Palisades Fire - Los Angeles

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To me, I think just living in CA - the Palisades is asking for trouble. Given the context of wildfires these days wrecking havoc in dry conditions, goodness, you really have to be in serious denial not to recognize the potential danger of living there. It's one thing to accept that risk and continue but another to act all shocked and surprised it's happening.

100000% this is a tragedy of epic proportions that I wouldn't wish upon anyone but on the other hand, from a very sensible perspective, given enough time, this is going to happen. I'll tell you what else will happen in time - a major earthquake. It's science and logic.

It's not that you need to avoid all danger all the time, it's that people need to respect how the earth works and be cognizant and practical about their choices. Be prepared. Be aware and informed. Be realistic. Just know that if you live in one of the most beautiful paradises on earth daily, around dry conditions with brush fires and Santa Ana winds - you will see a day when you might experience a wildfire burning your neighborhood down. It's not some fantasy situation - it's a real risk and it's OK to take that risk but you can't say you never saw it coming.

The other thing I hate about it is that in choosing that reality, they hike up premiums for the rest of us who require home insurance which sucks for me.

Where do you live out of interest? Where is the right place to live?

Not in DC. Not in Florida or the Gulf coast (hurricanes). Not in Tornado Alley. Not on the Pacific Coast (tsunamis and volcanoes and earthquakes). Not on the Outer Banks (hurricanes and rising sea levels). Not in New Zealand or Japan or Indonesia or anywhere on the Ring of Fire or Iceland or Italy or Greece or on any coast (earthquakes and volcanoes and tsunamis). Not near the Himalayas (earthquakes). Not in Hawaii (volcanoes and tsunamis). Not in Australia (drought and bush fires). Not in Ashville, NC (floods). Not along the Mississippi. Not in the Caribbean.

Why not DC?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Switching gears (and not sure if this was covered in the previous 30 pages). But I don’t understand the folks all over the Internet who stayed behind with their house to “save it” until the very last minute. I absolutely understand the impulse to protect your home, particularly if it’s uninsured. But what do people think they are going to use within their household to fight this massive fire? It feels like a foolish attempt that will cause them to be left behind and require a rescue that endangers EMS personnel.

There was a video of a man with his dog in his home looking out a flames feet from his home on multiple sides telling his dog it was going to be ok. I don't think it was going to be OK and I wonder what happened to him and the dog.

The poster of the original video said they were able to evacuate

Then they got very lucky. Totally not worth the risk.

+ I don't understand the people who won't evacuate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To me, I think just living in CA - the Palisades is asking for trouble. Given the context of wildfires these days wrecking havoc in dry conditions, goodness, you really have to be in serious denial not to recognize the potential danger of living there. It's one thing to accept that risk and continue but another to act all shocked and surprised it's happening.

100000% this is a tragedy of epic proportions that I wouldn't wish upon anyone but on the other hand, from a very sensible perspective, given enough time, this is going to happen. I'll tell you what else will happen in time - a major earthquake. It's science and logic.

It's not that you need to avoid all danger all the time, it's that people need to respect how the earth works and be cognizant and practical about their choices. Be prepared. Be aware and informed. Be realistic. Just know that if you live in one of the most beautiful paradises on earth daily, around dry conditions with brush fires and Santa Ana winds - you will see a day when you might experience a wildfire burning your neighborhood down. It's not some fantasy situation - it's a real risk and it's OK to take that risk but you can't say you never saw it coming.

The other thing I hate about it is that in choosing that reality, they hike up premiums for the rest of us who require home insurance which sucks for me.

Where do you live out of interest? Where is the right place to live?

Not in DC. Not in Florida or the Gulf coast (hurricanes). Not in Tornado Alley. Not on the Pacific Coast (tsunamis and volcanoes and earthquakes). Not on the Outer Banks (hurricanes and rising sea levels). Not in New Zealand or Japan or Indonesia or anywhere on the Ring of Fire or Iceland or Italy or Greece or on any coast (earthquakes and volcanoes and tsunamis). Not near the Himalayas (earthquakes). Not in Hawaii (volcanoes and tsunamis). Not in Australia (drought and bush fires). Not in Ashville, NC (floods). Not along the Mississippi. Not in the Caribbean.

Just saying - it's proximity to danger. And again, you can't be safe 100%. But these people live in paradise. You understand how beautiful the Palisades is? There's a price to be paid for that paradise. I read articles that suggested a number of residents appreciated this fact. Again, lots and lots of sympathy for this tragic event but just a lesson - there's no free lunch and there's a price to be paid for living in such boundless natural beauty. It could be inconvenience and it could be natural disasters that are more frequent. Same goes for putting your house directly on a beach. Same goes for living in a valley. ESPECIALLY with climate change.

Sounds like you're doing great on your ugly mountain of superiority.

