The same Pasadena cousins we watched the 2025 Rose Parade with evacuated their home a week later because: Eaton fire 1/7/25. Same day, my in-laws evacuated Santa Monica as the Palisades fire raged towards their home.

I live in Valencia. We had 90mph Santa Ana wind gusts on the 7th. I thought our windows were trembling-to-shattering. I had NO IDEA the winds would be so fierce. I’m a 7th generation Californian, born in Pasadena. Apart from a couple of stints in England, I’ve lived in SoCal my whole life–but winds like on the 7th have never been part of my SoCal reality.

The first year my husband, son and rescued pets moved from the San Fernando Valley to Valencia, a fire came within a 1/4 mile of our neighborhood. Helicopters sucked water from our local pond to drop on flames up the road in Castaic. It was just after the Covid lockdown lifted. Neighbors rushed to the pond to watch the water-sucking process and say hi, masked, to those we hadn’t seen in person for a year and we were all so excited to reconnect it took a little bit to collectively realize the fire might be advancing over the hills from Castaic to our homes.

My family evacuated to a nearby mini-mall, the one with the Lowe’s, Verizon, In N Out and Panda Express and a charming view of the always super-dry/super-pretty Santa Clara River wash. You know the one. We ate, made phonecalls, soothed 2 dogs, 3 cats and 2 parakeets (our teen should be an ordained animal whisperer). I don’t remember if evacuating was mandatory? But I don’t wait for mandatory. Not after growing up with wildfires and a dad who liked to drive his children directly to the source of flames/beach water spouts/any natural disaster and one time a house fire stocked in ammo and dynamite vs. stay safe/protect loved ones.

Last Tuesday, I couldn’t invite my in-laws and cousins to evacuate to our home in Valencia because we’re just as at risk of wildfires. Today, winds are gusting 40-50mph. Suitcases, cat carriers, coats, boxes w/most important items are stacked by the front door, in case. I won’t be going anywhere farther than 5 miles from home until we get rain.

If it wasn’t for the Watch Duty app, we would never sleep.

Yours in staying safe and evacuating before ever being ordered to evacuate and yours in watching the skies and yours in hoping the winds die down 1/15 at 3pm and definitely yours in the Watch Duty app and please donate if you can, just Google, so many places and families to help,

PB