The Last Straw

It's not that the third new fire in my area in three days was a threat to my house, it's just that I had had enough. I needed to evacuate for emotional reasons. There must be some nut going around starting all of these fires and as long as the high winds continue, I'm not going to feel safe.

I made the decision to leave at the last minute before leaving for work. I was listening to the news and heard about the new fire burning next to the 14 near the Newhall pass. That was it. I called my parents and said that I would drop off the dogs on the way to work. I jumped in the car and left.

I had a good view of the fire from the freeway. Several helicopters and two fixed-wing aircraft were doing water drops. Two news helicopters were filming the action. Fire trucks were lined up on the fire roads. That's the kind of response that is nice to see.

The fire was put out quickly and I will return with the dogs tonight to my house. The fire department is really good at what they do when they have the resources to attack a fire.

It later occurred to me that I had nothing but my dogs, my purse, one of my cars and the scrubs on my back, but that was enough. Had the fire gotten out of control and prevented me from returning home tonight, then I would have just bought what I needed. As long as my dogs are safe, I'm fine.