Monday started off like any other day. I got up, went to work, and started my day. A pretty bad fire had started quite a distance from my workplace, but nowhere near our house. Our house was in the other direction. People in the Trabuco canyon and Rancho Santa Margarita areas were starting to be evacuated. Still no sense of danger to us at all. The fire grew very quickly. More and more people in Orange County were being evacuated. So far no one in Riverside County were, which is where we lived. Overnight we found out that the fire had started moving up the back of the mountain, towards our house, on the East side of Ortega Highway, which we live off of. It was moving quick. Soon we were under voluntary evacuation. This is not our first rodeo, so I immediately called Joe and told him to start packing. Thank God he is off on Tuesdays. With a fire that size, moving as quickly as it was, things could change in an instant.
And they did.
This is the view from the parking lot of the rv park where we live. It was coming our way very quickly.
Very soon after voluntary evacuation were given, mandatory orders were put into place. The sheriff came around and started telling people to leave now. Joe began quickly filling the car with the belongings he thought we might need. The things you think you might need in an emergency situation? You probably don’t. The only things I wanted from the house were scrapbooks and photos, a few items of clothing and our animals. (And Joe of course). Nothing else matters in that situation. He packed as much as he could in our little car, plus three animal carriers. The car was stuffed to the brim. Soon he was on his way to meet me at work.
The last photo he took as he drove down Ortega Highway to get to safety. Terrifying
While is was waiting for him at work(not much work was getting done), I was in search of a pet friendly hotel to bring our zoo to until it was safe to return home. I had no luck. All of the nearby hotels were booked solid. Too many other communities had already been evacuated and filled up all of the hotels. I was panicking. I extended our search for several more miles and found a motel by the beach, about twenty five minutes from my workplace. They did not take pets, but made an exception for us due to the evacuation. I did not look at the reviews for this place. It was cheap, and I was just happy to have a safe place to go. When we got there, things seemed….off. There were a ton of people loitering around, smoking and drinking. There seemed to be a small population of homeless men hanging around on the patio too. The small office was trippy. Psychedelic lights flashing all over the walls and ceilings. Tye Dye decorations, with a plethora of pot leaves mixed in. The “Manager” was playing a guitar when I entered the office. I didn’t feel unsafe, but the men out front made me uneasy. I noticed a lot of people seemed to be living there long term, and I found out later it was because they had very cheap weekly rates. As soon as we got into the room I thought Joe was going to have a heart attack. This room was NOT clean. Not by any means. I don’t even think the sheets were fresh. Joe was like “Nope. We’re sleeping in our cars”. It was that bad. I made the manager come check it out, and he went in and cleaned it himself, saying “Oops, my bad”. “I thought it had already been cleaned”. Dude, really?! Meanwhile two cats and a dog are in our car, freaking out. After he “cleaned” the room, we started bringing stuff in. There were cigarette burns in the kitchen. The curtains had stains on them. The bedspreads had large holes in them. Joe had me go to the store immediately and buy some Clorox wipes. He used an entire container wiping down every single surface in that room, including the walls. Joe can be a bit of a germaphobe, but in this case it was warranted. Then we checked the bed for bed bugs (none, thank God). It was seven o’clock by that time, we hadn’t eaten and we were exhausted. I ran and got some food, we ate and then fell I into bed. Neither of us got very much sleep that night. After goggling the motel, I saw it was a two star motel. Two stars. Yikes! Won’t be staying there again any time soon!
On Wednesday I asked Joe to stay home from work so he could find us a better hotel and stay with the animals. I called around and got the last room at a Staybridge hotel, 20 minutes from my work, and ten minutes from Joe’s. We got the last room. The entire hotel was booked except for this one room. Thank you God. I was able to get off at noon to help Joe with the transfer to the new hotel. This hotel was more like what we were expecting. It was NICE. It had a small kitchenette. Body wash, shampoo and conditioner in the shower (I had forgotten all of my toiletries). This will do. The animals were finally let free. They hid under the bed for a whole day, but have finally ventured out and have become somewhat more comfortable. It’s still a lot having two cats, a dog and two adults in a small hotel room. Just….a lot.
I called our renter’s insurance and they transferred me the money to pay for five days at the hotel. We were so relieved. Finally things started to feel a little more “normal”, whatever that means in this situation.
On Thursday we both desperately had to go back to work. The hotel policy is that all pets must be in a crate when you are not in the room with them. Off we went to petsmart to purchase a crate Now, I know that Lola did not do well in crates. If fact, she hated them and hadn’t been in one since she was a baby. I wasn’t sure how this would go. I went off to work first, and Joe put her in the crate and went off to work about a half an hour later. Everything seemed to be fine. No call from the hotel telling us that she was barking. When I pulled into the hotel parking lot on Thursday night, I could hear her from the parking lot. She was barking and crying and making SO much noise. LOUDLY. I have no idea how long she was doing this. I’m hoping she heard my car coming into the parking lot and it had started then. I have no idea how long she was carrying on like that. So I was stuck in the hotel room with her, because I couldn’t leave her alone. So boring. On Fridays Joe goes to work early, so I was the one who had to walk her and put her in her crate. This did not go well, right from the start. She started barking and carrying on, crying the minute I put her in there I rushed off to work, hoping that once I left she would be okay. Nope. The hotel called me 10 minutes later, letting me know that she was being too loud and I had to come and get her. Another day of missed work. Sigh. The lost wages were starting to build up.
That’s the one thing that you don’t think about when you are displaced from your home. We are bleeding money right now I am so grateful that the renter’s insurance paid for our hotel because if they hadn’t, we would be screwed. It’s the take out, and groceries, and clothing that are adding up. Joe packed me ten T-shirts and zero pairs of pants. lol. I had to do a pick up order at Target for some jeans. I have no idea if renter’s insurance will cover that. I’m just praying that it will all work out and we will recoup some of the money we have spent.
That being said, we are blessed and lucky to have a home to go home to at all. The town three miles up the hill from us suffered devastating loss. Homes burned to the ground. I can’t fathom the fear and pain those people have, and will continue to suffer in the months and years to come. Please send prayers and good thoughts to those affected in El Cariso village. They need them. Thank you.
I think that about sums our week. We are waiting until the power comes back at our place before returning home, which could be until this coming Wednesday. Three more days in a hotel. We may take a drive tomorrow with Lola, just to get out. I’m going a little stir crazy here.
Thank you for all of your support and prayers and good vibes being sent our way. We can feel them and they are greatly appreciated. Soon we’ll be back home and this will be a just another story we tell people of our time living in our tiny house in the mountains. Until then, we will be thankful for our safety and a home to return to.