Hey - common sense isn't that common I know. I'm not suggesting this isn't a sad day for a lot of people but even residents there echo my sentiments. They know that this is a risk they signed up for. Sucks but gotta accept and learn from tragedies or it will happen again and again.

You're the type to tell people "I told you so" rather than offer condolences. It's not about common sense, just simple empathy. No person in LA needs your "wisdom".

F Y and your disingenuous virtue signalling

You're the one doing that here, not me: " Again, lots and lots of sympathy for this tragic event but just a lesson".

Its awful but it was also most likely preventable.
You can be sad and mad at the same time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Born and raised in LA and I could care less about these fires.
LA is grown so much in last 40 years there are people over consuming the water of 5 states and building in geographical areas that are nearly inaccessible for a response by heavy equipment.

Let it burn and limit rebuilding to 1 out 10 homes.
Maybe people will move from a freaking natural desert not sustainable for mass
Human populations.

At least 5 people are dead. Thousands are suffering trauma you can’t imagine. Try to act like you at least have cognitive empathy.

Check your water statements. Do you want California agriculture to stop? That’s where the majority of the water goes. It’s not a population issue.

+1

That PP who actually typed the words "Let it burn" is sick. Or maybe psychopathic, because total lack of empathy is a trait of psychopathy. Revolting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To me, I think just living in CA - the Palisades is asking for trouble. Given the context of wildfires these days wrecking havoc in dry conditions, goodness, you really have to be in serious denial not to recognize the potential danger of living there. It's one thing to accept that risk and continue but another to act all shocked and surprised it's happening.

100000% this is a tragedy of epic proportions that I wouldn't wish upon anyone but on the other hand, from a very sensible perspective, given enough time, this is going to happen. I'll tell you what else will happen in time - a major earthquake. It's science and logic.

It's not that you need to avoid all danger all the time, it's that people need to respect how the earth works and be cognizant and practical about their choices. Be prepared. Be aware and informed. Be realistic. Just know that if you live in one of the most beautiful paradises on earth daily, around dry conditions with brush fires and Santa Ana winds - you will see a day when you might experience a wildfire burning your neighborhood down. It's not some fantasy situation - it's a real risk and it's OK to take that risk but you can't say you never saw it coming.

The other thing I hate about it is that in choosing that reality, they hike up premiums for the rest of us who require home insurance which sucks for me.

Where do you live out of interest? Where is the right place to live?

Not in DC. Not in Florida or the Gulf coast (hurricanes). Not in Tornado Alley. Not on the Pacific Coast (tsunamis and volcanoes and earthquakes). Not on the Outer Banks (hurricanes and rising sea levels). Not in New Zealand or Japan or Indonesia or anywhere on the Ring of Fire or Iceland or Italy or Greece or on any coast (earthquakes and volcanoes and tsunamis). Not near the Himalayas (earthquakes). Not in Hawaii (volcanoes and tsunamis). Not in Australia (drought and bush fires). Not in Ashville, NC (floods). Not along the Mississippi. Not in the Caribbean.

Why not DC?

Terrorism/war target.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Californian here. I think some of the posters here perhaps don’t really understand what it’s like to be in a Santa Ana wind. I saw a video on Twitter that gives a sense of what it’s like in the fires with Santa Ana winds.

More than any other post, this should educate some of the idjits. That video is horrifying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a fire storm of mass destruction and will only get worse over the night.

Iconic landmarks like the Getty Villa and Palisades HS are on fire. 0% contained.

I grew up in SoCal and this is a disaster. People had to abandon their cars in traffic and run.

30,000 people evacuated but the Getty staff say the museum is very secure. My LA friends left their home before the gridlock. I have been through three fire evacuations in the last few years in the Rocky Mountain West, and several friends lost their homes with minutes to get out. The trauma of losing everything you have is unimaginable, especially for children. I have totally changed how I arrange everything. My heart goes out to anyone who has to evacuate, and wait and wonder what is happening to their home. The wind forecast looks terrible.

If you don't mind sharing, I'd like to hear what changes you made. I live in LA and have several family and friends sheltering in hotels right now.

I am glad your friends made it out, and I hope their homes make it.

We had 15 minutes in our first evacuation, many of our friends had literally two minutes. Here is what I’ve done

-Reorganized “must have” paper and objects so that they exist in one grabbable plastic file box stored in the front closet. This means that the overall organization is disrupted. Obviously it has passports, banking, emergency cash etc., but it also has my favorite drawings from each child, original genealogical documents, love letters. This is the box that is first out. It’s what you need and what you feel like you will die without. I sharpied symbols on the box to remind me to close windows, doors, and shut off power/gas. We don’t have propane but if you do you should try to remove it. This is where you put the things that you take if you have two minutes. I also have a small box of charging equipment. This is totally an emotional crutch for me. I learned the first time that slinging chargers into random places made me feel out of control and panicky, but I really wanted to take them.

