Disaster shared
We’re still dealing with Katrina. Now the California wildfires.
Photo by Rick Bowmer – Associated Press
Though they break out just about every year, these are of unprecedented proportions.
 Kurt Sachau logged two tours in Vietnam flying fighter jets off an aircraft carrier, so he doesn’t spook easily. Even that experience didn’t prepare him for the scene outside his back door Tuesday.
“It’s like the world is on fire,” said Sachau, 61, watching firefighters struggle to save his home and those of his neighbors.
As he spoke, helicopter tankers criss-crossed the sky, dumping water on the flames as dense, black smoke billowed across the horizon, and towering flames shot up less than 50 yards downhill from where he’s lived since 1978. Yet Sachau refused evacuation orders. He’d seen three other fires sweep his Felicita Highlands neighborhood and figured he knew when it really would be time to leave.
San Diego County Sheriff’s Department officers “wouldn’t take no for an answer,” he said. Early Tuesday, they took Sachau by the arm and pulled him out the door and off his property.
At that moment, the retired FedEx pilot became part of the largest wildfire evacuation in U.S. history, and the biggest forced movement of people ever in California…
In San Diego County alone, more than 500,000 of the 2.6 million residents — nearly 20% — were told to evacuate. State officials expect the fast-moving Santa Ana winds that are fueling 16 major fires along California’s coast to push out many more this week before harried firefighters gain control of the blazes.
“It’s basically a mass migration,” said San Diego County emergency services spokesman Luis Monteagudo. “The numbers we’re seeing are staggering.”
When disaster strikes, anywhere, Americans are usually quick to respond. Humanitarian stories start coming out early, and pour out when communication is more accessible. People want to help people. And they really need it in California right now.
What to do? Here’s a list of ways to help.