Fires

There are some severe forest fires in the area which have me slightly on edge right now. They are not in my actual community but in the near vicinity. The smoke is forming thick clouds over the whole city and ash is falling from the sky like snowflakes. If it weren't so hot and the air quality so poor, one might think it was a dusting of snow over everything. I heard on the news that the trees, dry as tinder, are "candling" or lighting fully ablaze and setting the next on fire, two thousand hectares burning up down the highway and three other fires further out. . It is very strange. I have never experienced this feeling of uncertainty before. While it is unlikely that my community will have to evacuate, (the fires are, thankfully, still far enough away as not to pose an immediate threat to us) I know that many thousands of people nearby are doing just that. The energy is tense, uncertain. We are told not to worry and yet...fire is so unpredictable. I have faith that the firefighters will contain the fires and that soon life will go on as normal. I feel so incredibly grateful to be able to continue on with my daily activities, my job, fun activities and such, even as chaos erupts all around me. It does give one pause to think about what truly matters. What would I pack if we were put on alert, to leave at a moment's notice. What if we had to leave it all behind? What truly matters?

What would be in your suitcase? Feel free to comment.