Here we go again
As we write this, we’re all in the middle of another nightmare, where many of us are still evacuated, where homes have been destroyed, where the fight against the fires in Trione-Annadel State Park and Calistoga are continuing, where unknowns are still unknown.
One of many sad realities – our friend, co-worker, and Kenwood Press founder Jay Gamel lost his house on Adobe Canyon Road in Kenwood. We set up a GoFundMe. Please give if you can, to help Jay. Go to gf.me/u/y23vmc to contribute.
We are evacuated from Kenwood, staying with family in San Francisco and trying to put this issue together remotely as best we can. The paper’s soon-to-be new owners, Melissa and Paul, are still in Glen Ellen with power and Internet and a fancy new computer with all the relevant software, and they are literally learning on the job. Jay is staying with them for the moment, and providing essential help even during his own personal trauma.
Much of what’s in this issue was ready to go to print right before this all started, so if some articles aren’t exactly relevant for the moment, we apologize in advance. We will catch up with all the bad news in our Oct. 15 issue, assuming we can get back to the office and our home, since all the access roads into Kenwood are still closed at this point.
Evacuation for us, compared to three years ago, was a more organized, procedure – calmer, and with plenty of time to get most of what we needed and leave. But, as wildfire has shown us, you can do everything right and it may not really matter at the end of the day in terms of your property. No matter what, though, your life is more important.
It’s been said a million times, but we’ll say it, too. Firefighters and first responders are heroes. They are working in the toughest circumstances – super-hot weather, high winds, fire behavior that is hard to predict, lack of sleep, toxic air quality. We are profoundly thankful for all of you. We’re also so thankful for the second responders – the people who provide food and water, who set up the emergency shelters, who man the emergency alert systems, the food banks, the mental health warmline, the list goes on.
In times like these, it’s good to focus on what is going right, and here in Sonoma County there are so many good people stepping up to help in ways large and small.
Please stay safe and well. Remember that we are still in the midst of a pandemic. Wear your mask, wash your hands, and maintain social distance. And when all this is over, let’s have one hell of a party!
– Alec and Ann
