When I heard the news of the Los Angeles wildfires the morning of Jan. 7, I immediately found a map and calculated the distance between the Pacific Palisades area and my daughter’s apartment.

About 20 miles.

Then, I watched the news and saw footage of the winds sending flames and spewing still-glowing embers in all directions, creating chaos and what would quickly become an uncontrollable situation for firefighters and other emergency personnel.

Panic.

Is Katie awake? Is she even aware of what’s happened overnight?

Yes to both, I learned via text. She was calmer than expected. I tried to be the same.

Sadly, Pacific Palisades would be just the first of the reported wildfires in the region.

Keeping up with the destruction in the Los Angeles area was, and remains, nearly impossible.

Winds are fierce. Then, they’re calm.

Red flag warnings are put in place. Then, they’re removed – only to be enforced again.

The number of deaths and the total loss of property continue to rise.

In the days that immediately followed the fire’s start, Katie and I talked a lot about what was going on around her, if her drive to work was safe and if the 20-mile distance was still accurate.

She told me she could see the orange-red glow of the fire from her window.

The air quality was poor, she said. She sent a photo of one of her cats lounging on a rug in a path of sunshine, and I could see the smoky haze in the room. She bought an air purifier, which has proven to be a good purchase.

Not long after, another fire closer to her apartment was reported. She sent a photo of her car, parked protected under a carport. It was covered in ashes.

I asked if she had an evacuation plan, should that possibility become a reality. Yes, she had one.

My litany of questions began: What did she have packed? Clothing? Food and water? Supplies for the pets? Important papers – birth certificate, passport, renters insurance policy (hopefully, she wouldn’t need that)?

Yes, she said. All of that and more.

The Los Angeles Fire Department had been sending alerts. Its evacuation information urged residents to keep the six “Ps” ready, in the event they would need to leave.

• People and pets

• Papers, phone numbers and important documents

• Prescriptions, vitamins and eyeglasses

• Pictures and irreplaceable memorabilia

• Personal computers (information on hard drive and disks)

• “Plastic” (credit cards and ATM cards) and cash

She had it as much under control as possible, given the ever-evolving situation. She’d even been stopping by the service station every day or so to top off her gas tank and keep the gauge on full.

Additional wildfires and returning winds have kept us on edge. We – Katie, in the heart of it, and her family, thousands of miles from the direct danger – continue to stay alert and navigate the changes together.

One thing that has been unchanged, though, is the loud call by law enforcement and emergency personnel to have an evacuation plan. Working it out after you’ve received the evacuation notice could be too late. And, they urged, when the warning notification sounds, go. Don’t wait for the requirement to leave. Get ahead of it.

Katie got two evacuation warnings – in error. Those alerts, one of which sounded 4 a.m., made the surroundings very real for her. Fear and sheer panic have the ability to stop you right in your tracks, challenging your ability to think clearly. She checked the map and believed the images showed the fires had not advanced in her direction. Soon, she received the notification of the error.

This particular disaster is taking place on an entirely different coast, a six-plus-hour plane ride, but the preparedness information is valid and can be used anywhere. In fact, this side of the country – close to some of our own backyards – experienced a wildfire on Blue Mountain, in Lehigh Township, Northampton County, as well as bordering acreage in Carbon County, this past November. Our own fire personnel battled here, working hard to keep residents, and their properties, safe.

The distance doesn’t really matter. It’s always too close to home.

Kelly Lutterschmidt

editor

Whitehall-Coplay Press

Northampton Press

Catasauqua Press