We were supposed to go to a friend’s house to watch the debate, but a fire broke out. This is the view from my backyard. This fire was closer than the previous fire.

I called and cancelled, but I don’t think our friends were happy. They said we could keep an eye out for the fire from their house. They have a rooftop deck where they said we could hang out.

I did my usual prep in case of evacuation. I have my “go” bag, money, my mom’s flute and my great grandmother’s cookbooks in the laundry room, right next to the garage. I locked kitty in a room with her carrier, so I wouldn’t have to search the house for her. I didn’t want to leave our house and our cat to go to our friends’ house. It turns out people one mile away from us were evacuated. The fire went from six acres to 600 acres in less than an hour. Now it’s at more than 3,000 and not contained.

I looked back on what I was doing one year ago. Much of the same. Watching and learning about a fire nearby.

How do you prepare for an emergency?

Would you be comfortable leaving your house with a fire close by?