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| The Thomas Fire rages. Photo by Mike Eliason |
My neighbors in Santa Barbara left
town four days ago. The city has been raining ash for over a week. The culprit,
The Thomas Fire (or firestorm), is the largest wildfire of the year and the fourth-largest in the state's history. The news
is not quite the end of the year bang
was hoping for. I had a different kind of firestorm and shake-up in
mind, one that would happen at the White House, and not in California. Before
voluntary evacuations were issued for my neighborhood, Steve and I had already
shoved off to ring in the holidays in New Orleans. I also had a reading at the Latter Library in New Orleans, where I had a chance to
preview some of the new poems in my upcoming poetry book, Bird Forgiveness, out
in 2018 by 3 Taos Press. A funny moment was when the M.C. introduced me as having
a book out soon from three tacos press. I had to defend my press, my poetry, and love
for tacos in one breath.
A
week ago, New Orleans experienced a weekend so cold it snowed briefly. I was in
awe watching the snowflakes fall. I must admit the charm of the ice falling
soon turned into sheer torture as I don't do well in cold weather and my
broken, metal-leaden leg started talking to me and complaining as well. The
same day as the miraculous and sudden Southern snow storm, the Thomas Fire
broke out and started swallowing all in its path in the California cities of
Santa Paula and Ventura. The fire, which began
on December 4, continues its almost two-week rage and now threatens
Carpinteria, Montecito, and Santa Barbara, the lovely coast town between the
ocean and mountains, known as paradise, where I am lucky to call home. With fires in the San Fernando Valley and San
Diego, this monstrous fire seems impossible to get a hold of. I worry about not
having a home to come home to and about all the damage already done to the land
and people of this drought-ridden and dry state. How I wish I could send some
of Louisiana's rain to California. To add insult to injury, there are people
preying on the fire victims. I would have simply ignored the warnings on social
media about false charities trying to wring money out of people who are being
assisted by firefighters. However, I received a call from someone with a 323
area code phone number. This person, I don't recall his name, made a pitch for
collecting money for equipment used by firefighters. A legitimate organization to donate to is the Santa Barbara Firefighters Alliance. News I heard just
today about the fire makes these charlatans seem insignificant.
Nothing
prepares you for the news of a fatality due to the fire. Hearing that one of
the firefighters, fire apparatus engineer Cory Iverson, 32, lost his life
battling the fire is heartbreaking, to say the least. My deepest condolences to
Cory Iverson's family. I can only imagine the state of shock the San Diego
firefighter's family must be in. As of yesterday, Thursday, December 14, the Thomas fire is 60 miles long, 40 miles wide and 35 percent contained. Prayers for all 8,000 firefighters battling
the Thomas fire, prayers for wind cooperation and no more fatalities.
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