The day before the Woolsey and Hill fires erupted in and near Los Angeles, our little town of Thousand Oaks was rocked to its core by the Borderline Bar massacre where twelve innocents were killed by a sick individual who took his own life. One of his victims was a well-respected police officer who answered the call, Sgt. Ron Helus. This was without a doubt the greatest tragedy this area had ever seen. I think everyone's heart broke that night, and many people are still feeling the pain of loss.
Some research on the murderer showed that he had problems in school and was said to be a ticking time bomb. If truly the case, the system failed him and the rest of us. All those lives he ended and left in ruin could have been saved if this person had gotten some help. If you think someone is dangerous, you need to let the authorities know.
And then the fires came. We were still in shock from the shooting and literally in the middle of packing for our wedding-anniversary vacation when the Southern California wildfires exploded. Police loudspeakers telling everyone to get out, phone and TV alerts _ this was serious.
Rather than evacuate, we decided to shelter in place. I'm not dumb, I live on an island surrounded by a lake and have a pump for just this reason. Insurance can help you rebuild a house, but I was willing to take a risk to save our home. Fortunately, I didn't even need to use a garden hose.
Over a quarter million people evacuated, and hundreds of homes were lost. Fortunately, by some stroke of luck, our little Village was (mostly) unburnt, unlike the rest of the area.
I have lived in SoCal all my life and experienced many fires, but nothing like this. I could see houses on the ridge above us going up in flames. We watched the helicopters get water from our lake to save the homes they could. It was all so surreal, almost like being in a war zone. And many others, including first responders, were in the thick of it, as they braved the flames to save people, animals, and property.
As the news continued to come in (we switched to radio when the cable went out), I realized more and more how lucky we were. I now know many people who are homeless and won't have much of a holiday this year. It's very sad that so much of the area here has been devastated by fire, and so many lives altered forever. The land around our village looked like a smoking moonscape.
Two lives were lost in the fires here and two firefighters injured. Many, many more lives were lost in Northern California, and an entire city, Paradise, was 90 percent destroyed. The mere fact that I have a home to go back to is an incredible gift this year. At this moment, I am feeling very grateful that no one I know died, and we will be having a lot of parties (and house guests) this year.
We have decided to make the holidays about presence rather than presents. I will do what I can to help those who are suffering and open my home, so some folks who have no place else to go will have a home to spend some holiday time in. I know it can be seen as just a Band-Aid, but a little warmth can go a long way if that is your intent.
To all the first responders who rescued us and kept us safe, and worked tirelessly to make sure that they did everything they could for those in peril, thank you for your service. I know that some of you lost your own homes saving those of people you may never know. That is truly putting it all on the line. May your holiday season reflect the care and kindness you have shown to others in the work that you do.