-The front closet also has flat boxes, packing tape, bubble wrap, scissors that are not used for anything else. They are there primarily for art and books.

-I have packed a box with one or two pieces of each of the multiple sets of china and crystal that are family things.

-I have a packed box of our most treasured Christmas things.

-Jewelry is stored in a box with trays and I am religious about putting it away

-Books are shelved so that high priority keepers are together. Old photo albums are there (yes they are scanned, but some photos I want if I can have them).

-Every bedroom has a box of big black trash bags. You can stuff a ton of clothing, stuffed animals, special blankets, etc. in really quickly and the bags will squish into vehicles efficiently. Kids can do this while you do something else.i will never forget holding my kid’s quavering friend who barely escaped with her family and did not have a single thing left. Not one stuffed animal, baby toy, pillowcase. Nothing.

-Scanning and photographing. Pretty much everything that can be scanned is scanned, if it can’t be scanned it’s photographed. I have thumb drives here and send copies to my mother and cousin. This serves two purposes. Whatever we can’t take out, we will have a memory of, and we will get the max for our contents insurance (start scanning receipts for things as you buy). Insurance for build cost is usually not enough, and they’re only obligated to pay a % of contents unless you can document it all.

-Priorotized lists. We know approximately what can go out in 2, 5, 10, 15, 30 minutes. We know what fits in our vehicles and what we can add if our friend comes with a trailer. This is all written in order and stored in an envelope taped to the must go box. Be sure to include a device list. No matter how prepared you are, it’s scary. It’s not a time to make decisions. You don’t want to be in the basement staring at your sorority memorabilia and your grandmother’s ice skates and wondering what to take. This also means someone else can pack if you put locations and ideally a photo on the list.

Overall, my house is no longer organized for maximum efficiency, but for maximum evacuation efficiency. It doesn’t change much or look weird. It just means some extra steps and discipline here and there. Everyone will have different priorities and choices. The key is making those decisions before the crisis and organizing so you don’t have to think or search for things when you evacuate.

This is insane. I agree about people, pets, important documents, and chargers. Laterns/batteries is a good idea too. The kids have a few favorite toys/stuffies. But I don’t care about anything else you mentioned - even if I had a week to prepare I wouldn’t bring China or Christmas decorations or kids artwork. Now if Google and Amazon photo BOTH lose all my digital storage, THEN I’d be devastated. But the stuff is just stuff.

You do you. You have no right to judge anyone else. I had to leave grabbing what I could with no planning the first time. Then we watched and waited for three days. It sucked beyond belief and yes, if I can safely prevent my family from going through what our friends have, I will do it. Now we’re prepared. My best friends lost every single thing. It’s all “just stuff” until it happens to you. Make your own decisions and don’t judge other people as long as they are obeying safety orders.

+1 I’m so sick of people coming for this woman after they ASKED HER how she organizes to get out with all her stuff.

NP. I think the PP is amazing and am so grateful she took the time to post at length. It gave me ideas I wouldn't have even thought of, i.e. Christmas ornaments.

I'm inspired to not just put together a "go" bag with essentials/docs but also a box of most treasured items.

I'm also going to use the snow day tomorrow to have my teenager scan the photos from old photo albums so we have everything in the cloud. I have all my children's photos saved digitally but not the ones from my own childhood.

Scanning photos can be highly technical if you want archival quality. Make sure that teenager knows what they are doing.

Great point. I'd bet there are quite a few of us starting this process now. If you know much about it, could you post something in the tech forum with a few hints? I'd love any advice.

Thanks again for mentioning this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a fire storm of mass destruction and will only get worse over the night.

Iconic landmarks like the Getty Villa and Palisades HS are on fire. 0% contained.

I grew up in SoCal and this is a disaster. People had to abandon their cars in traffic and run.

30,000 people evacuated but the Getty staff say the museum is very secure. My LA friends left their home before the gridlock. I have been through three fire evacuations in the last few years in the Rocky Mountain West, and several friends lost their homes with minutes to get out. The trauma of losing everything you have is unimaginable, especially for children. I have totally changed how I arrange everything. My heart goes out to anyone who has to evacuate, and wait and wonder what is happening to their home. The wind forecast looks terrible.

If you don't mind sharing, I'd like to hear what changes you made. I live in LA and have several family and friends sheltering in hotels right now.

I am glad your friends made it out, and I hope their homes make it.

