![\"\"](\"https:\/\/bone-in-the-throat.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/IMG_3412.png\" "\\"IMG_3412.png\\"")
As I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard by now, there are multiple fires burning in Southern California.<\/p>\nAs I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard by now, there are multiple fires burning in Southern California.<\/p>\n
Tuesday afternoon I got an evacuation notice on my phone. Then, there was a helicopter flying overhead announcing mandatory evacuation. Then there was another evacuation notice on my phone, and finally there was the sheriffs department driving up & down the streets announcing evacuation on their loudspeakers.<\/p>\n
Hmm, says I, they must want us to leave.<\/p>\n
I suspected it was coming and I\u2019d already planned to stage stuff in the event there was an evacuation. I didn\u2019t get a chance to execute my cunning plan before the evacuation was upon me.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/bone-in-the-throat.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/IMG_3418.png\" "\\"IMG_3418.png\\"")
So I grabbed some stuff, put the dog in the car and away we went.\u00a0<\/p>\n
By the time we left the house, it looked very much like somehow the neighborhood had been relocated to Mars on a very bad day.<\/p>\n
Jesse was freaked out and would not settle down.<\/p>\n
I was annoyed by that and of course the usual California driving skills or more properly lack thereof.<\/p>\n
I made a brief stop, or what was supposed to be a brief stop at a storage locker where I unloaded a bunch of stuff in an attempt to give the dog more room to lie down & relax. This as it turns out was an error.<\/p>\n
While I was able to offload, I wasn\u2019t able to get back on the damn freeway. Either the exits were closed, or they were blocked by the aforementioned Excellent California Drivers. Many of whom wouldn\u2019t allow a change of lanes. At least one of whom used the emergency lane to \u201cget ahead\u201d and forced me out of the lane so I was unable to get on the freeway safely.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mind you by this point we were 15 – 20 miles away from the evacuation zone and in no danger whatsoever. This was just normal California assholery. It is also the kind of behavior that begets freeway shootings.<\/p>\n
I figured \u201cScrew it\u201d and stopped for gas. Then I found a whole string of entrance ramps blocked off forcing me to take surface streets parallel to the freeway until just before Pomona.<\/p>\n
Once on the freeway it was a simple matter to get to Orange County and stay with some friends. It\u2019s good to have great friends that will put you up in a pinch. It\u2019s even better to have friends that will put you and your big ass dog up when they have a lovely pet free home and it is pet free for a reason.<\/p>\n
My friends have gone above and beyond in this instance and I truly have no idea how to thank them.<\/p>\n
At this point I know the firefighters are doing all they can do. I know that there\u2019re no guarantees but I hate not knowing what is likely to happen. Is my house going to burn? Is it not? If it burns, then I have a clear direction. If it\u2019s not going to burn, I\u2019d really rather be home and not imposing on my friends like this.<\/p>\n
In an attempt to minimize the mess and stuff that a dog invariably brings into your life, I had Jesse groomed today, while I was at it I had my car washed and my hair cut too. My hope with Jesse being groomed was that he\u2019d shed a little less and wouldn\u2019t be in any way offensive in terms of dog stink.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s been sleeping since we got back and I know I\u2019m going to have to take him out on at least one, maybe two more walks tonight.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t really think about it, but having a fenced in back yard is super nice. Their yard is not fenced in, so I\u2019ve been walking Jesse on his leash a lot. Normally Jesse & I go for our morning walk, then I leave the sliders open so he comes and goes as he wishes the rest of the day.<\/p>\n
If I move off the mountain, either because of the house burning down, or just because It\u2019s time for me to move on, I will be looking for new digs that have a fenced in back yard after this experience, I\u2019ve decided that is a must have.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve heard by now, there are multiple fires burning in Southern California. Tuesday afternoon I got an evacuation notice on my phone. Then, there was a helicopter flying overhead announcing mandatory evacuation. Then there was another evacuation notice on my phone, and finally there was the sheriffs department driving up & down … <\/p>\n