- R
- K
It was a matter of when, not if, and it happened to be on the morning of Thursday, November 8, 2018. The "CAMP FIRE" swept across the ridges and valleys of Northern California and turned our town to ashes in a matter of hours.
We awoke, at 7:30 AM, to a barreling smoke cloud just beyond the canyon ridge across from our home in Magalia, California, just above Paradise, near Sawmill Peak. The gusting winds flapped tarps on our trailer, wood pile and boat, sending chills to our core and tying knots in our stomachs. We all looked at each other and somewhere in the dance of our eyes we confirmed, without really a word, this might be "the one" we all feared and we had to GO!
My girlfriend, Brynna Ortiz, went inside as her dad, Bobby Ortiz, met her at the door, "They are evacuating Feather River Hospital. Paradise is evacuating. We need to get packed and get out of here quick. How are you on gas in your car?" Never before had I wished I had stopped on the way home the night before to gas up my vehicle. I will never again have the luxury of thinking a quarter tank is enough gas in my tank to sleep easy. We helped the neighbors load up their animals, shared gas to fill vehicles as best we could, and made sure my girlfriend's grandmother, who lives next door, was ready to go with her two dogs.
The rest is as clear and indescribable as watching the waves and tongues of a rapid pass by before running it. Clearly blurry. Right now my fingers are shaking while I write this message. In less than an hour from seeing the smoke we were merging into the bumper to bumper scramble of cars on Skyway headed east, hopeful the winds wouldn't shift and we would make it, an inch at a time, before the fire caught up with us. We made it out.... Tragically, not everyone did.
I am humbled, tired, and we are lucky to be better of than many out there tonight around Northern California as we have a roof over our head on this 38-degree November night. With each phone call we get some good and a lot of bad news from friends and family. Brynna received a picture this afternoon of the store she manages, and has worked at since she was 16, in ashes. My heart brakes for Brynna and all I feel I have to help is to hold her and reassure her we will get through this, together; the place she was born and raised is disappearing into smoke.
We are currently staying at my cousin's house in north Chico. We have five evacuees in the house, four dogs, a cat, and what we grabbed on the way out. We are homeless, our town is gone, our future is uncertain.
People keep asking how to help me and my family get through this. Well, sadly money is best right now. We cannot replace what we left behind. But, we can start moving forward, one cry, one list, one meal, one shower, one hug at a time. We need to get clothes, provide for our dogs, buy gas, and eventually find a new place to rent and call home here in Chico.
ANY AMOUNT HELPS US. The amount we need us hard to calculate, but $5,000.00 should cover a down payment for a place, lost wages before unemployment kicks in, and all the other costs that occur when paddling forward in-between loss and new beginnings. It is amazing how fast five thousand dollars goes these days, but it just felt like the right number and asking is hard enough as it is.
We are helping our displaced family and friends, many have lost their homes or worse, with all we have. We are a strong and loyal village and we will get through this together. We are alive. We have a roof over our head. Our animals are safe. We will be volunteering at the local shelters tomorrow and whenever we have time, because we can. We are the lucky ones, but we do need help.
Many of our friends and family far away have asked how to help and monetary support is a real way to make a difference for us right now. Asking your friends and family that may not know us, but they know you love us and feel for us helps us. Every text, call, email, handshake and hug helps.
Thank you for reading our story. Thank you for caring. We hope you can help, if not, we hope you and your loved ones are safe, happy and healthy. It is amazing how few things we have left and how valuable those things are now, but it is each other and our four legged friends that matter most.
We survived the WORSTE CAMPFIRE EVER, but we have a lot of work to do to feel at home again...
Gratefully with love and faith,
Lucas, Brynna, Chaco, Lola, Bean & Our Ortiz Family
We awoke, at 7:30 AM, to a barreling smoke cloud just beyond the canyon ridge across from our home in Magalia, California, just above Paradise, near Sawmill Peak. The gusting winds flapped tarps on our trailer, wood pile and boat, sending chills to our core and tying knots in our stomachs. We all looked at each other and somewhere in the dance of our eyes we confirmed, without really a word, this might be "the one" we all feared and we had to GO!
My girlfriend, Brynna Ortiz, went inside as her dad, Bobby Ortiz, met her at the door, "They are evacuating Feather River Hospital. Paradise is evacuating. We need to get packed and get out of here quick. How are you on gas in your car?" Never before had I wished I had stopped on the way home the night before to gas up my vehicle. I will never again have the luxury of thinking a quarter tank is enough gas in my tank to sleep easy. We helped the neighbors load up their animals, shared gas to fill vehicles as best we could, and made sure my girlfriend's grandmother, who lives next door, was ready to go with her two dogs.
The rest is as clear and indescribable as watching the waves and tongues of a rapid pass by before running it. Clearly blurry. Right now my fingers are shaking while I write this message. In less than an hour from seeing the smoke we were merging into the bumper to bumper scramble of cars on Skyway headed east, hopeful the winds wouldn't shift and we would make it, an inch at a time, before the fire caught up with us. We made it out.... Tragically, not everyone did.
I am humbled, tired, and we are lucky to be better of than many out there tonight around Northern California as we have a roof over our head on this 38-degree November night. With each phone call we get some good and a lot of bad news from friends and family. Brynna received a picture this afternoon of the store she manages, and has worked at since she was 16, in ashes. My heart brakes for Brynna and all I feel I have to help is to hold her and reassure her we will get through this, together; the place she was born and raised is disappearing into smoke.
We are currently staying at my cousin's house in north Chico. We have five evacuees in the house, four dogs, a cat, and what we grabbed on the way out. We are homeless, our town is gone, our future is uncertain.
People keep asking how to help me and my family get through this. Well, sadly money is best right now. We cannot replace what we left behind. But, we can start moving forward, one cry, one list, one meal, one shower, one hug at a time. We need to get clothes, provide for our dogs, buy gas, and eventually find a new place to rent and call home here in Chico.
ANY AMOUNT HELPS US. The amount we need us hard to calculate, but $5,000.00 should cover a down payment for a place, lost wages before unemployment kicks in, and all the other costs that occur when paddling forward in-between loss and new beginnings. It is amazing how fast five thousand dollars goes these days, but it just felt like the right number and asking is hard enough as it is.
We are helping our displaced family and friends, many have lost their homes or worse, with all we have. We are a strong and loyal village and we will get through this together. We are alive. We have a roof over our head. Our animals are safe. We will be volunteering at the local shelters tomorrow and whenever we have time, because we can. We are the lucky ones, but we do need help.
Many of our friends and family far away have asked how to help and monetary support is a real way to make a difference for us right now. Asking your friends and family that may not know us, but they know you love us and feel for us helps us. Every text, call, email, handshake and hug helps.
Thank you for reading our story. Thank you for caring. We hope you can help, if not, we hope you and your loved ones are safe, happy and healthy. It is amazing how few things we have left and how valuable those things are now, but it is each other and our four legged friends that matter most.
We survived the WORSTE CAMPFIRE EVER, but we have a lot of work to do to feel at home again...
Gratefully with love and faith,
Lucas, Brynna, Chaco, Lola, Bean & Our Ortiz Family
