BRENTWOOD, Calif. – Teri Kahn sat back and relaxed after arriving at her daughter’s apartment in Beverly Hills safe and sound. But just hours earlier as Sunday night turned into Monday, she was escaping the blaze of the Getty fire.
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“There were just all kind of noises and it was clear I had to get out of bed and get my act together,” said Kahn.
We first met Kahn back in May when she was encouraging people to take part in the wildfire evacuation drill. She saw what was coming way back then because of all the tree growth we saw due to the early year rain.
“This is all gonna dry out given our normal weather patterns, and by October and November, it becomes a serious brush fire situation,” Kahn said months earlier.
Which is why her go bag was ready to go.
It took her less than 30 minutes from the time she woke up to the time she evacuated with her dog and her husband.
“I knew exactly what to do. I threw some water and some granola bars in the car, threw some last-minute clothing in the suitcase and boom we were out,” Kahn continued.
She has full confidence in the firefighters working to put a stop to the fire. So much so she has no concern about her property.
“I know that the fire department is gonna take care of us. I mean take a look at all the fires burning and take a look at how few houses have been touched,” she said.
Kahn’s aware this is now the new normal in the urban wildlife interface. She says if you want to live there, you need to be prepared to live there.
“And you could love it 363 days of the year, but those other two days, you better be prepared to take responsibility for yourself and get the heck out when they tell you to get the heck out. They will do a better job of saving your house than you can,” she said.
Kahn also credits NotifyLA alerts for helping residents know it was time to evacuate.