We had 15 minutes in our first evacuation, many of our friends had literally two minutes. Here is what I’ve done

-Reorganized “must have” paper and objects so that they exist in one grabbable plastic file box stored in the front closet. This means that the overall organization is disrupted. Obviously it has passports, banking, emergency cash etc., but it also has my favorite drawings from each child, original genealogical documents, love letters. This is the box that is first out. It’s what you need and what you feel like you will die without. I sharpied symbols on the box to remind me to close windows, doors, and shut off power/gas. We don’t have propane but if you do you should try to remove it. This is where you put the things that you take if you have two minutes. I also have a small box of charging equipment. This is totally an emotional crutch for me. I learned the first time that slinging chargers into random places made me feel out of control and panicky, but I really wanted to take them.

-The front closet also has flat boxes, packing tape, bubble wrap, scissors that are not used for anything else. They are there primarily for art and books.

-I have packed a box with one or two pieces of each of the multiple sets of china and crystal that are family things.

-I have a packed box of our most treasured Christmas things.

-Jewelry is stored in a box with trays and I am religious about putting it away

-Books are shelved so that high priority keepers are together. Old photo albums are there (yes they are scanned, but some photos I want if I can have them).

-Every bedroom has a box of big black trash bags. You can stuff a ton of clothing, stuffed animals, special blankets, etc. in really quickly and the bags will squish into vehicles efficiently. Kids can do this while you do something else.i will never forget holding my kid’s quavering friend who barely escaped with her family and did not have a single thing left. Not one stuffed animal, baby toy, pillowcase. Nothing.

-Scanning and photographing. Pretty much everything that can be scanned is scanned, if it can’t be scanned it’s photographed. I have thumb drives here and send copies to my mother and cousin. This serves two purposes. Whatever we can’t take out, we will have a memory of, and we will get the max for our contents insurance (start scanning receipts for things as you buy). Insurance for build cost is usually not enough, and they’re only obligated to pay a % of contents unless you can document it all.

-Priorotized lists. We know approximately what can go out in 2, 5, 10, 15, 30 minutes. We know what fits in our vehicles and what we can add if our friend comes with a trailer. This is all written in order and stored in an envelope taped to the must go box. Be sure to include a device list. No matter how prepared you are, it’s scary. It’s not a time to make decisions. You don’t want to be in the basement staring at your sorority memorabilia and your grandmother’s ice skates and wondering what to take. This also means someone else can pack if you put locations and ideally a photo on the list.

Overall, my house is no longer organized for maximum efficiency, but for maximum evacuation efficiency. It doesn’t change much or look weird. It just means some extra steps and discipline here and there. Everyone will have different priorities and choices. The key is making those decisions before the crisis and organizing so you don’t have to think or search for things when you evacuate.

This is insane. I agree about people, pets, important documents, and chargers. Laterns/batteries is a good idea too. The kids have a few favorite toys/stuffies. But I don’t care about anything else you mentioned - even if I had a week to prepare I wouldn’t bring China or Christmas decorations or kids artwork. Now if Google and Amazon photo BOTH lose all my digital storage, THEN I’d be devastated. But the stuff is just stuff.

You do you. You have no right to judge anyone else. I had to leave grabbing what I could with no planning the first time. Then we watched and waited for three days. It sucked beyond belief and yes, if I can safely prevent my family from going through what our friends have, I will do it. Now we’re prepared. My best friends lost every single thing. It’s all “just stuff” until it happens to you. Make your own decisions and don’t judge other people as long as they are obeying safety orders.

+1 I’m so sick of people coming for this woman after they ASKED HER how she organizes to get out with all her stuff.

NP. I think the PP is amazing and am so grateful she took the time to post at length. It gave me ideas I wouldn't have even thought of, i.e. Christmas ornaments.

I'm inspired to not just put together a "go" bag with essentials/docs but also a box of most treasured items.

I'm also going to use the snow day tomorrow to have my teenager scan the photos from old photo albums so we have everything in the cloud. I have all my children's photos saved digitally but not the ones from my own childhood.

Scanning photos can be highly technical if you want archival quality. Make sure that teenager knows what they are doing.

Great point. I'd bet there are quite a few of us starting this process now. If you know much about it, could you post something in the tech forum with a few hints? I'd love any advice.

Thanks again for mentioning this.

DP but it’s really not that technical.

There are great phone apps today that make it super simple to get good scans.

I’ve scanned in photos for decades and the apps produce much better results in a fraction of the time than the old scanners.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To me, I think just living in CA - the Palisades is asking for trouble. Given the context of wildfires these days wrecking havoc in dry conditions, goodness, you really have to be in serious denial not to recognize the potential danger of living there. It's one thing to accept that risk and continue but another to act all shocked and surprised it's happening.

100000% this is a tragedy of epic proportions that I wouldn't wish upon anyone but on the other hand, from a very sensible perspective, given enough time, this is going to happen. I'll tell you what else will happen in time - a major earthquake. It's science and logic.

