FOR A LONG TIME, my emergency preparedness consisted of having three gallon bottles of water stashed in the back of a cupboard and a bunch of smashed energy bars. Then I moved, meaning that the water was dumped on the plants and the bars were tossed.
I’ve been lucky, having never actually needed to rely on a go bag. But I am one degree of separation from many who have. My partner learned of the evacuation order that covered his house in the Santa Cruz mountains while he was out of town, and the August 2020 CZU Lighting Complex fires raged out of control. We were able to get his medications and papers only by begging the sheriff to let us through the smoke and falling ash. A year later, when a mudslide hit his propane tank and gallons of propane spewed through the air, we had time only to grab the keys and go.
And then, Pacific Palisades, where I lived for 28 years and raised my two sons, went up in flames.
I just watched a presentation by the California Commission on Aging, “Recovering Together: Rebuilding Life after the Fires.” Commission Chair David Lindeman described the fires’ “devastating and disproportionate effects … on older adults and individuals with disabilities.” Thirty lives were lost. The average age of these victims was 77.
Dr. Laura Mosqueda, a professor of gerontology at USC, was on hand that first night and for days after, providing emergency care at a makeshift shelter cobbled together at the Pasadena Convention Center. The first arrivals were mostly nursing home residents, some needing oxygen or catheters, some with dementia, many arriving without their hearing aids, information on their medications, or a list of people to call. She spoke urgently about the need for older people in all living situations to be ready for the next disaster: “We are not prepared, not for fires, not for floods, and certainly not for the earthquake that could hit tomorrow.”
And the aging, at-risk population is getting bigger. Lindeman reminded the group that the number of Californians over the age of 65 is expected to grow by 59% by 2040, from 5.7 million to over 9 million older adults.
Lacking insurance, needing reassurance
The list of ongoing issues for fire victims is daunting. Unresolved insurance issues, with many fire victims under-insured or even uninsured, are extraordinarily hard for some older adults who may be ill-equipped to bludgeon a difficult insurance company into submission. Over 500 LA fire victims had reverse mortgages, meaning their income derived from the equity they had built up in their now-incinerated homes, another circumstance that requires the stamina to work with banks and financial institutions in an effort to salvage their investments.
Not to mention the continuing effects on fire victims’ daily lives. Dr. Laura Trejo, director of the LA County Aging and Disabilities Department, reported that the Altadena Senior Center, a place where 977 older adults went for daily programming, burned to the ground.
Katie Brandon, director of Pasadena Village, recommended that people across the state join the Village Movement that helps people create communities as they age. Her 200+ members communicated with each other about the fires before anyone else reached them. They continue to act as a support system, especially for the 20 members who lost their homes.
In Northern California, there are villages in San Francisco, Sonoma, and Humboldt County, to name a few. The Anderson Valley Village is working on its own disaster preparedness plan.
You need a go bag for you and your pets. And you also need a stay bag.
I think it’s time to get serious about the go bag.
For older people, it is important to know your own neighborhood, including who you are going to call for help when an emergency strikes.
The basics are the same for people of all ages — important papers, medical supplies, clothes, food, laptops, and various recommendations depending on whether you have pets, or need spare pairs of glasses or other equipment. For older adults and people with disabilities, the California Department of Aging has issued a specific Emergency Preparedness Guide. The lists are comprehensive and include recommendations on how to interpret emergency warnings and find shelter. A critical piece for older people is thinking ahead about your own neighborhood, including knowing who you are going to call for help. And who you might be able to help when the time comes.
The recommendations also include the creation of a “stay box,” as a shelter-in-place order could be just around the corner. That collection, as anyone who lived through the spring of 2020 will remember, should include toilet paper.
Rising from the ashes
My friends from Pacific Palisades are showing remarkable resilience, universally thankful that their families are OK and pretty philosophical about losing a lifetime supply of memories. I have seen three of them on national news reports, one vowing to rebuild in a town left with no supermarkets, another up in the air about the future, and a third just grateful that her bike and her husband’s guitars survived.
One news report showed a couple sifting through the wreckage and becoming almost giddy at finding a treasured coffee mug.
Maybe the go bag should include one more thing — a treasure, something that will bring along a shard of the past. I wrote in an earlier column about my sons’ paternal grandfather’s doughboy hat from World War I, which somehow survived when the rest of the house burned.
Is it worth taking up space for a revered item? Flashlights and batteries are probably a better choice, but it’s worth thinking about.
Because if it all goes up in smoke, or is washed away by the flood, or falls to pieces in a quake, we’re going to need all the help we can get.
What does a longer lifespan mean to you? Talented local columnists tag-team every Friday to tackle the challenges that inform your choices — whether you’re pushing 17 or 70. Recent Stanford Center on Longevity Visiting Scholar Susan Nash looks at life experiences through an acerbic personal lens, while other longtime writers take the macro view to examine how society will change as the aging population grows ever larger. Check in every Friday to expand your vision of living the long game and send us your feedback, column suggestions and ideas for future coverage to newsroom@baycitynews.com.