A decade later, thanks still heartfelt

Michele Danner

This is a reprint of a letter that ran in the Coastline News on Jan.

28, 1994.

I am not up to writing right now but since all of you did not

forget about us, I, therefore can not forget you.

Here is just the beginning of my thanks to all those people who

touched my life during and after the fire of Oct. 27. And to those

individuals and businesses that I neglect to mention, please forgive

me, it’s not intentional.

Thank you God for allowing everyone in Laguna to evacuate calmly

and safely. Especially my husband, Jim, and our neighbor Paul Proppe.

Yes, they were pushing their luck. After the second police warning

for us to evacuate we continued to stay at least another 15 minutes.

The smoke was so thick you could barely see -- finally I left.

When I got to the end of our street (Anacapa and Skyline) all I

could see was fire. I knew Jim was still back at our house, so I put

my car in reverse and backed up for about half a mile. I was honking

and screaming fire. Jim left.

Only later did Paul tell us he heard my screaming and honking and

he then realized it was serious. He left. All of us in Laguna fled

unharmed. Thank you.

Thank you to all the firemen. Believe me, my family knows you did

your best. The next morning at 5:45 a.m. my husband walked up Skyline

to Anacapa with sincere belief and hope that our home was still

standing only to find it completely in ashes. On his walk back down

the hill some of you guys must have realized what he had found and

you all apologized to him. He appreciated that -- but it wasn’t

necessary guys; he knew you did all you could. Thank you.

Thank you Laguna police for giving us ample warning to evacuate,

for assisting in our city’s safe evacuation and protecting those

structures that remained. Thank you.

Thank you to Kristen, our daughter, our hero. At about 2 p.m. she

was up on our roof doing what she felt was the right thing to do --

hosing it down. (Only she and I were home, my husband came home after

4 p.m.) Around 3:45 p.m. when I still didn’t believe anything was

going to happen, she began packing her room. After she packed her

“treasures” and between evacuation one and two, she woke my husband

and I up from our fog of denial. She began hustling as much stuff out

of the house as she could. Her cool head and energy helped us to

retrieve three carloads of our “treasures” and clothing. Couldn’t

have done it without you. Thank you.

Thank you Dave Lopez of Channel 2 News. You and your crew walked

with my husband up our fateful street that next morning. You listened

and shared in his optimism while you were filming. Yet, as soon as

Jim saw our ashes you left him alone. You didn’t ask one question.

Beautiful job, you deserve an award. Thank you.

Thank you Karen Viani for your forever grateful phone call. The

phone lines were dead most of the afternoon. Incredibly your call

came through from Sacramento about 3 p.m. I was busy videotaping the

fire (not packing!) when the phone rang. You asked me if I had packed

something that I treasured very much. I hadn’t -- my attitude was,

why should I? They are so big and cumbersome. But you pleaded with me

to just put them in my car. (I make beautiful dolls, I had four at

home). I hung up the phone and then proceeded like a robot and put

three of them in my car. You saved them. Thank you.

Thank you Barbara Dagget for your telephone call. About 3:45 p.m.

you call came through. You told me if they should begin evacuating

that we could stay at your home. Then you said, “You’ve got my number

right?” I immediately thought of my address book. I hung up and put

that in my car. Thank you.

Thank you Pablo at Wildlife Gallery. While I was inching along in

the evacuation line on Coast Highway heading south, by car stuffed,

my eyes welled up in tears, you came over to my car and told me

everything was going to be all right. You gave me a cigarette and we

watched our city burn. I know you were sharing with me in my pain and

fears. Thank you.

Thank you Dana Point Resort for giving us a safe haven in time of

desperate need. You cut your rates and allowed dogs to stay at your

hotel. Everyone appreciated that! Thank you.

Thank you Jackie Waldman and her family for letting Kristen have a

familiar home to stay in while all of the commotion was going on. You

were her much-needed family at the time. Thank you.

Thank you to all our family and friends for their calls and

concerns. Especially my sister, Mary, who made all the initial phone

calls; to Suzanne and Liz, our other daughters, who were there for us

constantly; my cousin Teresa who let us unload our cars at her house

until we got settled; our attorney Paul Hegness for giving us

immediate shelter in Irvine. In the beginning we were not ready to

face having to fill out application forms etc. required for a more

permanent situation; to our friends Gary and Sue Higgins for your

information on what was going on in Laguna -- we were out of touch

being in Irvine and you were our immediate resource; to Gaye who was

there for me as much as she could be; to Bill Lake for being our

valued friend; to Jin Jin and Lee, your generosity went way beyond

your call of duty -- Semper Fi; to Judy Cherry your home cooked meal

was a nice change from take out; and finally to Sandy Thornton for

being Sandy Thornton (a lot of you in Laguna know what I mean). Thank

you.