It's not that you need to avoid all danger all the time, it's that people need to respect how the earth works and be cognizant and practical about their choices. Be prepared. Be aware and informed. Be realistic. Just know that if you live in one of the most beautiful paradises on earth daily, around dry conditions with brush fires and Santa Ana winds - you will see a day when you might experience a wildfire burning your neighborhood down. It's not some fantasy situation - it's a real risk and it's OK to take that risk but you can't say you never saw it coming.

The other thing I hate about it is that in choosing that reality, they hike up premiums for the rest of us who require home insurance which sucks for me.

Where do you live out of interest? Where is the right place to live?

Not in DC. Not in Florida or the Gulf coast (hurricanes). Not in Tornado Alley. Not on the Pacific Coast (tsunamis and volcanoes and earthquakes). Not on the Outer Banks (hurricanes and rising sea levels). Not in New Zealand or Japan or Indonesia or anywhere on the Ring of Fire or Iceland or Italy or Greece or on any coast (earthquakes and volcanoes and tsunamis). Not near the Himalayas (earthquakes). Not in Hawaii (volcanoes and tsunamis). Not in Australia (drought and bush fires). Not in Ashville, NC (floods). Not along the Mississippi. Not in the Caribbean.

Just saying - it's proximity to danger. And again, you can't be safe 100%. But these people live in paradise. You understand how beautiful the Palisades is? There's a price to be paid for that paradise. I read articles that suggested a number of residents appreciated this fact. Again, lots and lots of sympathy for this tragic event but just a lesson - there's no free lunch and there's a price to be paid for living in such boundless natural beauty. It could be inconvenience and it could be natural disasters that are more frequent. Same goes for putting your house directly on a beach. Same goes for living in a valley. ESPECIALLY with climate change.

Sounds like you're doing great on your ugly mountain of superiority.

Hey - common sense isn't that common I know. I'm not suggesting this isn't a sad day for a lot of people but even residents there echo my sentiments. They know that this is a risk they signed up for. Sucks but gotta accept and learn from tragedies or it will happen again and again.

+1 Also need to elect responsible leaders who care more about planning and budgeting for public safety than optics.

So certainly not Republicans who prefer to troll and push lies rather than effectively govern or legislate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a fire storm of mass destruction and will only get worse over the night.

Iconic landmarks like the Getty Villa and Palisades HS are on fire. 0% contained.

I grew up in SoCal and this is a disaster. People had to abandon their cars in traffic and run.

30,000 people evacuated but the Getty staff say the museum is very secure. My LA friends left their home before the gridlock. I have been through three fire evacuations in the last few years in the Rocky Mountain West, and several friends lost their homes with minutes to get out. The trauma of losing everything you have is unimaginable, especially for children. I have totally changed how I arrange everything. My heart goes out to anyone who has to evacuate, and wait and wonder what is happening to their home. The wind forecast looks terrible.

If you don't mind sharing, I'd like to hear what changes you made. I live in LA and have several family and friends sheltering in hotels right now.

I am glad your friends made it out, and I hope their homes make it.

We had 15 minutes in our first evacuation, many of our friends had literally two minutes. Here is what I’ve done

-Reorganized “must have” paper and objects so that they exist in one grabbable plastic file box stored in the front closet. This means that the overall organization is disrupted. Obviously it has passports, banking, emergency cash etc., but it also has my favorite drawings from each child, original genealogical documents, love letters. This is the box that is first out. It’s what you need and what you feel like you will die without. I sharpied symbols on the box to remind me to close windows, doors, and shut off power/gas. We don’t have propane but if you do you should try to remove it. This is where you put the things that you take if you have two minutes. I also have a small box of charging equipment. This is totally an emotional crutch for me. I learned the first time that slinging chargers into random places made me feel out of control and panicky, but I really wanted to take them.

-The front closet also has flat boxes, packing tape, bubble wrap, scissors that are not used for anything else. They are there primarily for art and books.

-I have packed a box with one or two pieces of each of the multiple sets of china and crystal that are family things.

-I have a packed box of our most treasured Christmas things.

-Jewelry is stored in a box with trays and I am religious about putting it away

-Books are shelved so that high priority keepers are together. Old photo albums are there (yes they are scanned, but some photos I want if I can have them).

-Every bedroom has a box of big black trash bags. You can stuff a ton of clothing, stuffed animals, special blankets, etc. in really quickly and the bags will squish into vehicles efficiently. Kids can do this while you do something else.i will never forget holding my kid’s quavering friend who barely escaped with her family and did not have a single thing left. Not one stuffed animal, baby toy, pillowcase. Nothing.

