Wildfires in CA have become like the hurricanes in Florida. You know theyre coming every year, but not how many or how big they’ll be.
In the Los Angeles area we’re usually spared the worst of it. We generally only get smoke, and ash that floats in from elsewhere. Not this year. This year we’re being brutalized.
At the moment, there are 5+ active fires in our region that are all larger than 10 acres. The most devastating of these are the Palisades and Eaton fires:
All of these fires only started yesterday when it was dry and the Santa Ana winds were extremely strong. Sustained winds of 45-55 mph, and gusts in the mountain areas of 90+ mph. It caused the fires to expand fast and the air-tankers that often drop flame-retardant or water were prevented from flying.
The devastation these fires have already caused is mind-boggling. We have a number of friends who have lost their homes and many more whose are at-risk. To this point…thankfully…no one we know has been injured.
We’re the little blue dot towards the bottom of that image. As you can see the fires kind of border us to the north and west. East and south are less problematic and our area is currently only in a Red Flag Warning zone but not subject to evacuation warnings or orders…yet. The real concerning fire is the new on at Runyon Canyon (the Sunset fire) which is very close to us and relatively new. It started this afternoon.
I can’t help but reflect that two of the places now burning are just up the block from where we used to live and hike years ago (Sunset fire), and the area to which we were hoping to move as many of our friends did (Altadena - the Eaton fire). I guess I feel fortunate that we’re still where we are. 
We’ve packed a few ‘go bags’ just in case though. That’s been a surreal exercise in answering the question, “what do I actually care about?”
We have a lot of crap. If I’m honest…way too much. And I’ve kept most of it because I’m a sentimental so and so, always telling myself it’s for ‘archival’ purposes; someday I’ll use this to tell someone a cool story.
Who am I kidding? We have no kids to pass any of this crap off to, and just because I value the coin collection that had been my grandfather’s, no one else will. And you face this kind of truth when you’re trying to pack a bag to carry life essentials and you look at all the things you’ve collected and think, “That could burn, and yeah I’d be bummed but I’ll live. I don’t give enough of a fuck to lug it around.”
I guess some electronics, legal docs, passports, and maybe some of our old, un-digitized photos are the only things I really want to take. And some very old family records. But other than that…my shit is shit.
Though maybe I do need to take my golf clubs. Some day I’ll want to play again. 
And it goes without saying, Grey is in this adventure with us. He’s got his own ‘go bag’ with his necessities. These last two days have been hard on him though. I swear he can sense something is wrong. He’s been more skittish than usual, just like we have. (It’s hard not to doom-refresh the fire maps.) I feel like his constant vigilance and wandering is much the same. Hopefully the danger passes soon and he can go back to his normal skittishness. 
I’m not a religious person but if you are, I would ask that you send prayers to those who are in danger or who have lost so much.
As I find resources that can help, I’ll post those in replies so you can do more than that, if you’re so moved.
Be safe.
