S1: Welcome in San Diego. I'm Jade Hindman. Today we are talking about the California wildfires and how you can help the people who are now displaced. This is KPBS Midday Edition , connecting our communities through conversation. We've all been thinking about how to help people impacted by the wildfires in Los Angeles. Whether it's monetary donations or volunteering your time. There's a lot you can do to help those impacted. It's also important to think about what's actually helpful for survivors and what's not. Here to share a personal perspective is Sandra Younger. She lost her home in the 2003 Cedar Fire in San Diego County. That fire killed 15 people and destroyed more than 2200 homes. At that time , it was the largest and most destructive fire in California's history. Sandra is also the author of The Fire Outside My Window. Sandra , thanks for being here.
S2: Thank you. Jade , I'm honored to be here.
S1: Well , before we talk about your experience with the Cedar Fire , I want to check in on how you're doing right now. I know San Diego is under a red flag warning through Wednesday evening.
S2: Yes. It is very triggering to see this happening to other people. We know how devastating it is. We know all of all of us in San Diego who have been through this. And it's many , many thousands of us. We know how devastating and how , um , how enormous the suffering is. So it's it's triggering to see it. Honestly , I have tried not to expose myself to too much of the news , especially the videos. And it's also a little nerve wracking. We're all on edge because we are also under a red flag warning , and that means we have to be ready to go at any moment. Right.
S1: Right. And you mentioned , you know , this whole situation being so nerve wracking. I can only imagine how that is and what watching the fires in Los Angeles is like. Um , can you tell me more of how that's been for you ? Just what ? Emotions. Memories.
S2: A fire like this or any sort of disaster like this. Personalized is a line drawn down the middle of your life. So these people will most likely always speak in the future of their life before and after the fire. It's , um , it's an altering Experience. And since we do know the path that they're on , and we do know that there's so many ups and downs , it's heart wrenching to see it. To see other people suffering what we've suffered and to be concerned that it could happen to us again. Because the thing is , once it happens to you , you know it can you can no longer say , oh , well , that won't happen to me.
S1: You know , you wrote a guidebook for disaster survivors , and in writing your book , you spoke to more than 100 firefighter survivors and loved ones of those who lost their lives.
S2: Um , why it moved so far , so fast. Um , I was a journalist like you at the time. In fact , at the time , I was working here at San Diego State University as the magazine editor. So for me , the catharsis in coming back , um , was to go ask a lot of questions. That's what we journalists do. And so I wanted to know what just happened to me here. So I did learn a lot about the origins of the fire. I learned a lot about firefighting. I learned what incredible professionals and humanitarians are. Firefighters are. I get frustrated now when I hear blame being pointed at our firefighters. They are the best in the world. And , uh , I learned to know many of them as personal friends , which was , for me , a great blessing that came from the fire.
S1:
S2: I think it gives a survivor's experience. It will help to normalize that experience for people. There are things that you can't know until you go through something. So when they see us walk through this in the book , they might realize that these different stages are normal. It's normal to have flashbacks. It's normal to have physical symptoms in and not to be able to sleep. All of that is normal in the immediate aftermath of a disaster , but I hope the main thing that they learn is that you can come back , that we are innately resilient down to our DNA. And not only that , but we can build that innate resilience , which is where the second publication I wrote comes in , and I call it the Comeback Formula. It's a much shorter read of five common sense , very powerful practices that have been proven to build our resilience. And when we're more resilient , it helps to smooth and speed what I call the comeback journey. So that's available actually as a gift at Comeback Formula that I would love to share with anyone who has just come out of these fires.
S1: Well , you know , I'm sure that it is so incredibly helpful for people to be able to pick up your book and see themselves reflected in your writing and such heart wrenching circumstances.
S2: I discovered a quote , first of all , from Viktor Frankl. He was a psychiatrist who was caught up in the Holocaust , a Jewish man , and he survived. His family did not. And he came out of that crucible of enormous suffering and wrote one of the most beautiful books. It's very short. I recommend it called Man's Search for meaning , and what Viktor Frankl said that I discovered shortly after the fire that stuck with me , was that it is the last of the human freedoms to choose our own attitude in any given set of circumstances , to choose our own way. So what that taught me was that we can't always have control over the things that happen to us , but we can always choose our response. And because I'm a storyteller , I like to say you can choose your story. How are you going to move forward ? Are you going to be a victim ? Are you going to think of yourself as a victim ? Because certainly a lot of people are telling you that or calling you that , or are you going to think of yourself as a survivor on the journey to become a thriver , maybe even a giver giving to other people from what you've learned. Maybe even a change or changing things that need to be changed to prevent or mitigate these sorts of situations in the future.
