This feels so surreal
On Thursday November 8th 2018, I lost my beautiful home in Paradise, California to the devastating Camp Fire. This is a picture of my comfy little studio from this past spring. I have lived here since January 2017 and have loved every minute of it. I shared it with my rabbit, pug and cat, it was perfect.
And this is a picture of it’s current state after the fire storm took my home, along with a current estimate of 12k others. My neighborhood and ENTIRE town is decimated. A current total of 81 deaths have been discovered, but close to 1,000 still remain unaccounted for (as of 11/20/18).
My good friend and neighbor’s house. He was the one who first texted me urging that I get home to save my animals from the encroaching fire. I saw him while we were packing our cars and we hugged and wished each other luck, promising to let each other know when we were safe.
Not my picture but a popular one circulating the evacuee facebook pages I am apart of. This is the town sign going into Paradise from Skyway. Social media like twitter and facebook have been my main sources of information during this tragedy. If I did not have my friend texting me and alerts set up for when Cal Fire tweets out fire info, I would have had no idea that I needed to rush home to evacuate that morning. There was absolutely no warning or alert on my phone to evacuate from any government, fire, sheriff or any other type of agency. With the technology we have today, why are they not provided with the resources available to alert more people to evacuate via phones? Yes, the speed of this fire was unreal and barely anything they could have fully prepared for. But there were so many that probably had no idea this fire was coming. It just feels like more could have been done, like utilizing that presidential alert that was tested the other month or something like the amber alert system or information on the tv or radio before it was too late.
I thankfully made it out safe with all my animals and a few valuables. I had previously had an emergency “to-go” box packed with important things and a list of stuff to grab. But I stupidly unpacked it last month thinking fire season was over. When it came time to evacuate I remembered probably only 5 of the major things on the list and then stood in my living room in a daze with tears running down my face. I had no idea what else to grab besides literally everything. So I just ran out after getting the most important things and escaped the fast moving fire. There is a part of me that is regretting not spending more time getting more things packed up, I think of all the bags I could have used. But then I see the horrific stories of people not making it out alive and I feel so lucky to be safe with my animals.
This is a view from the Chico Mall after I evacuated. I met up with friends to make sure they got out safe. We went to get food in a daze.
This is on my way up to my house after leaving my work around 8:30 in the morning. This is the sun shining through the huge cloud of smoking billowing from the direction of my town.
This is at the first stop light when you get into Paradise. The cloud of smoke grew thick and dark, with the far edges of the town glowing orange and red from the flames. That is when I knew it was worse then I expected, once I got home I called my mom sobbing “It’s so bad Mom, it’s so bad!”
This is at my parent’s home in East Chico the day after the fire, 11/9. It honestly felt like a scene out of fallout, this picture doesn't fully capture the creepy amber color all round. Thankfully my family lives close and I was able to escape to their home. I am currently living with them and I feel incredibly lucky to have a roof over my head, unlike so many other evacuees.
This is the air quality that Chico has been dealing with following the fire. We have all been wearing N95 masks and it is the creepiest thing to walk around town and see everyone in them. It feels apocalyptic and surreal.
I would have never thought I would be writing this type of post. I knew California is covered in fires so often now, but never really expected to be so directly impacted by one of them. I did have a fear this summer that something was going to happen and tried to plan for it, but felt I was safe once October hit and let my guard down. But there are so many “I could have done this” scenario’s that I can create, that I just can’t let myself go there.
This is something that has impacted thousands of my fellow Californian’s and it is devastating to see and experience this type of traumatic disaster first hand.
I have lost everything in this fire, save for myself, my animals and a few treasured belongings. And I am one of the lucky ones. So many people and animals are missing, dead, homeless, sick and lost because of this tragedy. The community is the shining light through this though and has come together for one another in so many ways. I have heard a huge amount of stories that show small and large acts of heroism for one another. But an entire town has been destroyed in less than 24 hours and it will be a lengthy and difficult road to recovery.
If you are still reading this and want to help those affected by this fire, I will be providing links to some direct ways to help. Large donation facilities can be helpful but slow to provide donations to those in immediate need. These links are ones that will go into the hands of those who need it directly. I will also provide my info if you would like to help me personally. I have lost many collections and personal possessions, and if you know me you may know how important every little thing I own(ed) meant to me. Any and all support or monetary assistance is greatly appreciated, I would be forever grateful.
My PayPal - paypal.me/avarosaire
My friend and coworker’s GoFundMe for her and her family - [Link here]
Local NorCal Roller Derby Team’s GoFundMe - [Link here]
Butte Humane Society - Donations for animal’s affected - [Link here]
Caring Choices - NorCal volunteer group - [Link here]
World Central Kitchen - feeding first responders and evacuees - [Link here]
Thank you for reading and if you are able to donate to any of these causes, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. And I urge you to please cherish your loved ones, animals and home.
