There is no doubt that a haze of anxiety hangs over Los Alamos. Sure, there’s a layer of smoke from the Cerro Pellado fire too, but the anxiety is a very real thing that many of us feel right now. Whether your anxiety comes from having to evacuate for wildfires in previous years, or it comes from never having done this before and feeling completely out of control, anxiety is still very real and very difficult to deal with. With that in mind, I’ve asked my friends at Los Alamos Family Council for some thoughts about mental health during these difficult times.

The Past

The 2011 Las Conchas fire was the last evacuation of Los Alamos County. That particular fire was burning very hot and moved quite fast. In addition, several of the public notification systems were quite new and there were still a few bugs that needed to be worked out. It’s true that evacuation was haphazard and created the need for residents to throw what they could into a suitcase at 2:00AM in the morning.

In 2000 when Cerro Grande burned parts of Los Alamos, the technology for both wildland firefighting and also emergency management was much less developed. Can you remember back to 2000? Here’s a fact to keep in mind: Facebook wasn’t even created until 2004. Created, not even widely used. Yes. We had Internet in the year 2000, but while information was more readily available, it wasn’t nearly the beast that social media has become.

What We Learned

The best news of all right now is that our emergency planning teams have learned a lot from past fires. Not just here in Los Alamos, but all over the country! When folks here in Los Alamos take a walk at the North Mesa Stables and see almost all of the animals gone, take comfort in realizing they have been preemptively and voluntarily evacuated by their owners in order to make things less hectic if a full scale evacuation actually needs to happen. Horses, cattle, llamas, sheep, goats, and chickens can’t just be loaded into the backseat of an SUV so they can watch a video on the way down to Santa Fe. The logistics involved in moving livestock is considerable. So let’s pause to be glad there won’t be a hundred stock trailers tooling down the mountain with you and your household pets.

The same goes for vulnerable populations like the residents of Sombrillo and Aspen Ridge. Taking time to move these elderly residents allows them to be treated with extra special care. Their caregivers can find appropriate medical facilities to host them and have ample time to make sure their routines and medical needs are kept as intact as possible. So instead of viewing this portion of the preemptive evacuation as alarming, see it as proactive and helpful to you and your family.

Just Another Trip

Picture the last time you boarded an airplane. Are you one of those people who wants an assigned seat and then waits until the last possible second to board so you don’t have to be squished into that airplane seat for hours on end?

Perhaps you’re a family with small kiddos or pets and you take advantage of the early boarding to get your kids on board and settled in. Maybe boarding early lets you set up the tablet and get the livestream going so your children aren’t driving you crazy during the flight. Or maybe your pets need some calming meds so they aren’t completely stressed out during their trip. Either way, there are decisions to be made in order to make traveling easier.

Think about this potential evacuation like an airplane trip. Do you want to stay off the plane (in your own home) until the last possible second or do you just want to get on the plane? Would you rather get someplace and get settled and just plan on being there for a little longer (and nobody can even say what that would look like right now)?

When To Take Your Trip

This decision is really important. But going back to the title of my post, it’s also critical that the decision of when to go, where to go, how to go, and when you plan on returning is made with the help of viable information sources. Don’t get sucked into a race to evacuate created by the recent Facebook Frenzy! This is not a race. Reports from the incident team and Fire Chief Troy Hughes suggest we’re going to have 24 to 48 hours to pack up and go. Be calm and get your information directly from the Community Updates or the Forest Service. Don’t get them from your favorite Facebook Group, Instagram, or Snapchat. Don’t give into someone else’s anxiety. Take a mental step back, check the real news, breathe, and make an active plan with your family. And if you’re really that worried, go!

Los Alamos is still an amazing place to live! We have so many things to do, beautiful sights to see, and a fascinating history to learn. For right now, I hope that all of you stay safe here in Los Alamos or wherever your plan takes you! If you’re truly feeling overwhelmed by anxiety, the Los Alamos Family Council Counseling Center will remain open until Los Alamos moves to “Go!” status and the counseling center closes to maintain the safety of their employees and the firefighting personnel with boots on the ground. Family Council offers telehealth services anywhere in New Mexico and has resources available for those in need regardless of their insurance or socioeconomic situation. And when things settle down and you’re ready to talk real estate in Los Alamos, give me a call! I’d love to chat with you!

Thanks to Karla Palmer, LMHC, of Los Alamos Family Council for her contribution to this week’s post!