The Pacific Palisades traffic jam stories are taking root in my brain, but so far I'm mostly fixated on getting a cat backpack for fleeing with the cat on foot. But a lot of: when do you make the decision to leave without the car? How? I was told to map out three separate evacuation routes because of traffic concerns. One of them is definitely going to involve bashing the car through a fence and apologizing later (fence is chain-link, protects a large driveway/lot, and has zero fire suppression capability, it's 100% gone if it's in my way).
The JPL is in peril. Getty Villa okay but nervous. Live updates here. It's terrrrifying.
In general, getting urban Californians to cooperate on any shared goal that isn't trivially easy is tough. I guess I vaguely hope there are lessons in this amid the horror.
Do cats like to be in backpacks? Getting one into a backpack sounds hard, but I have no experience. I do have experience driving into things. You can probably drive through it, but there is a real risk of the car becoming damaged enough to impede performance. Maybe wire cutters?
So sorry that you are dealing with this, lurid. All I have to offer is thoughts and prayers, which is not much, but I offer it.
Yeah I gave it some thought after posting and that's a far better idea. I was imagining hitting/pushing it hard enough to break the lock, then getting out and pulling the gate open, not so much driving fully over it. Cutting the lock is better.
Oh no I'm not in LA! I'm fine. Just in a somewhat similar fire-prone hillside neighborhood where you have to plan ahead.
5 to 3, 6 to 4. I'm sincerely sorry for the lack of context, as it obviously sounded like a live situation and not my fevered imaginings, but actual LA commenters are not posting in this thread because they're all running through the hills with cat backpacks already.
Los Angeles always seemed like a "the cat will probably run away on its own" kind of city.
Can you fit a box in the backpack? If you can then the answer is yes, of course you can
My parents weren't able to get their cat when their neighborhood burned a few years ago. All the houses on each side of their house - across the street, down the hill, up the hill, across the backyard - completely burned down, but their house was only damaged and the cat survived a couple days on her own with only some firefighters for brief company. They said they found footprints inside and water on the side of the house with the broken windows when they came to retrieve the cat.
Anyway, their advice is that you should catch the cat before you start packing everything else. The commotion scared the cat enough that they couldn't get her at the very end of packing.
Dehydrated enough to need an IV, though. The vet was great, took her immediately and didn't charge for the care, IIRC.
An ebike seems like the best evacuation vehicle. Faster than running but can go almost all the same places without being trapped by abandoned cars.
Evacuation traffic jam is nightmare territory.
As opposed to regular old fire nightmares.
13: Depends how far you need to evacuate though. Ranges often as little as 20-25 miles.
You can still pedal after that even though it's harder than a regular bike, and if you're really worried you can have a spare battery for a few hundred dollars more
Hope you're safe Lurid.
My husband's late mother's house ( which I guess was technically half his, though her partner was still living there) has almost certainly burned down....greatly tempering relief after finally getting a negative COVID Test after two weeks. He was literally born in that house. All the family photos, all his grandmother's things, all his mother's papers and crafts, all his great great grandparents' furniture,.all his childhood things, were in it. The ADU she put a huge amount of her last energy into building ( hoping we could stay there for long visits) was just finished .The whole side of town seems to be gone. I don't really know how to support him through this.
Hope you're safe Lurid.
My husband's late mother's house ( which I guess was technically half his, though her partner was still living there) has almost certainly burned down....greatly tempering relief after finally getting a negative COVID Test after two weeks. He was literally born in that house. All the family photos, all his grandmother's things, all his mother's papers and crafts, all his great great grandparents' furniture,.all his childhood things, were in it. The ADU she put a huge amount of her last energy into building ( hoping we could stay there for long visits) was just finished .The whole side of town seems to be gone. I don't really know how to support him through this.
That's horrific, Ile, I'm so sorry. There are limits to the support anyone can give for something like that, but just being there for the duration, and maybe gently inviting him to talk through it and share memories and grief, seems like the most important thing.
But also see 6-7: I'm not in LA and now feel like I should maybe just delete comment 1? I feel like a sympathy grifter. I care so much about LA and would never steal your pain! I just apparently live in a constant mental state of imminent fire preparedness.
(Also, frankly, this week blows -- I spent Monday selected for jury duty for a criminal case that would have been traumatic to sit through, spent an hour going into grueling yet antiseptic detail about all the reasons why (in writing), had Tuesday off from that but had to deal with a sudden mental health mini-crisis for Elke instead, then had to piece together a mixture of Lyft and trains to get back to the courthouse this morning in order to be told, immediately, that I was excused (hallelujah). Time in transit + waiting was about four hours; time served 2 minutes. Meanwhile a number of the places I've gone with my beloved child in SoCal, which she loves so much, are burning to the ground and everything seems terrible, but I am safe and grateful for that. Ugh.)
You're all thinking it, so I'll say it:
22.1: more or less appropriate
22.2: "I would never steal your pain!"
22.3: 100% sympathy grift at embarrassing length
Uber has announced free rides to evacuation shelters. I feel for their drivers: how could it not be pandemonium? Santa Monica on a normal day...
Hey everyone a couple folks have reached out so I am stopping by to say hi. The latest fire (Sunset) is along the route I used to drive to go visit William Perlis when I lived in North Hollywood, so happy memories and sad feelings. We personally are fine; Ventura is a good hour plus north of LA so even our air quality is ok. Anyway. If anyone wants to find me, I am on Bluesky these days as tedos.
Cat backpacks are a thing. They're made of perspex, so the cat can sneer out at its laborers.
My MIL's work is in the evacuation zone but her house should be safe for now. I've spent a decent amount of time in Santa Monica and I'm struggling to even comprehend what is happening right now. I guess some part of me though sea breezes and property values were protective forces .
My oldest friend lives in Pasadena. He, his wife, their two young children, and her mother had to flee at 3am through clouds of smoke and falling ash. Their home and all the others on their block burned; they lost everything. I'm grateful they're safe and have the resources to rebuild, eventually, but it's a heavy blow. My brother lived in LA for years, and a lot of his friends there are in the same situation. Devastating.
The CalFire incident map is here: https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents
We're okay. Several of our friends have lost their homes. Ours is still fine. We've evacuated to Orange County.
I'm glad to hear it. I hope your loved ones are all okay.
Thanks everyone. JMS, Shirker, Man Suit, glad you/your people are safe but with you feeling shock and sadness about friends who've had to evacuate and may have lost homes.
I am still extremely concerned about you all in LA, even if I'm making frivolous comments in other threads.
If anyone has a fund they're promoting for donations, drop it here.
Hi, we're back in our house. It's fine and we're fine. The Eaton fire, which is close to us, is now 15% contained, which is encouraging. The Palisades fire is 11%, but is spreading towards heavily populated areas, so even as some people in areas near me (NE LA) are returning to their homes, new evacuation orders are issuing for other parts of the city. The wind is supposed to pick up again next week, so this is far from over.
Several of my friends have lost their homes, including artists and architects, who lost their entire lifes' works. It's too much to process, and too hard to think about.
Here's a place to donate, if you wish.
I hope my fellow Angelenos and others here are doing ok.