Sunday, October 8th, 9:30 p.m., Santa Rosa, California. My wife Janet and I are at the home of two longtime friends, watching television and chatting, when we all hear a powerful gust of wind and a weird popping, like power transformers exploding somewhere in the distance. Janet and I drive home, smelling smoke. Tree branches litter the roads. Janet calls the fire department; she is told there is fire in the hills outside of town and that she should hang up the phone unless she has an emergency to report. We go to bed.
Disaster is always something that happens to other people, until it happens to us. We're busy, with plans and commitments. In this instance, I had already packed my bags for a morning flight to Boston, where I was to give two talks and meet with some of my organization's key allies.
Monday, October 9th, 3 a.m. We awaken to the insistent ringing of our doorbell. When we rouse ourselves and get to the door, we see our next-door neighbor walking quickly from house to house. She points to the northern horizon, which is glowing bright orange, and warns us that evacuations have begun.
[For more on this story by RICHARD HEINBERG, go to https://psmag.com/environment/...-can-do-to-your-mind]
Photo: A sign of resilience posted on a tree in a charred neighborhood of Santa Rosa, California, on October 20th, 2017. (Photo: Josh Edelson/AFP/Getty Images)
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