My wife Janet and I voluntarily evacuated our house in Santa Rosa, California, at 4 a.m. on October 10. We live just outside a mandatory evacuation zone, but we opted to retreat from the wildfires raging nearby when we saw a bright orange glow on the horizon and a billowing plume of black smoke—both apparently headed our way. That morning, we bundled our four sleepy hens into the back of our car and drove to the closest evacuation shelter.
We were able to return home late that same day. Nothing in our house was damaged, though electricity, gas, internet, and phone service was out; these services gradually returned over the course of the week. Air quality remained horrible until a light rain fell on October 19. Still, we were among the fortunate ones: Nineteen residents of Santa Rosa lost their lives (the death toll throughout the region stands at over 40) and hundreds—including many of our friends and co-workers—lost homes and belongings.
As I’ve continued to reflect on these experiences, I’ve also drawn from my work at Post Carbon Institute to compile this list of things people in any neighborhood ought to be thinking about before disaster strikes.
[For more on this story by RICHARD HEINBERG, go to https://www.citylab.com/enviro...ia-wildfires/544679/]
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