Life Style , Commentary
Be Prepared is the Boy Scouts motto. I was an Eagle Scout so I have no excuses. Yesterday was supposed to be a day of errands, cigars and a cookout. At least it started out that way. My wife and myself took Mandi the dog to the local chain hardware store to get the propane tank refilled. A couple of more stops after that and back home. Nature and the world said no way.
We got out of the car and looked north of us. A mushroom cloud of smoke was engulfing the mountains of Santa Monica. Looked as if it was close by to where we live. Guess what? It was exactly where we live. The smoke shot up, the landscape was getting obscured by the billowing smoke. You could hear fire trucks, helicopters and sirens all around heading towards the smoke site. What gives?
So enough we found out. Through text messages, news reports, and an app called, Next Door, a fire was rapidly developing in the hillsides. With lots of brush , this fire could soon be out of control. Throw in the fact , the road we live in was blocked by fire and police so we had to stay put. We took care of our errands while Mandi sensed our anxiety and kept looking at us wondering what was going on? So were we.
We floated around for several hours, listening to reports and worrying also about our cats. With lots of phone calls , a friend of a friend went to our house to feed the cats. The road was still blocked and we still did not know when and if we could get home. Started to try to find a hotel that would take us and the dog if we needed to hold up for a night.
That was a chore as the Memorial Weekend had many hotels full up. Did find one in West Hollywood that had a couple of rooms available plus a $200 fee for the dog. Not a cheap alternative but a necessity . Now it was around 8 o clock and we left the house app. 12 noon. The reports were still coming in with a ray of hope that the fire was being well contained, the road was going to be opened soon. Made more phone calls, and the road was open but not to our house. Police was still blocking the road near the original fire site. Fortunately we went to a friend’s house , who would put us up if we needed to. Had a very nice diner, a glass of wine and the news was , we could go home. This was what we wanted to hear.
The police and fire were allowing neighborhood people to their abodes and we arrived home close to 11. The cats greeted us , the air had the intense smell of smoke but overall glad to be home.
The lesson is , you really need to be prepared in a high risk area. Fire, earthquakes are part of the LA scene, do not ignore.
Keep smoking