-Scanning and photographing. Pretty much everything that can be scanned is scanned, if it can’t be scanned it’s photographed. I have thumb drives here and send copies to my mother and cousin. This serves two purposes. Whatever we can’t take out, we will have a memory of, and we will get the max for our contents insurance (start scanning receipts for things as you buy). Insurance for build cost is usually not enough, and they’re only obligated to pay a % of contents unless you can document it all.

-Priorotized lists. We know approximately what can go out in 2, 5, 10, 15, 30 minutes. We know what fits in our vehicles and what we can add if our friend comes with a trailer. This is all written in order and stored in an envelope taped to the must go box. Be sure to include a device list. No matter how prepared you are, it’s scary. It’s not a time to make decisions. You don’t want to be in the basement staring at your sorority memorabilia and your grandmother’s ice skates and wondering what to take. This also means someone else can pack if you put locations and ideally a photo on the list.

Overall, my house is no longer organized for maximum efficiency, but for maximum evacuation efficiency. It doesn’t change much or look weird. It just means some extra steps and discipline here and there. Everyone will have different priorities and choices. The key is making those decisions before the crisis and organizing so you don’t have to think or search for things when you evacuate.

This is insane. I agree about people, pets, important documents, and chargers. Laterns/batteries is a good idea too. The kids have a few favorite toys/stuffies. But I don’t care about anything else you mentioned - even if I had a week to prepare I wouldn’t bring China or Christmas decorations or kids artwork. Now if Google and Amazon photo BOTH lose all my digital storage, THEN I’d be devastated. But the stuff is just stuff.

You do you. You have no right to judge anyone else. I had to leave grabbing what I could with no planning the first time. Then we watched and waited for three days. It sucked beyond belief and yes, if I can safely prevent my family from going through what our friends have, I will do it. Now we’re prepared. My best friends lost every single thing. It’s all “just stuff” until it happens to you. Make your own decisions and don’t judge other people as long as they are obeying safety orders.

+1 I’m so sick of people coming for this woman after they ASKED HER how she organizes to get out with all her stuff.

NP. I think the PP is amazing and am so grateful she took the time to post at length. It gave me ideas I wouldn't have even thought of, i.e. Christmas ornaments.

I'm inspired to not just put together a "go" bag with essentials/docs but also a box of most treasured items.

I'm also going to use the snow day tomorrow to have my teenager scan the photos from old photo albums so we have everything in the cloud. I have all my children's photos saved digitally but not the ones from my own childhood.

Scanning photos can be highly technical if you want archival quality. Make sure that teenager knows what they are doing.

Great point. I'd bet there are quite a few of us starting this process now. If you know much about it, could you post something in the tech forum with a few hints? I'd love any advice.

Thanks again for mentioning this.

DP but it’s really not that technical.

There are great phone apps today that make it super simple to get good scans.

I’ve scanned in photos for decades and the apps produce much better results in a fraction of the time than the old scanners.

Thanks for the tip. Which apps do you recommend?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To me, I think just living in CA - the Palisades is asking for trouble. Given the context of wildfires these days wrecking havoc in dry conditions, goodness, you really have to be in serious denial not to recognize the potential danger of living there. It's one thing to accept that risk and continue but another to act all shocked and surprised it's happening.

100000% this is a tragedy of epic proportions that I wouldn't wish upon anyone but on the other hand, from a very sensible perspective, given enough time, this is going to happen. I'll tell you what else will happen in time - a major earthquake. It's science and logic.

It's not that you need to avoid all danger all the time, it's that people need to respect how the earth works and be cognizant and practical about their choices. Be prepared. Be aware and informed. Be realistic. Just know that if you live in one of the most beautiful paradises on earth daily, around dry conditions with brush fires and Santa Ana winds - you will see a day when you might experience a wildfire burning your neighborhood down. It's not some fantasy situation - it's a real risk and it's OK to take that risk but you can't say you never saw it coming.

The other thing I hate about it is that in choosing that reality, they hike up premiums for the rest of us who require home insurance which sucks for me.

Where do you live out of interest? Where is the right place to live?

Not in DC. Not in Florida or the Gulf coast (hurricanes). Not in Tornado Alley. Not on the Pacific Coast (tsunamis and volcanoes and earthquakes). Not on the Outer Banks (hurricanes and rising sea levels). Not in New Zealand or Japan or Indonesia or anywhere on the Ring of Fire or Iceland or Italy or Greece or on any coast (earthquakes and volcanoes and tsunamis). Not near the Himalayas (earthquakes). Not in Hawaii (volcanoes and tsunamis). Not in Australia (drought and bush fires). Not in Ashville, NC (floods). Not along the Mississippi. Not in the Caribbean.

