Until yesterday I assumed that my grandma's house had burned down in the Paradise fire. Grandma Nancy and her son Jim don't have the resources to afford a phone or a reliable car. For days, I was worried they'd died during the evacuation.  

After I finally got through to the police department, a deputy went to do a welfare check. Their home was still standing. Nancy and Jim were there. They'd stayed in the house for the fire. They're there right now, probably in the dark, as I write this.* 

Not fleeing the most destructive fire in California's history--it sounds ridiculous and insane. But, knowing them, I think they stayed put because they couldn't imagine affording a spot anywhere else. Staying put meant having a home.

Nancy and Jim have had a tough few years. Their mobile home is uninsured, with a damaged roof from where a dead tree fell on it last year. But at least they had a community. Now they're surrounded by isolation and destruction. There's no grocery stores, no services, no neighbors. They need to leave. They don't know how to leave. 

Let's give them a whole bunch of reasons to leave.

A small 2-bedroom in Butte County rents for about $1000 per month. I want to help them afford a car that doesn't break down constantly, a cell phone bill so people can actually call them in emergencies or just to say hello, and enough time to figure out where their next community will be.

Hey, with any luck, they'll settle near you or me, Nancy and Jim are awesome! 

*And yes, they need to get out of the zone like ASAP, temporary or not. We're working on that. 

Nancy with several admirers.