S1:
S2: And it's hard to know how. So I did make a little list here of what's helpful truly and what's not so helpful. The first thing is what do you give to a fire survivor ? Here's what's not helpful. Your castoffs. Your hand-me-downs. I , for example , had a friend who wrote me and said , I'm sending you a box of clothes. Don't worry , they're designer clothes. And they were Jade. But from the 80s. I mean , we're talking about a purple velour sweatsuit with shoulder pads. So that was well-meaning but not so helpful. What's helpful is if if you don't know anyone personally affected , give to these verified organizations that you know you can trust to distribute the funds like the Red cross , a humane society. If you know someone personally. How about gift cards ? Gift cards allows them to get whatever they want. You know they have lost their favorite things , and it's not going to make them feel better to get somebody's old sorority t shirt from college , you know ? So if they have a gift card , they can buy new things that are that are going to be special to them. And then we could talk about what to do that's helpful or not helpful please. Okay. So what is not so helpful is anything that puts a burden on the survivor. Like calling and asking. Call me back right after the fire. Our phone. My phone never stopped ringing , and everybody I had ever known wanted to call me and see if I was okay and hear my story , and and that's fine , you know , bless them for caring. But I can't get back to everybody because I'm busy buying , you know , underwear because you don't have anything. A toothbrush , toothpaste. Another well-intentioned gesture is if you're an acquaintance of someone and you invite them over to dinner , and it's a one time thing and you wouldn't normally invite them to dinner , you're not going to see them again. And that puts they may want to come , but it also kind of puts a burden on them to get dressed and be sociable and see someone else's beautiful house and all the things that someone else has in their home. It's a burden. It can be in the same way. It's not helpful to say to them , let me know if there's anything I can do , because that means they have to get back to you now. Right. Right. It's more helpful to say , what do you need ? How can I help ? What can I take off your plate right now ? It's more helpful to be there for them in the long haul. We had these great friends who would invite us over about every month for dinner , and they were truly close friends , and they invited us repeatedly , and they would draw us out to talk about the fire and to talk about our experiences , because they knew we had been traumatized , and they knew that telling our story to trusted listeners is one way we overcome trauma. So they were with us for the long haul for about a year. They did this. So your friends who are survivors , let them talk when they're ready. And in the meantime , help them with their to do list , help them run errands , help them with the paperwork. There's tons of that. Mhm.
S3: Mhm. That's.
S1: That's. That is so very , very true. Um you know you also talk a lot about the emotional impact , you know , of a loss like this obviously. But I also want to talk about the physical safety.
S2: It tells you how to prepare your house , how to pack a go bag , which we all need to have personally right now. I had to dig for my makeup this morning because I have my car packed with everything I would need to take with me if I had to evacuate. I've buttoned up my house. I've brought in everything that is flammable around my house. Cushions from lawn chairs , even a doormat I took in the umbrellas , a wreath. Any sort of flammable objects. Move everything else away from your home and look at your house and say , what would I not be able to replace ? What would I need for , say , a three day emergency ? You want to provide for your pets and think in terms of not what you can replace , but what you could not replace. Heirlooms. Little things that your kids made to in school. Pre-digital photos. Those are the things that you really grieve over the most. Almost everything else can be replaced.
S1: You know , and I'm hearing you , you say all that and how you've really prepared yourself to have to pick up and go at this moment in time. I don't know. Is is how how is living on the edge like that.
S2: And I think everyone who lives in the back country feels that , especially those of us who have been through this in the big fires that we've had. It makes you nervous. When the wind blows , it's hard to sleep. I slept a couple of nights last week on the couch downstairs in my clothes , in case I had to leave in the middle of the night. That's. That's a little bit of PTSD and a whole lot of being more prepared than I was last time. Because last time I woke up in the middle of the night to see fire outside my window , which is where I got the title of my book , and we had to drive out through flames to escape. We were so fortunate because 12 of the 15 fatalities in the Cedar Fire were also in Wildcat Canyon , and obviously they did not make it out.
