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By Jack, Good360 Team Member
You never expect it to happen to you or your community—until it does. Wildfires always felt like a distant threat that was real, but unlikely to directly impact my life. But then one night, the fire wasn’t on a screen. It was glowing on the hillside across from my home. In an instant, my family became one of those families, and the abstract threat of wildfire turned into a devastating, life-altering reality.
We were returning home early from a trip, warned of severe Santa Ana winds. The power was already out when we arrived. On a drive to find dinner, we saw a fire starting under a transmission tower. My mom immediately called 911. What happened next was a blur of chaos. Within 20 minutes, a fast-moving fire warning. An hour later, a full evacuation order.
I stepped outside into an apocalyptic scene—the entire hillside was a terrifying, glowing orange. The next hour was a frantic rush to pack a lifetime of memories into our cars. The most overwhelming part wasn’t just the fear; it was the impossible weight of countless split-second decisions. What do you take? What do you leave behind? In the shock and panic, my parents and I weren’t thinking clearly. I remember my girlfriend having to remind us what to grab.
That night is a mix of stark, terrifying memories and the hazy blur of shock. I remember the smell of smoke, watching news reports of places I loved being consumed by flames, and then, the confirmation: our house was gone.
This experience gave me a new perspective on my role here at Good360, making our mission deeply personal. It reinforced the profound importance of preparing for the unexpected and the power of community in the face of disaster. My hope is that by sharing my story, I can help others prepare, so fewer families have to endure what mine did.
From Experience to Action: Practical Steps for Preparedness
Losing our home taught me a hard lesson: preparedness is not an abstract concept. It’s a critical lifeline. While you can’t control a wildfire, you can take meaningful steps to reduce its impact on your life and property.
Be Ready to Evacuate: The Go Bag and Family Plan
When the evacuation order came, our minds went blank. That experience highlighted the absolute necessity of being prepared to leave at a moment’s notice. You don’t know how much time you’ll have or what your mental state will be.
My colleague Jade, who lives near the fire-prone Columbia River Gorge, knows this reality well. “Pack that Go Bag!” she advises. “Have food, water, phone chargers, and all other necessary supplies. Keep it somewhere accessible, so you can feel and be ready for an evacuation.”
Assembling Your Go Bag
Every household should have an emergency kit ready for each person and pet. Keep it in an easily accessible location, like a hall closet or your car.
Your Go Bag should include:
- Water and Food: At least one gallon of water per person, per day, for several days, and non-perishable food.
- Health and Safety: A first-aid kit, prescription medications, face masks to filter smoke, and sanitation supplies.
- Essential Items: A flashlight, extra batteries, a hand-crank or battery-powered radio, and a multi-tool.
- Important Documents: Copies of passports, birth certificates, deeds, and insurance policies stored on a USB drive or in a waterproof bag.
- Financial: Cash in small bills and credit cards.
- Personal Items: A change of clothes, sturdy shoes, and glasses or contact lenses.
- Pet Supplies: Food, water, medications, and a carrier.
Creating a Family Emergency Plan
A plan ensures everyone in your household knows what to do, how to find each other, and how to communicate in an emergency.
- Designate a Meeting Place: Choose a primary spot a safe distance from your home and a secondary location outside your neighborhood in case you can’t get to the first one.
- Identify Evacuation Routes: Know at least two ways out of your neighborhood.
- Establish an Out-of-State Contact: It’s often easier to make a long-distance call than a local one during a disaster. Have everyone call this contact to check in.
- Practice: Run through your plan with your family to ensure everyone understands their role.
Creating Defensible Space & Hardening Your Home
For families like mine, rebuilding isn’t just about constructing new walls; it’s about building resilience against future fires. We’re facing a new reality, one where fire prevention for our homes or businesses is no longer optional but essential.
Defensible space is about creating a protective buffer between a building and flammable vegetation. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) emphasizes that this space is crucial for slowing or stopping wildfires and shielding your home from direct flames and radiant heat. This space is typically divided into three zones, each with specific recommendations. For homeowners, this begins with establishing a “non-combustible zone” of at least five feet around the structure, using materials like gravel or pavers.
My colleague Christine, who also lives in a high-risk, fire-prone area, knows this reality well. She takes a proactive approach by ensuring there are no highly flammable items near her home. “Whether it’s trees too close, wooden decks, or wood piles,” she explains, “that amount of fuel can make it so much harder to defend the space.” Her diligence is a powerful reminder of how we can empower ourselves to protect our homes.
Beyond landscaping, “hardening” your home against embers is crucial. Embers are the silent threat of wildfires, capable of traveling miles to ignite homes. Simple yet vital fixes include covering all exterior vents with 1/8-inch metal mesh and ensuring your roof is free of flammable debris like leaves and pine needles. These small adjustments can make an immense difference, offering a layer of protection that we, like many others, wish we had understood sooner. If you live in a fire-prone region, taking these actions proactively can fortify your home against the flames, potentially buying precious time for you and your neighbors to respond.
A Readiness Mindset
As wildfire seasons grow longer and more unpredictable, being aware and prepared is becoming a practical reality for many of us. This vital shift in mindset—from passive observation to active readiness—comes to life through real actions. Jade’s approach is a practical application of this mindset shift. She shares, “I monitor any wildfires in my area and am ready for an evacuation order. It may seem improbable, but the threat is always there.”
This readiness extends beyond just preparing for evacuation. Even if you aren’t directly in a fire’s path, the effects can be widespread. Christine adds a crucial point about the importance of preparing for poor air quality. “We purchased a couple of portable air purifiers and always have replacement filters,” she says. “Smoke can make the air nearly unbearable. Having a few rooms where the air is easier to breathe makes a difficult time a little easier.”
Being prepared means thinking through all the ways a disaster could affect your family’s well-being and taking steps now to minimize those impacts.
Community, Recovery, and Finding Hope
My experience has profoundly deepened my connection to my work at Good360. I have seen firsthand that disaster recovery is a prolonged and intricate journey, not a quick fix. In the immediate aftermath, communities are often flooded with well-intentioned but unneeded donations, creating a logistical nightmare for local organizations on the ground.
This is where thoughtful, coordinated support becomes vital. Good360 works with nonprofit partners on the ground to understand what is needed at every stage, delivering the right goods at the right time. This sustained support is what empowers communities to recover and rebuild with dignity.
I hope my story serves as a call to action. You may never have to face what my family did, and I truly hope you don’t. But it is far better to be prepared and never need it than to be caught unprepared in a moment of crisis. Take the time now to pack a Go Bag and make a family plan. Take stock of your home and its surroundings. These actions empower you and protect your loved ones.
On a separate note, I extend my heartfelt gratitude to all the donors who continue to step up and help the LA community rebuild. Your unwavering support strengthens communities and delivers much-needed hope when it’s needed most. Thank you.
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