News Flash! I’m back in the canyon!
Saturday, Sunday and Monday were all about cleaning and raking and fixing fencing and running around and putting out fires (literally and figuratively!) By the end of the day yesterday I was tired and achy, covered with dirt and ash, my lungs felt like they were full of sand, my sinuses felt like they were full of gravel, and my fingers were cut and bleeding from twisting baling wire around fence posts.
That said, we were able to get enough done so that I could return to the canyon. So, last night, for the first time since the Station Fire raged through Big Tujunga Canyon on August 29, the dogs and I slept at home.
It was hard to leave the Dorskys and their home in Burbank. It hasn’t been anything like being a house “guest”. They welcomed me into their lives and their family so completely that a big part of me didn’t want to leave. Still, since my house is intact and the yard has been cleared, there was no logical reason to stay. And, as Daniel and I discussed, there are always opportunities for “sleepovers”.
Being back home is strange to say the least. So much is the same, and so much is changed forever. It will be a relief when power gets restored, which is due to happen some 3-7 weeks from now, mainly because the noise from the generator is an unpleasant and constant reminder that life is out of balance. It’s normally so peaceful here, and the constant machine sound is jarring compared with the otherwise tranquil surroundings of the canyon, charred hillsides, burned foundations and all.
In many ways the yard is better than it was before, in spite of the ash and scorched areas that remain from the fire. The workers I hired to help me clear the debris did an excellent job. The fence may finally have no remaining gaps or holes for Louie to escape through. The oleander is completely gone, as are all the succulents and other non-native plants I was going to have to rip out anyway. But for the first time that I can recall, I feel the need to chain and lock my gates when I leave the house, and before I go to sleep at night.
I also have to work out new systems to deal with the power situation. I don’t want to run the generator all night, or all day when I’m away from home, so I need to address hot water issues and keeping the fridge cold while power is down. Again, these will work themselves out over time, but it’s figuring them out that is awkward.
And there is more. It turns out that I don’t have fire insurance after all. The California FAIR Plan insurance could be paid in one or two payments. I paid the first of the two installments in November or December when it came due, but the end of February work ran out again. Although I started a new job (that I’m desperately trying to leave) the end of April, when the second payment came due, the company only pays once a month. By the time I got paid by them I was a lunatic trying to keep up with all the classes they wanted me to teach. (Remember, this is the same company that sent me on the Hawaiian trip from Hell! That one trip is a perfect metaphor of how they manage everything… BADLY!) My insurance agent has been trying to find some way to get help for me, but it’s going to have to come through other channels.
Long story short, I let the insurance payment slip though the cracks, like so many other things since I started work with this company. So, had the house burned I would now be destitute. Chalk this up as the final straw in an on-going series of ridiculous and avoidable crises they have brought to my life. And as yet another miracle on the list of miracles I have been blessed to receive these past weeks.
On the plus side, this coming weekend I will spend both Saturday and Sunday in a workshop prepping for my technical trainer certification. So, by the end of the month I will have my CTT+ cert in the bag, which will make other instructor certifications, and related work opportunities, much easier to achieve.
More as it becomes available. And thank you all for your love, support, thoughts, prayers and everything!
Bronwen
P.S. Since the power/phone lines were incinerated with the rest of the forest, it will be weeks before phone service is restored to my house. So if you don’t get a return phone call right away, don’t freak!!! It just means I haven’t got the message, but I will call back as soon as I come down the hill.
