On Thursday the 8th at exactly 9 AM our friend called us to tell us we needed to get out. If we hadn't gotten that call when we did, we woul
Two weeks ago, the #campfire raged through #paradise #concow #magalia and surrounding places. Nearly everybody lost everything. Homes, pets, vehicles, so many personal possessions, family and friends.
We got our animals, a few clothing articles. Danny grabbed my pillow, and one blanket each. We left together, before my mom, leaving his car behind with one of his guitars inside and a keyboard in the shed. We got on the road, directly into gridlock - 1/4 mile took 40 minutes. New road, new gridlock - Oliver and Skyway to Neal and Skyway- a normally 5-7 minute drive to the bottom of town took another 45 minutes. An hour and a half drive with the sky changing from an ominous and strange bright orange to pitch black with smoke. I would look at the clock "11:54 AM" and forget for a split second, "why does it say AM, it's pitch black." The worst part of this drive, was not knowing where my mom was, not being able to get ahold of her, lines are down and i'm terrified.
At the bottom of town, Amanda's apartments are already flattened and i'm thankful that's not where she's living on this day. Thankful too, that she was the one to call and wake us up at 9 AM on the dot. I'm not sure what our day would have looked like had we slept any later; we never got a single emergency alert on November 8th.
Photo confirmation came a few days later that our house was completely gone. A LEO family member saw and confirmed that Danny's car didn't survive either. His vehicle and his instruments, up in the wind.
The house Danny was beginning to find comfort in, the house I grew up in, my whole life, photo albums, #Christmas with a hot cup of #coffee, friends sitting on the kitchen floor eating #food, the safe place after a long day of work or school.
We're adjusting. We want to go home. Housing is scarce - and not knowing if we will have to leave the area makes it tough on finding a job right away, but we're pulling through. I think a lot of us Camp Fire survivors find it hard to ask for help, but sometimes we have to be honest with ourselves - this is a little more than we can chew. I created the fundraiser for Danny in hopes of helping with incidentals, and maybe just to show a little appreciation. For trying his best to keep me calm when I was worried about my mom, for hopping in my car last minute, leaving his stuff behind because I was nervous about evacs. For just doin the damn thing. Anything is greatly appreciated!
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