Four Days in San Diego.

My alarm goes off at 3:30 AM. I have a hell of a week ahead of me, or so I thought. I get ready to make my 6am flight to Phoenix. I have to be in three different cities this week. I walked outside and smelled something in the air that I had not smelled since the Cedar fire. I debate even leaving, but, well I'm a wage slave so off I went.

Monday morning…After the plane landed in Phoenix I turned on my phone, and was greeted by seven messages. Seven messages in an hour. Damn. The wife is freaking out, the parents are getting evacuated. My best friend in Ramona's farm in on fire. My brothers, nephews, and sisters are all ordered out of their houses and have no where to go. They haven't even opened any evacuation centers yet. On the way to baggage claim, I call my main office and tell them I have to go back home, and cancel the rest of my business for the week as well. "This is gonna be a bad one boss" I say. Luckily my boss is cool, and said...no problem, do what you have to do.

I grab my bags, go right back to the ticket counter, and am back in the air going back home in the next hour. I can’t get over how huge this fire is from 30000 feet, It blankets most of the sky, and the smoke is going sideways. The winds are so fierce that there is no upward movement at all. The plane dips, swerves, drops a hundred feet at a shot, and otherwise gets knocked around fiercely by the Santa Ana winds. We land at SAN. “Just another day in paradise”.

Monday afternoon...I have a house full of people. My folks. My nephews. My best friend and his family. All their pets. My wife is still freaking out because her parents were in the first area that got evacuated and we have not heard from them, and none of the cell phones are working. My best friend is worried about all of his horses that he had to leave behind as the flames encroached. I'm starting to cough because the acrid smell of smoke mixed with plastic and various other chemicals is starting to settle in my lungs, and make my eyes water.

Monday evening...we pack everything we can spare in the garage...sleeping bags, bottled water, canned goods, blankets, tents...and go down to the stadium to drop them off to the large throng of people that have taken over the parking lot. Funny thing is...I don't see any clowns or jugglers. I don't see any bands. What I do see is a couple in tears that have not seen their 15 year old daughter since Sunday night, and her cell phone does not seem to be working. I see a couple that looks to be in their seventies walking around zombie like. I hear him telling what looks to be his wife of many years, that "it's gone. It's just gone". I drop off the goods, and walk back to the car. I get back home, and my friend has a blank stare on his face as he looks at me and says..."it's gone...but they managed to save the horses". He broke down sobbing afterwards. So did I.

Tuesday Morning...People are in sleeping bags on the floor. I Couldn't sleep. I have been coughing all night, and my sinuses are swelled to the point where I can't even breathe through my nose. I pack up everything I can food wise, bread, sandwich meat, I go and buy cases of bottled water and gatorade and drive to Poway. We get to a barricaded checkpoint eventually near espola road, and there are cops and a firefighter standing there. "Sorry folks, you can't go any further", the firefighter manning the barricade tells me. I'm looking at this guy thinking "I have kids your age". He is dirty, and looks like he hasn't slept in 3 days at least. I get out of the car, pop the trunk, and take out everything I have just bought, and put in on the side of the barricade. "This is for whoever needs it" I tell him. He smiles, extends his hand, and shakes mine. "Thanks". I drive back home.

Tuesday Afternoon...Go to work. I need to feel normal, although all I do is surf DU and take out a lot of frustrations on the never ending supply of trolls that have moved on to the message board. (what's up with that anyway).

Tuesday Evening...Mount Helix and get a 360 degree view of the whole county. There is a thick black acrid smelling smoke coverring everywhere that the eye can see. There are 50 foot tall flames eating away the mountain heading toward Spring Valley. I go home, and count my blessings.

Wednesday Morning...Go by the stadium again. Now it is packed like the superbowl is happening. There are RV's that the lucky few own and are staying in, but there are many tents all over the place, and many people are sleeping on the ground. Much like yesterday, there are people here. Tired. Dirty. Looking like they have not slept, walking around dazed and zombie like. I drop off the supplies, we just bought for everyone to donate and go to the office. There is really nothing to do in the office but answer a few phone calls, and head back home afterwards. Again I count my blessings.

Wednesday Afternoon...The evacuations for everyone in my house are slowly lifting, and they file out. Luckily everyone’s house is OK, save my best friends farm. He wants to check on his horses. I give him the spare key to my house, and tell him..."see you later". My wife finally got in touch with her parents. They are fine, and she is relaxing a bit and getting back to her normal self now. Their neighborhood got hit, but the fire skipped their house. The houses on both sides of theirs burnt to the ground however, as well as the one across the street. They still can not go back home yet. They are going to stay with their son in Temecula. We all count our blessings and say goodbye.

Wednesday Evening...again, we hit the store and buy everything I can food wise, bread, sandwich meat, cases of bottled water and Gatorade and drive toward Spring Valley this time. We get to a barricaded checkpoint eventually and repeat giving the food and water to the exhausted firefighters and police. I drive back home. It's getting calmer, and I am exhausted. I realize that I have not slept since I woke up at 4am on Monday morning. I fall asleep at 7 pm and am too damn tired to even dream about anything.

Today...Some sense of normalcy has returned. I go into the office for a bit, and so does the wife.

I am counting my blessings, and I am very sad for a lot of people right now

happy that you and yours are all safe.

Glad your family and friends are safe. What you did for the firefighters and cops was great.

To offset all the bullshit that has been thrown around here.

Thank you for helping out. You're a gem!

nt

Although, thanks to the never ending supply of trolls that seemed to have invaded DU, I had no shortage of people to take out my frustrations on. It actually kept me from losing my temper in the real world.

Between the shitty comments about the fires and never ending battle about 2008 ...... :wtf:

nt

i'm in NC now since 10-3-07 but my heart is in CA. can hardly believe the magnitude of the disaster. so happy your loved ones are well.

This is a beautifully written, heartfelt account of what happened.
You and yours have been to hell and back, as have thousands of our
fellow SoCals this week.

Thanks for helping our firefighters
Thanks for helping our neighbors. :applause:

I'm so glad to hear that you and your family are safe.

:pals:

In a time of crisis, punctuating your personal events with laughter is critically important. Laughter is a powerful emotional discharge and can help dispel the effects of shock. Here's something to get you started:

George W. Bush walks into a bar, his cupped hands holding a mastiff-size dogturd. "Hey y'all! Look what I almost stepped in!"

:rofl:

I have just been too damn busy to post anything in the last couple of months, or even check in regularly.

I am also glad you have written a journal about your experiences. It is something to pass down in your family.

My cousin was in Manhattan during 9/11 and watched one of the towers collapse from his office not far away. To get home he had to walk miles and miles that night.

I urged him to write down all of his experiences about that period of time, but I don't think he saw it as something he could do then, but I hope he did it later for future generations.

...we have seen one that was worse. Global warming is really doing a job on our planet right now.

But I am incredibly sad for all the folks who lost everything they had.

It sound horrific but you done good, kiddo!

:)

The horses, and of course relieved about your wife's folks.

The CA hillside behind my home got a ton of rain two weeks ago. Otherwise it could just as easily been here as well.

...he has the horses at a friends stable at miramar right now. He is just starting the insurance nightmare today. Ouch.

Like the Grim Reaper - State Farm is there.

thanks for your kindess toward the firefighters...i see the photos of heroes in the middle of flame and exhaustion and people lost and sad and confused and grateful...i dont know what else to say..other than rest..and then tell us what we need to do...glad you are safe...