My heart goes out to all the people in SoCal who don’t know if they will have a home to go back to in the next few days due to all the large California fires burning in so many places.

Having lived through the huge 2003 Cedar fire (and being one of the lucky ones who were just missed by it), I know just how gut-wrenching it can be to ‘hurry up and wait’, never knowing which way the winds will blow the flames, if you’ll be able to get out if need be, if your friends and family have gotten out of danger’s way, and what will be left, if anything, if nature capriciously chooses your block over another to burn, your house over the one next to it…

May the winds there slow down, the humidity go up, and the fires get put out quickly before any more lives (and memories) are lost…

To help put together a disaster recovery planning guide for your family BEFORE you may need it, please check out:

American Red Cross Disaster Planning
FEMA (Plan Ahead)
Ready America

(By the time a mandatory evacuation is ordered, it’s too late to ‘plan’ anything!)