Just saying - it's proximity to danger. And again, you can't be safe 100%. But these people live in paradise. You understand how beautiful the Palisades is? There's a price to be paid for that paradise. I read articles that suggested a number of residents appreciated this fact. Again, lots and lots of sympathy for this tragic event but just a lesson - there's no free lunch and there's a price to be paid for living in such boundless natural beauty. It could be inconvenience and it could be natural disasters that are more frequent. Same goes for putting your house directly on a beach. Same goes for living in a valley. ESPECIALLY with climate change.

Sounds like you're doing great on your ugly mountain of superiority.

Hey - common sense isn't that common I know. I'm not suggesting this isn't a sad day for a lot of people but even residents there echo my sentiments. They know that this is a risk they signed up for. Sucks but gotta accept and learn from tragedies or it will happen again and again.

You're the type to tell people "I told you so" rather than offer condolences. It's not about common sense, just simple empathy. No person in LA needs your "wisdom".

F Y and your disingenuous virtue signalling

You're the one doing that here, not me: " Again, lots and lots of sympathy for this tragic event but just a lesson".

Its awful but it was also most likely preventable.
You can be sad and mad at the same time.

Pro tip: Actual sympathy doesn't contain a "but."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Adam Brody and Leighton Meester lost their home. I guess I don't worry too much about wealthy celebrities who can always rebuild or buy elsewhere, but it must be a little traumatizing to lose your home. Hope people are being evacuated safely, and the regular folks will be able to recover from the massive financial hit.

A little? You think it would be A LITTLE traumatizing to lose your home? Obviously wealthy people will be much better able to handle the situation, but being rich doesn't make you immune to the pain of losing your belongings. Idiot.

Let’s not overlook that there IS some element of karma at work here, with many of these incredibly wealthy people losing their homes to climate change. Climate change that they themselves contributed to far and away more than the average person. Private jet travel, massive homes, lifestyles that consume far more resources than the average person. The carbon footprint of the typical celebrity is probably bigger than the sum total of your entire extended family.

This is karma, catching up with them. Let’s not pretend it isn’t.

What an absolutely sh*tty post. Also karma doesn't exist.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Adam Brody and Leighton Meester lost their home. I guess I don't worry too much about wealthy celebrities who can always rebuild or buy elsewhere, but it must be a little traumatizing to lose your home. Hope people are being evacuated safely, and the regular folks will be able to recover from the massive financial hit.

A little? You think it would be A LITTLE traumatizing to lose your home? Obviously wealthy people will be much better able to handle the situation, but being rich doesn't make you immune to the pain of losing your belongings. Idiot.

Let’s not overlook that there IS some element of karma at work here, with many of these incredibly wealthy people losing their homes to climate change. Climate change that they themselves contributed to far and away more than the average person. Private jet travel, massive homes, lifestyles that consume far more resources than the average person. The carbon footprint of the typical celebrity is probably bigger than the sum total of your entire extended family.

This is karma, catching up with them. Let’s not pretend it isn’t.

What an absolutely sh*tty post. Also karma doesn't exist.

I think this attitude is ultimately what will start the revolution. It’s such a twisted sick way of thinking. None of us is innocent, OP. You can’t be the decider of who “deserves it” or not. It’s so inhuman - I hate reading this and can’t stomach this thread any longer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a fire storm of mass destruction and will only get worse over the night.

Iconic landmarks like the Getty Villa and Palisades HS are on fire. 0% contained.

I grew up in SoCal and this is a disaster. People had to abandon their cars in traffic and run.

30,000 people evacuated but the Getty staff say the museum is very secure. My LA friends left their home before the gridlock. I have been through three fire evacuations in the last few years in the Rocky Mountain West, and several friends lost their homes with minutes to get out. The trauma of losing everything you have is unimaginable, especially for children. I have totally changed how I arrange everything. My heart goes out to anyone who has to evacuate, and wait and wonder what is happening to their home. The wind forecast looks terrible.

If you don't mind sharing, I'd like to hear what changes you made. I live in LA and have several family and friends sheltering in hotels right now.

I am glad your friends made it out, and I hope their homes make it.

We had 15 minutes in our first evacuation, many of our friends had literally two minutes. Here is what I’ve done

-Reorganized “must have” paper and objects so that they exist in one grabbable plastic file box stored in the front closet. This means that the overall organization is disrupted. Obviously it has passports, banking, emergency cash etc., but it also has my favorite drawings from each child, original genealogical documents, love letters. This is the box that is first out. It’s what you need and what you feel like you will die without. I sharpied symbols on the box to remind me to close windows, doors, and shut off power/gas. We don’t have propane but if you do you should try to remove it. This is where you put the things that you take if you have two minutes. I also have a small box of charging equipment. This is totally an emotional crutch for me. I learned the first time that slinging chargers into random places made me feel out of control and panicky, but I really wanted to take them.

-The front closet also has flat boxes, packing tape, bubble wrap, scissors that are not used for anything else. They are there primarily for art and books.

