My elderly in-laws live in neighboring Rancho Bernardo and it didn’t take us long to find out that most of that town had been evacuated also. I cut my trip short and hopped the next flight back to San Diego. As the airline circled the city for landing, there were fires everywhere. From that height, we could see what looked like dozens of different patches of smoke and flames. It really looked like a war zone.
On the ground you could taste and smell the smoke everywhere. Cell phone use was extremely intermittent. We were able to reach the in-laws briefly and found them rattled and disoriented. They were unable to give us a clear answer about where they were before the call went dead. One thing was certain, the Freeways were closed preventing us from getting anywhere near our house in South Escondido. We went to the area where we thought the in-laws had evacuated to, but could not find them. We searched for an hour or so and then found a Denny’s open serving only a couple of menu items but it was a welcome sight since we had nothing since breakfast at 9am Boston time.
I found a place to plug in, and recharge my cell phone while we ate, and again picked up the search for the in-laws. At about 11pm, we finally found them in an ‘overflow’ shelter in Poway. We stayed camped out in the parking lot for another few hours. I heard on the radio that the Northbound Freeway had opened up so I decided to take a drive to see if I could fine out if our home was still standing. The drive North in the wee hours of morning was frightening. I could see on both sides of the Freeway where the fire had been. The Southbound lanes were closed and several trucks were still fighting flames where Lake Hodges comes under the Freeway near Palmerado Rd. Police had most of the exits barricaded and guarded. Northbound Freeway was closed at the 78 but I was able to take the last open exit and reach my house at about 1am. Everything was safe. There was an eerie quiet as I sat on the porch for a few minutes trying to assess whether or not it was safe to bring the family up from the shelter. I could hear only distant sirens, and could not see smoke or flame from my vantage point so I called and had the family make the drive up to our house. We spent a mostly sleepless night on Monday getting up every few minutes to make sure no flames were approaching. We gathered a few valuables and put them into our cars incase we had to make a hasty exit. At about 10am Tuesday morning, the Del Dios fire was in full blaze and I could see flames and smoke getting closer and closer. Helicopters were circling nearly overhead. When I saw a plume of smoke some thirty feet tall rise up above the trees that looked like it was only a block or so away, I decided it was time to make our escape back to the shelter. The folks at the shelter were all very nice, and extremely considerate of my fragile in-laws. They made them feel as welcome and safe as was possible under the circumstances. We stayed at the shelter for a few hours and watched the television for continuous coverage of the fires. By afternoon, they had the Del Dios fire under control and it looked like it was safe for us to return. The Freeways were more operational at this point and only a few exits in the Rancho Bernardo area were still barricaded. We were happy to learn that one of our favorite watering holes was open in Caramel Mountain area so we went there for a hot dinner. Everyone was talking about their experiences.
Wednesday morning after breakfast, the in-laws were able to get back to their home. They were spared too, except that the electricity had been off for two days and everything in their refrigerator/freezer was spoiled. I had gotten up quite early and sat out on the porch that morning. In the morning light, it looked a little like a sprinkle of fresh snow had fallen during the night… but this time it wasn’t snow. It was a fine layer of ash.
By Thursday, things had gotten back almost to normal. Day jobs, Pets, responsibilities, all back in place as they should be. I was somewhat disappointed to discover that a couple of the guys in the band had left the area during the fires, and would not be able to make it back in time for our show at the Boat & Ski club. I had to cancel, nearly last minute, which is not something I like doing. Under the circumstances, it was ok… but I’ve always been a ‘The Show Must Go On” kinda guy. Have no fear, the Dec 7th show will go on as planned! Some of the things I found the most interesting about the whole were how everyone really pulls together when things get tough. People were far friendlier, and more considerate during this crisis than under normal circumstances. Signs began to spring up around the neighborhood thanking Police and Firefighters. One of my local pubs, sent word out the firefighters that they were welcome to come by for free dinners. I was there when a whole squad of them parked their fire trucks in the lot and came in. The crowd stood up and applauded. It was nice to see them being recognized for their heroic efforts. I was also surprised at how resilient people are. Even those who lost everything seemed to bounce back remarkably. All in all, everyone did a fantastic job dealing with this crisis. People reached out to each other, volunteerism was so plentiful that people had to be turned away. I feel very lucky in that no one I know was really hurt or displaced. Considering the magnitude of the event, very few people were. The whole thing give me a renewed faith in human nature, and makes me proud to call myself a San Diegan. | 
