Hi Everyone - we're safe and together.  I live in the city of San Bruno.  Luckily, we lived down the hill from where the gas explosion occurred and missed the explosion.  I feel extremely lucky that my family is safe and together last night.  Thank you everyone that called to check on us last night and this morning.  We really appreciate your offers of shelter and prayers. 

Last night, after picking up my kids from school and daycare, we headed home.  Right as we were exiting San Bruno Avenue my oldest son, Gavin, yelled "fire"!  I turned and saw a gigantic fireball and was shocked.  The smoke was light and white so I knew it just happened.  It must have just happened I thought.  The scene getting home was very chaotic.   There was traffic on the streets as distracted drivers strained to get a better view of the fire, traffic building up, and people outside of their homes looking in one direction towards the fire. 

Luckily, we had plans to eat out and headed home to pick up Andre (daddy).  We parked the car in the lot and stepped out to access the scene.  There was a loud, continuous fan noise and we assumed it was a plane's turbine rumbling loudly.  We could smell the smoke and by now the smoke was black.  Our first thought was "let's get out of here before something else happens". 

At dinner that night, we were glued to the news broadcast hoping to hear what happened and if our home was ok.  By 8PM, we decided to go home just to see what was going on as the fire hadn't spread to our part of the neighborhood.  The roads were blocked, fire and police cars everywhere, traffic was heavy, neighbors walking everywhere, and the power was completely out. 

Andre took the kids to his sister's house and I went back inside the house to get supplies we would need that night (toothbrush, clothes, etc).    Plus, my work with GoGo Juice is stored on my laptop which I left at home and wasn't backed up (I will definitely do that now).  Flashlight in hand I headed into the darkness and chatted with neighbors quickly where I was informed there was a voluntary evacuation for our area. 

Quickly, I packed a suitcase full of belongings (my emergency kit came in hand here).  I headed out the door and meet saw that our elderly neighbors were getting out too.  I thought about our other elderly neighbors and hoped they were able to get out too.

Once at my in-law's home the Giants game and we were distracted for a while.  By 10PM we realized we had to stay the night and turned the game room floor into our bedroom for the night.  It was extremely hard to sleep that night.  Everyone was up bright and early and the kids enjoyed playing with their grandparents this morning. 

After the kids were dropped off at school and daycare this morning I headed home to access the damage and take a shower.  Thankfully, the power and water were back on.  There's still a smell in the air, debris in the road, helicopters flying above us, and streets blocked off every so often, but at least our home is safe and standing. 

The television news channel is on right now as I write this post.  My heart and prayers go out to my neighbors who just lost their homes and loved ones.  I don't even want to imagine "what if that was us".  I feel blessed that I was able to hold my family as we slept last night and truly know that they are all that matter in this world to me.  But, this fire burned way too close to home. 

Betty - Founder of GoGo Juice