Alive in the Fire_Angelo Hilton Chico (1).jpg

Starting last Thursday, November 8, 2018, one of the worst fires in California history began in Butte County, where I live.

My home in Chico is about 30 minutes from the town of Paradise which has burned down.

As I left the area on Thursday night, I could see the glow of the fires over the horizon in the distance.

Currently I have friends and colleagues who have lost their homes and who are waiting to hear from loved ones that they made it out. I have a friend who was working at the Feather River Hospital when it had to be evacuated. I know several firefighters who are currently working to keep us safe.

I personally have never experienced an emergency situation like this that so close to home, and it is heartbreaking.

I’m currently safe and sound down in the Sacramento area staying with family. My goal right now is to raise as much awareness and funding for evacuees as possible in the next week. The college campus where I work has been closed for the next week so I have some time before I need to return to Butte County.

If you are connected to a Sacramento area yoga studio and have capacity to put together a fundraiser class, please let me know. I would love to be a part of facilitating that and generating donations for victims of the fire.

This morning, Saturday, November 10th, I will be practicing in Buck Lewis’ 9am class at MomentOm Yoga in Roseville. We will be holding space to honor the lives lost and I will be sharing some information about how people can help. Please join me, and stay tuned for updates on my social media (@aliveinthefireyoga on Instagram) for more classes coming in the next week.

There are a lot of thoughts and emotions I want to share in the days to come, but for now I wanted to share a few helpful links and the photos from my phone that I took on Thursday.

I ask that if you’re reading this, please say a prayer and send healing thoughts and energy to those in Butte County. If you are in the area, stay vigilant. Leave if given the order to evacuate.

And please, if you need support, reach out. We are all in this together.