It’s been a little bit over a month now since the Thomas Fire, the largest wildfire in California history, tore through Ventura County and the east end of Ojai.
While we’re battling yet another natural disaster in the form of mudslides (due to the damage from the fire), I’m now able to look back on our near-miss, and I wanted to share a small glimpse of our experience.
While we did have 36 hours (or so) to watch the fire grow toward us from across the valley, it was a lot of “hurry up and wait.” While we did fill all our vehicles with our most loved and prized possessions, only in retrospect did we discover all of the items we would have been heartbroken to have lost, but didn’t think of them in the heat of the moment. Clarity is difficult in times like this.
The firefighters were preaching “Ready, Set, Go.” Get your things ready, set your car facing down the driveway, and when you get the evacuation notice, you go.
In response to this event, we’ve started to take greater precautions when it comes to situations like this one (as Southern California is still expecting a “big” earthquake), but right now, we’re just happy to be home.
