Johnson Family Fire Relief

Sunday, 9/27/2020, another wildfire broke out in Sonoma County. The Shady/Glass Fire. That night, our family’s house was destroyed by the fire. This was the house my sister and I grew up in and still called home. 

The night of the fire was very chaotic. My mom was able to pack a few essentials in the car and leave. My father tried to defend the house as long as he could. He sat up on the roof looking for stray embers to extinguish. But, a huge gust of wind brought a cloud of smoke and debris that overcame the house. It was then that my dad knew he needed to leave. In his haste, he dropped his phone off the roof. At that time, he didn’t even stop to find it. He was able to safely evacuate and both him and my mom started to drive up to my grandparents house in Clearlake. During that time, I kept calling my dad’s phone and it kept ringing, giving us some hope that the house was still safe. After almost two hours, the phone stopped ringing. Around the same time, I was looking at every photo and video I could find online of the fire. Still hoping there was a chance the house would survive the night. I came across a video  and my heart sank. The first few seconds of that video is my childhood home engulfed in flames. I was shaking and couldn’t breathe. I didn’t know how to tell my parents that everything they owned was now gone. Once my parents safely made it to my grandparents house, I called my mom and told her the news. I have never heard my mother react like that and I pray that I never will again. 

My father is self-employed and ran two business off their property. All of his equipment and inventory is now gone. Everything that he had worked his whole life for is now ashes. My mom became jobless during Covid. At this time, my parents really need some support. Anything you can give is greatly appreciated. This money will be used to help my parents get through the coming months and start to rebuild their lives.