By Mary O’KEEFE

My brother called me on Aug. 5 and said, “We have a tornado.” Those words took me back to my younger days in Iowa when August meant tornado season – but it’s been a while since either my brother or I have had to get in tornado mode. 

My brother lives in far south Arizona, near Tombstone. After his initial call he began sending me videos of a funnel cloud above his home. In fact, on the night of Wednesday, Aug. 5, there was a funnel cloud spotted near Nicksville, which is just south of where my brother lives. Luckily the clouds continued to move and did not touch down but the storm brought a lot of hail, rain and strong winds. 

The news programs there were telling everyone to get “to your basement,” which is difficult because there aren’t many people who have basements in the area of Arizona where my brother lives. There were other safety suggestions but none would work where he lives. Again, luckily the storm passed without a tornado touch down but it made me realize how unprepared not only he was for this type of weather but how I had become complacent in my storm/fire preparedness.

Over the last few days, including yesterday, wildfires seemed to be everywhere in our area. Our amazing fire departments made quick work of most of them but still there were evacuation warnings given to many residents. If you are like me you think you are prepared. You know exactly what you would grab before going when the need to evacuate is ordered, but I just went through a quick drill and realized I am not as prepared as I used to be. 

When I first moved here I was a bit obsessed with being prepared for earthquakes and wildfires. I had the family earthquake bags in my car, made sure all the important papers, including photos and jump drives, were in a box ready to grab and I had a meeting place arranged for all family members in case we got separated. I recently found my old earthquake bag, which still included children’s clothes that would no longer fit my grown kids. My grab-and-go “important papers box” was buried deep in a closet. 

I have covered fires and earthquakes for years. I know the importance of Ready. Set. Go., the fire program that helps people prepare, and I was prepared – but I have not updated anything in years. 

I think I just took for granted that I would know what to do if an emergency arose, but the truth is when the time comes we shouldn’t be thinking, “Where is that bag? Where is the flashlight and batteries? What do I do again in an earthquake?” 

My prayers go out to those who are recovering from the recent earthquakes in Venezuela and Colombia. These events do serve as a warning to us to get ready. Have you an up-to-date earthquake bag in your car? Do you know what to do in case of an earthquake? I suggest downloading an application like MyShake or ShakeAlert. 

Below are some suggestions for getting ready for wildfires and evacuations and earthquakes.

Ready Set Go is an educational system that was created by the International Association of Fire Chiefs and local agencies including LA County Fire Dept. 

According to the LA County Fire Dept.:

Ready – Create and maintain defensible space and harden your home against flying embers

Set – Prepare your family and home ahead of time for the possibility of having to evacuate

Go – Take the evacuation steps necessary to give your family and home the best chance of surviving. 

In earthquakes here are some suggestions from Earthquake Warning California: 

• MyShake App: Free smartphone app that provides iPhone and Android users with audio and visual warnings [magnitude 4.5 or higher and Modified Mercalli Intensity III (weak) shaking]. Available in the Apple App and Google Play stores;
• Android Earthquake Alerts: Android phones with updated operating systems are automatically subscribed to Android Earthquake Alerts, which uses the same technology as the MyShake App; and
• Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEAs): No-cost text messages for emergency situations [earthquakes magnitude 5.0 or higher and Modified Mercalli Intensity IV (light) shaking].

For more information about earthquake preparedness, visit https://myhazards.caloes.ca.gov/.

Locally, Paul and Lisa Dutton with CV Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) have been reminding us for years to get ready. They are at so many events, including the recent National Night Out, providing information on how to prepare. They train residents to be part of CERT so they can help their neighbors. I think a lot of times we hear these warnings and think, “We will be okay,” but we really need to reassess our preparedness and really get ready, including hardening our homes against fires. The Duttons have been ringing these warning bells for years and we really do have to listen to them. 

Those who want to join CERT can contact the Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station at (818) 248-2464. 

For our weather: We will be seeing a slight cooling trend over the next few days bringing our temperatures to mid to high 80s, which is below our normal temperature for this time of the year (90 degrees). But then we will be going back up – a little. 

Today, Thursday, the high is expected to be in the high 70s; the same temperature will be seen on Friday then a little higher over the weekend – in the mid to high 80s – though still below the norm. 

For those who have gone to the beach lately and have found the water to be a little warmer than usual you can thank El Niño. NOAA still expects a “very large” El Niño this fall, which could bring more rain – but that is not a guarantee.