What fire evacuees took, and what they left

The wildfires forced thousands to evacuate. ¶ Some had to leave immediately. Others had time to decide what they could and couldn’t afford to lose. ¶ We asked: What did you take when you evacuated? Here’s what readers told us. ¶ Responses have been lightly edited, and you’ll find more answers at latimes.com/home.

Just the essentials

“We woke up to smoke in our home. We dressed quickly and took both of our cars. Nothing else.” — Susan Keehn, evacuated during the Tubbs fire in 2017

“All my musical instruments, two Chihuahuas, three pairs of underwear and one towel. We had about 45 minutes to leave. My most precious possessions, followed by the bare necessities.” — Charles Johnson, evacuated during the Thomas fire in 2017

“A backpack, cellphone and a credit card. I did gather up any cash I had in the house as well as my computer. That’s all you really need to continue with life.” — Dan O’Connell, evacuated during the Sand fire in 2016

“Our four dogs — because the best things in life aren’t things — and whatever I could grab in two sprints to a small car: hard drives, laptop, handgun, toolbag, two guitars, photos on the wall, one art piece. With black smoke already filling the house, I was really only grabbing stuff that I could see and get my hands on.” — Steve Jones, evacuated during the Creek fire in 2017

“I put my kids (both 16) and two dogs in the car. We had our phones. That was it.” —

Valerie Kumra, evacuated during the Tubbs fire in 2017.

“We only had 10 minutes to evacuate. I spent most of that time gathering our family dog and the two cats. We left with some cash and the shirts on our backs. We have four young children and all that mattered was the safety of my family and pets. Everything else can be replaced if needed.” — MK Fry, evacuated during the Carr fire in 2018

“My family only took our birth certificates, Social Security cards, baby books with pictures, our animals and our laptops. All material things can be replaced. We took what was most important to us.” — Stephanie Gonzales, evacuated during the Mendocino Complex fire in 2018

“My wife and I took our four cats in our car. We had our cellphones and some clothes. Nothing else mattered. Later, I was able to get back to the house and take my bike, the house plans and a family heirloom painting.” — Roger Provost, evacuated during the Nuns fire in 2017

Meaningful things

While most readers were able to grab a few essentials, some people also had time to pack additional items that had personal significance.

“I was going to be a maid of honor in a wedding in a few weeks, so I had to throw my bridesmaid dress into the car. I can’t imagine the distress of ordering a new dress in two weeks! The last thing I thought of was the birthday presents I had stashed away for my little sisters, because if we lost everything, we would need some happy birthdays to boost morale.” — Vienna Barnett, evacuated during the Carr fire in July

“We are writers, so our main concern was 25-30 tubs of writing which were stored in our garage — novels, poetry, film and TV scripts, from times before computers. Also the shooting scripts and binders from film sets of my husband, Neil’s, long career as a director. Our kids thought this was hysterical because they think everything is ‘in a cloud,’ and can’t imagine anything from before!” — Lillian Israel, evacuated during the Thomas fire in 2017

“I grabbed a bronze lamp that belonged to my grandmother, a box of family heirlooms and a couple of paintings.” — Sarah Stone, evacuated during the Sesnon fire in 2008

“There were a few things I would have forgotten in my haste, had I not made a list after my brother’s home burned in a previous wildfire. I packed my late mom’s favorite sweatshirt, a screwdriver of my late father’s, books signed by my favorite authors and my diaries.” — Margaret

Winter, evacuated during the Thomas fire in 2017

“Photos of my mom and grandma who aren’t with us anymore that I don’t have in the cloud. Some of their jewelry (costume jewelry, but valuable to me), my mom’s ashes, my daughter’s baby ‘1st’ stuff, some out-of-print books that my mom read to me and I now read to my daughter.” — Nuar

Hegrat, evacuated during the Mendocino Complex fire in 2018

“I took my grandson’s precious books, and some of mine, and I brought a box filled with jewelry and photo cards.” — Nancy

Lloyd, evacuated during the Freeway Complex fire in 2008

What was left behind

We asked readers if there was anything they regretted not taking with them when they evacuated.

“I didn’t take any underwear because we never thought we would not be able to come back to our house.” — Florence

Rink, evacuated from the Tubbs fire in 2017

“Pictures and letters from my deceased father.” — Anthony

Silano, evacuated during the Tubbs fire in 2017

“A change of clothes, a pillow, a blanket and toiletries. These items would have been for comfort during our evacuation.” — MK Fry “We had no notice. We woke up to smoke coming in through open windows. We left pictures, passports, our insurance policy, cash we had in the house... I regret not taking what I could carry.” — Susan Keehn “If I’d had more room I would have taken more kids’ toys. I only packed two or three for each kid.” — Ashley Sumpter, evacuated during the Canyon fire in 2017

“I regret not taking a fan.” —

Patty, evacuated during the Mendocino Complex fire in 2018

“We evacuated with just 20 recently framed pics of the family. If I had to do it again, I would take ALL the pictures we had, digital, film, hard pictures, everything that had family memories.” — Mike Chené, evacuated during the Freeway Complex fire in 2008.

Staying prepared

Some readers shared tips for getting ready to evacuate:

“We keep things organized and ready to go in a specific location — we have three bins of photos.” — Mark D. “If you live in California, you have to be mentally prepared to lose it all. I packed only one suitcase of clothes — if the house burned, I told myself I would think of it as a shopping opportunity.” — Judith Seitz “I have one large plastic container ready at all times. Inside are both baby books, birth and death certificates, passports, two books I want to read, old tax returns and the kids’ school art from elementary school.” —

Cheryl Calvert, evacuated in the Old Topanga fire in 1993