S1:
S2: Survivors are neither of those. They are courageous , determined. We are finding power we never knew we had. I wish instead that people had been more empowering to to show respect and support and encouragement by saying , you are stronger than you know. I'm here anytime. It would help to talk. I'm keeping you in my heart. I'm sending you love and strength. Those are so much more helpful than the platitudes and the pity that we got. Oh , you poor thing. Oh , I'm keeping you in my thoughts and prayers and everything happens for a reason. Or the at least statements. Well , at least you had insurance. Or at least you know , you you got out. Well , of course , that wasn't the least. That was the most we survived. But there is no at least here. There is no way to sugarcoat this. Losing your home , everything you own , all of your favorite things , losing your neighborhood , your sense of place that is a very bitter pill and platitudes won't cut it.
S1: That is so helpful to hear because , you know , so often I think , you know , you don't know what to say to be helpful for folks in situations like this.
S2: There is lots and lots of , um , information online for the physical resources. You know , the places you can go get food , the places you can get your paperwork handled , that sort of thing. But what I've noticed in disaster recovery , and I've been involved in a lot of disasters now working with emergency managers and fire leaders is that this emotional recovery , personal recovery , in other words , how to heal your hearts and minds , not just to rebuild your house. That seems to be a missing link. Jade , when we talk about community disaster recovery. So that's why I wrote this guidebook to personal resilience. I found there were five practices that really help with our mindset , and the mindset is crucial in getting through this. They are. Gratitude. Patience with the pain. Asking for help. Accepting help. Choosing your story. We mentioned that and to keep moving forward. Just baby steps at a time. And in this guide that I wrote for other fire survivors or disaster survivors , I go into each of those in detail and actually give examples and exercises to implement those in your life , because that will help to heal hearts and minds.
S1: It's such great advice , and of course you can find those resources and more at KPBS. I've been speaking with Sandra Younger. She is the author of The Fire Outside My Window , detailing her experience surviving the 2003 Cedar Fire. Sandra , thank you so much for being on the show today.
S2: Thank you.
S1: Coming up , a local organization is working to keep pets that survived the LA wildfire safe.
S4: Have some sort of kit that you keep particularly around fire season. And in times when you're starting to hear about fires , keep a kit in the trunk of your car with you. And that should include all of the things that you would need for your pet if you were going to be away for a couple of weeks.
S1: KPBS Midday Edition is back after the break. Welcome back to KPBS Midday Edition. I'm Jade Hindman. Many San Diegans are closely impacted by the Los Angeles wildfires. Loved ones have lost everything. Hometowns are forever changed. Folks in our community may be looking for ways to help. A number of San Diego nonprofits are asking for volunteers. Local animal rescues are helping evacuate animals from the Eaton Wildfire in Pasadena. Here's Jordan Fry , marketing manager for the San Diego Humane Society.
S5: We're really grateful to be able to help in an emergency , just as we know our animal welfare partners in California and beyond would help us as well. We know that San Diego is no no stranger to wildfires and emergencies as well.
S1: The Helen Woodward Animal Center in Rancho Santa Fe is another group supporting L.A. fire survivors and their pets. They're making trips to L.A. with supplies , and they're offering free kennel space to anyone who lost their homes and needs to board animals. As of today , they're pausing donations because their storage spaces are full , but they'll be taking more soon. Public Relations Director Jessica Kirk joins me now. Jessica , welcome.
S4: Thank you so much.
S1: Well , you know , it's nice to have you here. You all are making trips up to Los Angeles to provide supplies and help.
S4: Um , the main challenge that they're running into is there are a lot of lost pets , and so they're wanting to take those pets in , and some have been injured and burned. Um , happily , a lot of their animals that were in the shelter before the fire have been pulled. And Helen Woodward is standing by to take more of those if they have , you know , their own orphaned pets that they'd like to get down here to get adopted here so that they can pull in the community pets , the ones that have been lost , the ones that have been injured. We don't obviously want to pull any animals from LA because we want them to them to be reunited with their families. So opening up that kennel space is really crucial right now. Um , they're also looking. Um , another thing that they've asked us a lot for a lot of and we've been bringing them up are crates and kennels to hold pets and move pets , um , back and forth. They are seeing a large outpouring of help from people , obviously. But I do want to remind people that this is going to be a long process. So , um , donations are going to be really needed in the upcoming weeks when people have kind of forgotten and the fires are gone. And as far as financial donations , which they're also asking for , we are asking people to go directly to the SPCA in LA. They the link is SPCA L.A. and we want that money to go straight to them. If you that's a lot of letters and you don't know what I said , just go on to animal center and we have a button that goes directly to the SPCA.
