the time, but I know which pieces of art and which boxes of holiday ornaments to throw into the car to evacuate lol.
DeleteGlad you are still safe at home, may it stay so. I hear you - for me it's my glasses I misplace, and I need them almost as much as the car keys to drive.
DeleteOh..you definitely have my prayers and good thoughts. Those photos are unbelievable. We have had fires near us but not close enough to worry - they are farther away at the eastern end of the mountain range. Good thing you know what to do so there is no panic. We had to evacuate in the big fires here in 2003 - no fun!! stay safe.
ReplyDeletehaha pieces of art and holiday ornaments... i kind of packed a bit the other night when there was thread of Santa Ana winds and being in the mountains - got me worried. First things I packed was some photos but not ALL OF THE THOUSANDS i have from when kids werelittle...some clothes, some notebooks i write in every morning and some jewelry .. I wanted to pack much more but thought that would be enough. damn i didn't think about holiday ornaments..now you have me thinking.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sandy! Yes, our Christmas tree is composed of 95 percent ornaments we've collected over the years in different places and representing different things in our lives, so beyond sentimental. They're the first things to get packed, after animals! I can replace my social security card if necessary but not those ornaments lol!
Deletei get it - ..I have some that when the kids were little a neighbor and I made these soft type ornaments - little elf faces etc... We had terrible winds one time and they were stored in a box in our open garage carport type building until we closed it in. Anyway the winds swept through and I imagine blew them into yards
ReplyDeleteway beyond ours. Never found them. I can imagine how you would want to save yours.
Oh no! That's terrible. It's always hard to lose irreplaceable things. And handmade stuff is usually irreplaceable.
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