I live in Southern California where wildfires recently raged through, burning more land than the Hawaiian island of Oahu. The closest fire to me was deliberately and professionally set and mostly 90% contained as I write this due to wind shifts and cooler temperatures. It filled the air with a giant amount of smoke, ash and harmful chemicals. The air and sky were an ugly brownish color and the sun appeared red. Your eyes burned and you could not take a full breath. Even with every window in your house tightly closed, you could smell smoke. Many times I was sure that there was a fire in my own home.

Schools were cancelled for all from elementary schools to colleges. Businesses sent their employees home. Many of us watched neighborhoods burn on the 24/7 news coverage and waited for the possibility of our own evacuation orders.

You could either receive a reverse 911 call on your phone that calls for evacuation of your home, your haven. Or you could be awakened in the middle of the night by a loudspeaker from a police car announcing that you must leave most of your possessions and your dwelling behind in order to be safe from the ravishing and uncontrolled blazes that swept through Southern California from Santa Barbara to San Diego.

It really shifts your perspective of what is truly important.The question was heavy in the air: What would you take when you have only minutes to evacuate?For most, it was just their family, pets and photos that were saved ~ the things that could never be replaced. Even those who were not evacuated experienced a sense of loss, as the fires were a reminder of a power so huge that took so much from so many.There were many different reactions to the fires including fear, anger, anxiety for their home and their future, worry for themselves and their loved ones, sadness, anger, physical reactions and confusion. All of them are normal.

This fire is a tragedy that we have banded together and fought with every resource we have. Very real yet surrealistic at the same time, it reminds us to look to where the true riches of our lives really are.

© Copyright 2007 Cara Alana

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