Hot Ashes for Dreams
On the plus side, we have gorgeous sunrises and sunsets. Twice a day, the fires are giving us the sort of iconic scenery the Tinsel Town-bound dream of as a backdrop for that postcard-perfect shot of their first billboard, the one they plan on mailing back to their hometown newspaper as a fuck you to the cool kids who made fun of them for getting a little too into Drama Club. The kind of sky that looks great Photoshopped behind the Hollywood sign.
On the minus side, people are being uprooted, evacuated, losing their homes and taking ash baths.
I’m lucky to be working from home today - to be able to stay inside my sealed doors and windows with my HEPA-filtered A/C running. My asthma has kicked in and I’m not even close to any of the fires. I can’t imagine how bad it is for those who are waiting to hear if they should take what they can carry and go, not only wondering if they’ll have anything to come back to, but if they’ll be able to breathe long enough to get away.
For those of us lucky enough to be safe from fire and ash, please keep your eyes open for ways to help the folks waiting to see what remains of their dreams. Most of my web searches have turned up more links to various businesses who are offering aid to victims of the wildfire - including the VCA Animal Hospitals, who are offering free boarding for evacuated pets - than anything else. But as always, the Red Cross is the agency most large and in-charge on the civilian side of things, and is currently running multiple shelters across Southern California that they’ll need donations of time and supplies to keep open. I’ve also heard rumors of posts on Craigslist offering shelter for pets or people on a first-come basis - it’s great to see people stepping up to help on a grassroots basis rather than waiting for the gummint to take care of their neighbors.
Last but most certainly not least, let’s not forget the men and women risking their lives to keep the rest of us safe - the professional and volunteer firefighters from all over California who are out there on the firelines. I’m searching for links on ways to help them out as well, and will post whatever I find.