Five Days Out (with updated disability resources)

The Great Fire

We’re still safe. We’re still grateful. We’re still terrified. We’re still overwhelmingly sad. We’re still grateful. Still. Too many losses. Too many horrible stories. Too many false rumors. Too many dumb rumors. Too much exhaustion refuting those rumors.Too much lost. Too much. Too. So much is lost. So much love every single moment. So much lost forever. So much generosity every single moment. So much lost forever. So much uncertainty. So much wind. So many stories. So much fire. So much bullshit and misinformation. So much heartbreak. So much love. So much ash. So much beauty. So.

I believe in stories. I believe it’s important to document stories, so I will give you this one. We have a chef friend who came here from Ecuador many years ago with a backpack on his back. Not much else, he said. In the twelve or so years since, he married an American, had two children , and six months ago they bought their first house. In Altadena. They fled with the clothes on their back in one of their cars. Their house burned down. Their car burned down. One child’s preschool burned down. The other child’s elementary school burned down. All the homes on their street burned down. The stories are mounting. Friends. Friends of friends. I’ll tell you another one. This morning, one of my best friends called to tell me that she and her husband were watching local news and saw the planes dumping water in the canyons right behind another friend’s house. We saw our friend’s house and the planes and the spumes of water and it all seems impossible that it’s happening. We don’t know yet if her house has made it. Here’s another story. My father gave me money to direct toward those who might need it. This morning, Maria, one of Sophie’s caregivers, told me a story of a friend of hers who has been evacuated with her husband and child. I gave her some of that money so that she could give it to her friend. She called her friend and told her, and then I spoke to her friend. She is originally from Tijuana but has lived here a long time. Her husband has no job now. They piled everything they could into their one car. She told me she feels panic. She has a three year old child with complex medical needs. The child is trached and has seizures. I told her I had a child with a trach and seizures, and then we just fell silent at how weird it all is. What are the chances? What are the chances for any of this? She and her small family will drive to Monterey and figure out what to do next. Be safe, we said to one another. Be safe.

We’ve all loaded this app that sends out updates — part of me wants to disable it, but another part of me knows that I must keep it and that this will be a new normal. Get used to it, I think.

A few more resources (more on my other posts)

Added January 12:

DISABILITY RESOURCES

• The Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies’ Disability and Disaster Hotline

  • Call or text at 1-800-626-4959, or email at hotline@disasterstrategies.org

• SAMSA’s Disaster Distress Helpline

  • Call or text at 1-800-985-5990.

• Disability Rights California’s Wildfire Resource Guide

RESOURCES FOR AGING POPULATIONS AND THEIR CAREGIVERS

• American Red Cross’ Disaster and Emergency Preparedness for Older Adults

• American Red Cross’ Disaster and Emergency Preparedness for Caregivers

• California’s Department of Aging’s Emergency Preparedness and Response Resources

Pro bono Therapy

Volunteer Your Time:

• Courtney Storer

  is cooking for Pasadena. If you’re in the area and want to lend a hand, email hello@cocostogogo.com.

• Animal Hope and Wellness needs 70-80 fosters for dogs ASAP. Text 916-996-6610.

• Stoney Clover Lane is partnering with Babylist and Meena Harris to distribute donated items within Los Angeles over the next several weeks. Fill out this form to receive information about volunteer opportunities to support their effort.

• Project Angel Food is seeking cooks and delivery volunteers. Call 323-845-1816 or email volunteers@angelfood.org.

• LA Dream Center is looking for volunteers to sort clothes, make hygiene packs, direct traffic + more. Email volunteers@dreamcenter.org.

• Cactus Store is heading to Altadena to help clean up the mess. DM them for details.

• Midnight Books LA needs volunteers this weekend for assembling + distribution.