Thank you Laguna Presbyterian Church for turning the church into a

resource center, an information center, a place to go for all of us

who lost our homes; a place to eat, to share and to receive so many

services. Your kindness and generosity were outstanding! Thank you.

Thank you to the many volunteers for all your tireless help.

Believe me, all of you that assisted us during one of our most

darkest hours, we needed you! I’d like to mention a couple of

volunteers who personally helped me. To Elly, I’ll never forget you.

A complete stranger, you saw me standing there like a zombie and you

became my energy. You led me through all the necessary steps one by

one at the facility. To Maryanne, another stranger, I met you while

eating at the church facility and I shared with you how crafts were a

large part of my world and that I had lost all of my supplies and

tools. You offered my your sewing machine. To Donna Bean for your

hugs and reassurance and your kindness. Thank you.

Thank you to those individuals whose donations gave a lot of us a

kick start on our new beginning. For many of us during the first

couple of weeks were either unable to walk into a store -- let alone

shop -- or many could not afford right away all the necessary things

it takes just to begin again. Your donations provided us our basic

needs and I know we all are grateful. I remember the lady who walked

in with her Chicago cutler among other things -- she asked me if I’d

like them. I said, “That’s what I used to have, thanks.”

And the person who donated their oversized terrycloth bathrobe

(just like mine), thanks; to the lady who brought in several hardback

books, my husband really appreciated them; to the gentleman who

thought I was a volunteer and asked me where to put his pair of

topsiders. I asked what size -- you said 10 1/2, I said to you my

husband lost all his shoes. They fit great! Thank you.

I would like to share that for me, receiving all those items that

were similar to what I had was a great comfort. It can feel very

disorienting, nothing around you is yours. It’s a very strange

feeling so familiar things helped ease that discomfort.

Thank you Dr. Sloan, my neighbor for five years, who also lost his

home. When you saw me at the facility, you gave me a nice warm hug;

it was well received. Thank you.

Thank you to my other neighbor, Ron Tetterer. While your home was

burning, you were getting prepped for your organ transplant. You’ll

be out of the hospital soon. Take care, it’s been a pleasure having

you as a neighbor. Thank you.

Thank you Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Your help

and kindness were something to be admired. Your missionaries worked

tirelessly day in and day out. They were so gracious and kind to all

of us. I know you played a large part with the coordination of the

donation center along with the Salvation Army. Thank you.

Thank you Red Cross. I never knew or understood fully what your

organization was all about. You are outstanding! Your assistance

warrants praise. Thank you.

Thank you to the Buddhist Church, the Lutheran Church, the

Southern Baptist Church and Episcopal Services. Your generosity and

care were so wonderful. You were all there for us. Thank you.

Thank you Five Feet Restaurant for coordinating so many other

restaurants in feeding us and all the volunteers. The food was great

from so many of our local restaurants. I can’t remember all of the

different ones, but we know who you are and I’m sure we don’t forget

you.

* MICHELE DANNER is a Laguna Beach resident.

This is an excerpt of a letter written to family and friends of

Glori Fickling during Christmas after the fire.

Through all the devastation of the Laguna Beach fires, Skip and I,

thankfully, did not lose our home though we it was seriously burned

and we are still in the throes of reconstruction.

We came so close, first having the penthouse roof catch fire, then

saved by good Samaritans who grabbed our patio ladder, put out flames

on the heavy shakes, then crawled inside the bathroom window to put

out the ceiling embers.

We drove down Hilledge Drive to Downtown, parked in an adjacent

lot and watched our beloved hillside burn. At midnight we broke

through barricades and wended our way back to our home, now barren of

lights and electricity. Thank God, because at 2 a.m. three new fire

spots erupted mere steps away from our bedroom and directly in front

of the home next door which is largely wood construction. With no

fire fighters on our street to quelch the flames and all neighbors

evacuated, we immediately called 911 alerting three fire trucks,

thereby saving our home and likely all of our Hilledge Drive

neighborhood.

We later discovered that the firestorm had hit Skip’s capacious

office closet above our bedroom. It struck with such impact that all

exposed manuscripts and stationary inside turned brown. Authorities

likened it to a camera’s flash, explaining that the fire had hit

along a central ceiling beam above the closet with a huge impact, but

immediately the wind just as quickly pulled the flash back outside.

Incredibly, we survived three near hits of losing our beloved home

and our many irreplaceable mementos. Thank you, dear Lord!