Evacuated

On Thursday morning, my barn was put on an evacuation warning list. We were right at the edge of it, so we figured we'd be fine.

Saying goodbye, hopefully temporarily, to TC's wonderful
paddock

I went to the barn and washed TC's tail with some anti-itch shampoo because he's been rubbing it a little bit, then I took my tack and put it in the trailer. Around 2pm, I let one of the trainers at the barn know that my tack room was unlocked with TC's evacuation plan written inside, the truck keys were in the trailer tack room, and we made sure we had each others' numbers just in case. Then I went home. The fire was rather far away from the barn so we figured we'd be okay.

Then the wind picked up.

I drove home and unbeknownst to me until 6pm, at 3pm, our barn was upgraded to the evacuation order list. So at 6pm when I saw it, I flipped out a little bit. The SO and I quickly packed overnight bags and zipped down to the barn. I had him drop me off at my truck and then go do a Target run to get something I forgot. Then I grabbed the rest of my stuff that mattered, including the horse, and hauled to the ranch.

The air was thick with smoke. Very thick, to the point where I had to have my high beams on for much of our drive for me to be able to see far enough ahead of us.

The little white dots through the smoke is the Lick Observatory,
which has yet to burn. It doesn't float in space, that's how thick
the smoke is from the fires. This was on our way down, SO was
driving!

We got to the ranch and quickly got TC situated in the far stall next to Rico, we strung up no climb wire and electric wire so he was stuck in the stall and on the porch. He pitched a fit but he settled when I was out of sight.

The SO and I stayed in my parents' RV because hey, even though the state is literally on fire, there's still a global pandemic in play too. It also allowed me to be right next to the barn just in case something went wrong.

The next morning, I texted my job saying "I have to put up fencing all day, sorry for my absence" which no one cared about because one of the fires is running rampant through the mountains on the other side of the school, displacing many of my coworkers.

We spent the morning setting up a larger space for TC with no climb and electric wire. By the time we were finished, we all felt like crap from the smoke, but TC was so happy to have more space that he walked into his stall and then squealed and cantered out several times.

Santa cruz fires, not my photo

The SO and I left and I felt pretty good about the situation. The fire hadn't moved too much closer to my barn overnight, I kept telling myself that the only reason why we're leaving the barn is that it's along one of the few roads that leads up into the open space so they'll need that road clear for firetrucks eventually. TC settled in well and I can help my parents out with the barn more with him there, cleaning paddocks and dumping wheelbarrows is the toughest thing for my mom to do so I can now do that.

Then on the ride home (the wonderful SO drove me down and back), I made the mistake of looking at my phone, which told me that there was going to be yet another lightning storm coming for us this weekend. I'm surprised I didn't lose my shit right then and there, but this is getting RIDICULOUS.

No, FUCK THIS SHIT

Look, the global pandemic is a huge pain in the ass. But I have to admit that since the end of April when it was apparent that my family had recovered from getting it, it hasn't affected me that much. Don't get me wrong, it's been awful, as you've seen from my posts, but I could still do everything I wanted to do aside from visit my friends overnight or see a movie.

The heat wave during the last couple of weeks wasn't great because then we're stuck inside a bit more. Not being able to hike was a bummer because other than riding, that's been the one thing we've been really enjoying quite a lot.

Then we have the lightning storm, which was scary and cancelled one of my clinics, what a bummer. And now we're dealing with fires, leading to the evacuation of my horse. Still not the best, but knowing he's safe and that he can hang out at the ranch until it's safe to go home makes me happy. I do want to get some pictures of him and Rico together, even if it's a bit smokey.

Santa Cruz fires, not my photo

Now we have another lightning storm on the horizon. During the first lightning storm, it was just weird and kind of scary because we just don't get lightning like that here. But we had no idea what the effects would be, so it was easy to be in the now in that moment.

However, with another lightning storm coming, we know what can happen. This lightning storm sparked so many fires. There are currently 364 fires in the state, 23 of which are considered severe. Four of which surround the bay area right now. One has destroyed Big Basin State Park, where the SO and I camped in June and fell in love with. Another is destroying Henry Coe, where I trail ride regularly. Another is making a move toward destroying Napa, where we camped in July. And the fourth is down in Salinas, displacing friends and family in that area and growing rapidly. None are under any kind of control. They're just burning.

Where is the lightning going to strike this time? There's a ton of open space behind my parents' ranch. There's a ton of open space just south of us. What if we have to evacuate the ranch and there's literally nowhere to go? Or no roads to drive out on? So many what if questions are going through my mind right now.

On top of a global pandemic. On top of an administration that refuses to send help to the state because we're a blue state. Stress on top of stress. I'm glad TC is on ulcerguard and doesn't follow politics. I think I need to follow his lead and get myself some omeprazole and turn off my phone more often.