-I have packed a box with one or two pieces of each of the multiple sets of china and crystal that are family things.

-I have a packed box of our most treasured Christmas things.

-Jewelry is stored in a box with trays and I am religious about putting it away

-Books are shelved so that high priority keepers are together. Old photo albums are there (yes they are scanned, but some photos I want if I can have them).

-Every bedroom has a box of big black trash bags. You can stuff a ton of clothing, stuffed animals, special blankets, etc. in really quickly and the bags will squish into vehicles efficiently. Kids can do this while you do something else.i will never forget holding my kid’s quavering friend who barely escaped with her family and did not have a single thing left. Not one stuffed animal, baby toy, pillowcase. Nothing.

-Scanning and photographing. Pretty much everything that can be scanned is scanned, if it can’t be scanned it’s photographed. I have thumb drives here and send copies to my mother and cousin. This serves two purposes. Whatever we can’t take out, we will have a memory of, and we will get the max for our contents insurance (start scanning receipts for things as you buy). Insurance for build cost is usually not enough, and they’re only obligated to pay a % of contents unless you can document it all.

-Priorotized lists. We know approximately what can go out in 2, 5, 10, 15, 30 minutes. We know what fits in our vehicles and what we can add if our friend comes with a trailer. This is all written in order and stored in an envelope taped to the must go box. Be sure to include a device list. No matter how prepared you are, it’s scary. It’s not a time to make decisions. You don’t want to be in the basement staring at your sorority memorabilia and your grandmother’s ice skates and wondering what to take. This also means someone else can pack if you put locations and ideally a photo on the list.

Overall, my house is no longer organized for maximum efficiency, but for maximum evacuation efficiency. It doesn’t change much or look weird. It just means some extra steps and discipline here and there. Everyone will have different priorities and choices. The key is making those decisions before the crisis and organizing so you don’t have to think or search for things when you evacuate.

This is insane. I agree about people, pets, important documents, and chargers. Laterns/batteries is a good idea too. The kids have a few favorite toys/stuffies. But I don’t care about anything else you mentioned - even if I had a week to prepare I wouldn’t bring China or Christmas decorations or kids artwork. Now if Google and Amazon photo BOTH lose all my digital storage, THEN I’d be devastated. But the stuff is just stuff.

You do you. You have no right to judge anyone else. I had to leave grabbing what I could with no planning the first time. Then we watched and waited for three days. It sucked beyond belief and yes, if I can safely prevent my family from going through what our friends have, I will do it. Now we’re prepared. My best friends lost every single thing. It’s all “just stuff” until it happens to you. Make your own decisions and don’t judge other people as long as they are obeying safety orders.

+1 I’m so sick of people coming for this woman after they ASKED HER how she organizes to get out with all her stuff.

NP. I think the PP is amazing and am so grateful she took the time to post at length. It gave me ideas I wouldn't have even thought of, i.e. Christmas ornaments.

I'm inspired to not just put together a "go" bag with essentials/docs but also a box of most treasured items.

I'm also going to use the snow day tomorrow to have my teenager scan the photos from old photo albums so we have everything in the cloud. I have all my children's photos saved digitally but not the ones from my own childhood.

Scanning photos can be highly technical if you want archival quality. Make sure that teenager knows what they are doing.

Great point. I'd bet there are quite a few of us starting this process now. If you know much about it, could you post something in the tech forum with a few hints? I'd love any advice.

Thanks again for mentioning this.

DP but it’s really not that technical.

There are great phone apps today that make it super simple to get good scans.

I’ve scanned in photos for decades and the apps produce much better results in a fraction of the time than the old scanners.

Sorry but you are wrong about that. I am a graphic imaging professional by trade. Understanding resolution, file formats, color calibration and data management are all crucial.

No, your phone cannot do this job. Photos are not replaceable and if you lose the master photo and all you have is an iphone pic then you have lost image detail forever. There is no way to recover lost image data from a bad scan or poor format choice or lack of color calibration.

Please just take your special photos to a proper professional or at least use one of those online archives services.

if you insist on doing it at home this scanner is what you will need:
https://epson.com/For-Work/Scanners/Photo-and-Graphics/Epson-Perfection-V850-Pro-Photo-Scanner/p/B11B224201?cq_net=g&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAAD244qrbodEp4ZYkd3C6BAyK1e02B&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIuaqUq5vpigMVD3RHAR3wzgwEEAQYASABEgL4U_D_BwE

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is it bad that I don't really care? These people are millionaires and billionaires.

+100

Also remember that many of these rich people had incredibly consumptive lifestyles. Private jets, limousines, world travel, massive homes. They used a disproportional amount of energy, much of it carbon based, and they had a disproportionate impact in creating global climate change which caused this fire.

These people were some of the biggest earth-killers, and now earth is having it’s say.