Serendipity: An Insider’s View of the Jesusita Fire

The blaze comes too close for comfort — to within about 10 yards of home

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The Jesusita Fire burned through the newly landscaped backyard, to within about 10 yards of the house. The house across the street, as well as the one behind, are gone. (Karen Telleen-Lawton / Noozhawk photo)

By Karen Telleen-Lawton, Noozhawk Columnist | Published on 05.11.2009

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There’s nothing like a wildfire in your neighborhood to make you think about living lean, green and sustainably in the fiery West. The good thing is, firefighters did a masterful job battling the Jesusita Fire. The bad thing is, they’ve had way too much experience lately.

Karen Telleen-Lawton
Karen Telleen-Lawton

The police knocked on our door in the early afternoon of May 5, hand-delivering the mandatory evacuation message. We already had packed the cars using an evacuation list updated from the Tea Fire. We were just picking up second-tier items as we came upon them: an Indian rug, some jewelry, food from the refrigerator. I even added an entire change of clothes, instead of just underwear.

Even before the Tea Fire, I had organized the evacuation list by timetable. There’s a 10-minute list, which includes turning off the gas and loading the Prius with eight recycled plastic tubs filled loosely with scrapbooks and memorabilia. The tubs leave just enough room in the car for the driver, and each has space at the top for adding nonstored items: cell phone charger, camera and camera battery charger, back-up disk drive and a change of clothes.

The 20-minute to-do list included throwing the patio furniture off the deck — we learned this because Tea firefighters did this for us — and spraying fire foam to protect our Achilles’ heel: the wooden deck, including the windows and nearby shrubs.

With those things accomplished and a few more random items collected, we left about 45 minutes after our evacuation order. Truth is, I felt pretty prepared, even smug, about our efficient evacuation list as well as the defensible space around our house. The smugness wore off quickly the next afternoon, with the arrival of devastating sundowner winds. This was really real.

On Thursday, we set out at 5 a.m., prepared to park as close as we could and hike to whatever ridge was within sight of our street. About 6:30 a.m., we scrambled up the ridge where Mount Calvary burned in the Tea Fire, peering through binoculars at the new devastation below.

My first reaction at seeing the roof of the house was giddiness. I remember chatting with the bleary-eyed firefighters who were stationed there. Then we began placing calls to neighbors to tell them what we saw: The house across from ours, belonging to good friends the Ackerts, was gone, as was the house behind us. Most of the houses were forlorn islands in a black sea. We couldn’t actually see our house behind singed oaks, but we thought the roof was a good sign.

It was only on our return three days later that we learned our backyard burned to within about 10 yards of the house (no landscape insurance). I found a strange fascination with imagining how the flames progressed and where the firefighters must have stood. Hoses were attached serially and strewn around, later to melt and burn. Ash, twigs and mud debris littered the driveway. Smoke filled the house.

The Morongo Band of Mission Indians from Banning, headed by Fire Capt. Dan Casner, left a smudgy business card on the front door. Our next-door neighbors got a handwritten note praising our joint defensible space and crediting our work with their ability to save the homes.

Hail to the firefighters!

Click here for an evacuation checklist. Click here for more information about defensible space, and, when it reopens, click here to check out the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden nursery for native plants.

— Karen Telleen-Lawton’s column is a mélange of observations supporting sustainability. Graze her writing and excerpts from Canyon Voices: The Nature of Rattlesnake Canyon at www.CanyonVoices.com.

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» Egad on 05.12.09 @ 04:53 AM

“There’s nothing like a wildfire in your neighborhood to make you think about living lean, green and sustainability in the fiery West.”

“loading the Prius with eight recycled plastic tubs”

I’m going to hurl. Does everything have to be an opportunity to boast about how green we are for this psycho?

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» there once was a lady who lived in a glass shoe on 05.12.09 @ 08:06 AM

If you fancy yourself as being sooo green Kareen how about stopping being a hypocrite and downsize to a shoebox or a shoe! Look at the size of that house! What is your carbon footprint in the winter heating that thing? Those who live in glass houses… Gotta love when rich people can’t stop being liberal out of guilt, and go about telling us all how we should live.

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» DAVE PHILLIPS in a rural UT log cabin. on 05.12.09 @ 09:23 AM

Any one’s home must be considered a castle, whatever the size - be it large or small. Real estate ‘envy’ is passe. Read George Orwell’s “1984” for more insights, please.

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» a reader on 05.12.09 @ 11:33 AM

I was going to comment and just say, wow, that’s an intense experience.  But, yikes, what nasty comments!  This fire was a big deal for a lot of people, tragic for some and nearly tragic for others.  In a lot of ways people came together and realized that we are all vulnerable and reliant on each other.  I was one of the many who were evacuated, and was grateful for all the people (of all income brackets) who were being of help to one another, not to mention the firefighters and others who did amazing work.  I think it’s safe to say that they protected our whole city.  It’s sad to see that some people now are turning on others anonymously.

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» DAVE in UT. on 05.13.09 @ 01:12 AM

AMEN, “...reader”!  IT IS MY FERVANT HOPE AND CONSTANT PRAYER: The ‘thank you bumper stickers” being distributed—to honor first responders—require a second then third printing to meet the demand!

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» Fellow Rattlesnake Canyon Resident on 05.13.09 @ 11:33 AM

Re: carbon footprint for heating…

I can tell you from experience, one of the advantages of living in Rattlesnake Canyon is that you turn on the heat less than five days a year and you turn on the air conditioning just about as infrequently…although the old timers/more hardy probably make it through every year never turning on either.

re: green psycho comments…this is a column about Sustainability…it does not preach greener than though, it shines a light on those that are making progress in that direction in a way that helps the rest of us realize it’s possible.  However, I’m still not ready to sell my house in the hills, either. 

Hypocritical?  In some ways…but I’m learning and trying…

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» Lois Hamilton on 05.15.09 @ 06:43 AM

I applaud your efforts in supporting sustainability and of landscaping your home to protect it. 
CONGRATULATIONS!  I am so glad that your home was saved!
I really enjoy your writing.
Lois

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» flatlander on 05.26.09 @ 05:35 AM

I am glad your house was saved and that of others, but I, too, was annoyed at the Prius reference. Actually, it’s much more sustainable, if that matters, to drive an old car rather than a new or newish Prius or other green status symbol.

I also honor the firemen, but think that those who live in the hills (with all that goes with that, phenomenenal views, privacy, wildness AND exposure to wildfires) should subsidize heavily the fire departments.

Those majority of us in the city, tenants and homeowners, without the risk of wildfire and without the pleasures of the hills help support your life styles and often get nothing but lectures in return. It’s very similar to Prop 13, the newcomers or new purchasers support the large estates of old-timers, those before 1976. I hope there is a property tax surcharge on all properties in high fire risk areas (and that tax go directly to the various fire departments.)

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