Sunsets lately have been pink. In California, the combination of dry air, ocean winds, and even the occasional haze helps to enhance colors, making the sunsets here some of the most colorful and dramatic you can find. I notice them more than usual, walking Deacon, my newly adopted dog. My Altadena neighborhood now has spectacular views of mountains and sunsets. It is amazing how having almost every home in the neighborhood burned to the ground opens up the view. Sunsets are also quiet. During the day there is the wonderful sound of building and construction, trucks coming in and out. At 500pm, almost like clockwork, the workday ends and everything gets very silent. When I first came back home, it was unsettling, but like most things, I have gotten used to it.
We don’t usually walk after sunset. Not only were my neighbors displaced, but so was the wildlife. Coyotes were always around, but since the fire, they are around more frequently and in greater numbers. Seeing them in daylight is one thing, but in the dark, the thought of running into one is daunting.
So sunset becomes the last walk of the day, the pink onesreminding me every time I see one of them, of the night of January 7th.
January 7th and 8th
Tuesday, January 7th I was doing my best to get back in work mode. Monday had been my first day back from an extended holiday break and luckily, my calendar was light. The Santa Ana winds were making their appearance. If you lived on my block in Altadena, you knew that it was just a matter of time before you lost power. Rumor had it they shut it off to prevent sparks from starting a fire. For whatever reason, the houses right across the street always managed to keep their power on. I used to wonder if some elected official lived on that side of the street.
The power went off, as predicted, mid-morning as the winds picked up. Kody, my dog, had an appointment with a specialist who was going to look at a huge lump on his side that we suspected was cancer. Even with the power off, I got in the garage through the back door and manually opened the main door so I could pull my truck out. I continued to work using a hot spot and my fully charged laptop. Looking out my office window, I took a video showing how strong the winds were. Little did I know it would be the last images captured of my backyard intact.
By afternoon, we had power back on. I took Kody for his appointment and got the confirmation I had dreaded. Yes, it was cancer. Removing it would be a horrendous surgery for a 12-year-old dog with arthritis in his back legs. Other treatments were going to provide a few more months, possibly, but with side effects he wasn’t going to understand.
Coming home, I put the truck back in the garage, took a shower and as it started to get dark, the wind picked up even more and we once again lost power.
Realizing it probably was going to be a powerless evening, I lit some candles and settled down to do some reading by flashlight. About 700pm, a friend called and said, “Hey, don’t you live by Eaton Canyon?”
“It’s right down the street. Why?”
“it’s on fire. And you know what’s happening in the Palisades, right?”
I didn’t know what was happening in the Palisades. No power meant no tv and I hadn’t been on the internet in hours.
She explained Palisades was on fire and it was bad. The winds were predicted to get up to 90 miles an hour. She suggested I seriously think about evacuating, since most of the fire departments were in Palisades and already stretched thin.
Everyone knew about fires in Altadena. When I first bought my house in 1993, there was a fire going on in the mountains. Every insurance company I called to get a homeowner’s policy with would ask me where I lived and when I replied, would promptly transfer me to Mr. Dial Tone. Yes, the mountain areas had fires, but in the highly populated area I lived down from the mountains, never. Some smoke and ash, yes, but that was just part of the package. I said once if it ever got that far down the hill, to my area, it was going to be a major disaster. I only wish I could have predicted lottery numbers with that kind of accuracy.
I went outside just to take a look and the mountains behind me were pink. Closer than any fire I had ever seen before. Knowing I had no power and no way to stay informed, I decided to get ready to leave. Just as I was packing up food for Kody and Aja, throwing a few clothes in a bag and getting a few documents together, DMan called from Orange County. He had also heard about Eaton Canyon and was wondering if I was coming out his way. I told him to be safe, yes, I was. I had seen too many videos of other wildfires when people were driving through flames, terrified they were not going to make it and I decided that it would never be me.
Getting Kody in the truck was difficult. Due to his tumor and arthritis in his back legs, he needed a ramp to get into my truck. At 70 pounds, I was not going to be able to carry him. Getting the ramp out and holding the truck door open with the winds was impossible. My neighbor, tiny at maybe 100 pounds, helped hold the door open. Kody stood frozen on the front porch, sensing something was really, really wrong. I finally convinced him to get in. I managed to get Aja in the cat carrier, and we made the hour drive.
We got to DMan’s house around 10pm. He had the news on and that was the first time I saw the destruction that was going on in Palisades and now Altadena. I went to bed still expecting that I would be there a couple of days and return home to ash all over the yard and some lingering smells.
I got up early the next morning and started work. I was in DMan’s downstairs guest bedroom. A few people asked if I had evacuated and I told them I had. I had several meetings, so I hadn’t had time to see the local news that was on the television upstairs in the living room. Around 1000am, I went upstairs to get some more coffee. I stopped to watch what the latest updates were. I saw a newscaster who gave her location and she said the whole street was gone, all the homes destroyed. I froze, not believing what I had just heard.
“That’s three blocks from me, “I said to DMan and then I burst into tears.
“Should I turn it off?” he asked.
“No, no, I have to see.”
I tapped out of work and continued to watch, but they never went back to my immediate area.
The rest of the day became something of a blur. People started calling and texting me. I didn’t know much, other than I suspected everything I owned was gone. At one point, I had to get out of the house, so we drove to a pet store to get Kody and Aja some things. Then we went to Target so I could buy a few things. At one point, I took a picture of what I thought I had left.
I went to bed thinking I had two pairs of underwear, a couple of sweaters and two pairs of jeans and that my home of over 30 years was probably gone. All I knew was I had to see for myself and no matter what it took, I was going back to Altadena in the morning.
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