S1: LA and so are you eventually prepared to take in animals displaced from Los Angeles ? Absolutely.
S4: And we have done so before. I mean , the Maui fires , they sent a number of the animals to us , um , various hurricanes. We have really good partners up there that we love to help in any way that we can. So we are absolutely willing and happy to take animals. We just want to make sure that right now , while they're pulling in lost pets , that we're not pulling any of those animals because we want those animals to be reunited with their families. So we are keeping in close contact with them , and we stand by ready to do whatever needs to be done to get those animals into a good location.
S1: Recently , I saw a video clip of a bobcat and her cubs , um , lingering down the interstate up in L.A. and so I'm not sure if you can answer this question , but how are wildlife displaced and affected during a time like this ? I mean.
S4: I mean , it's extremely upsetting to me. I saw , um , some pictures of and this is not wildlife , but I saw some alpacas sitting on the beach. Um , you know , we're seeing it's it's it's a it's a really unprecedented situation. And I know that a lot of the places where those wildlife lived , I mean , that's a lot of the areas where it burned because there was , you know. So , I mean , I'm sure that the the wildlife groups will be looking to see how they can help , but unfortunately , I'm sure quite a few of them were lost. You know that that's the time when we lose a lot of our our beautiful animals. So , um , I'm sure , you know , groups are going out to see what they can do and who they can find and who they can save. But it's a very sad situation. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. And it's important to note that there are groups that specialize in supporting wildlife. It's not just something that people can walk up and and help wildlife. Right. Right.
S4: Right. Very , very good point. Very , very good point. Even even coyotes that sometimes you'll see a coyote and it looks like a little dog , and they're very sweet. But it is really important not to approach wildlife and to to leave that to the specialist. And there are groups. There definitely are. There's one down here in San Diego. I'm sure there are many up in LA. I'm sure that they are very hard at work as well , and they probably even have some lists on their websites of if somebody wanted to help wildlife , they're probably other things that , you know , we're thinking of , of the the dogs and cats that we work with on a regular basis. But there are probably some specialty needs for wildlife. And I would imagine that probably going to those websites and seeing what you can do if you want to help them would be lovely as well. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. Well , what advice do you have for people who may be preparing for possible wildfires and making sure their animals are safe and accounted for ? Yes.
S4: So , I mean , this is a really you know , I have a friend who lost , um , her home in , um , a fire not too long ago , and she left. She was evacuated. She took her dogs with her and just assumed that she'd be back. And she when she never got back , the house was gone. Um , one of the things to remember all the time is to have some sort of a kit that you keep particularly around fire season. And in times when you're starting to hear about fires. Keep a kit in the trunk of your car with you , and that should include all of the things that you would need for your pet if you were going to be away for a couple of weeks. One of the things to remember , obviously , medications , bedding , um , their food , um , you know , it is something that we don't really think about if something disastrous happened , if it was an earthquake. Sometimes even our water would be affected. So having bottled water that you can and water bowls for your pets. Putting a little kind of , uh , emergency case in the back of your car so that if you need to evacuate with your pets is really , really a great idea. And then the other thing I would say is make sure you're getting current photos of your pets. Of course , we want your pets to be microchipped so that if they get lost that they we have a way for people to place you back with your pets. Um , but having a current photo so that you can print that and share that if your pet is lost , um , all of those things are going to help make sure that you keep your pet with you. Or if they do become lost , you have a way to look for them.
S1: I've been speaking with Jessica Gerke , public relations director for the Helen Woodward Animal Center in Rancho Santa Fe. Jessica , thank you so much.
S4: Thank you so much.
S1: That's our show for today. I'm your host , Jade Hindman. Thanks for tuning in to Midday Edition. Be sure to have a great day on purpose , everyone.
