From Mitch Goldstone, CEO at ScanMyPhotos about the "Getty Fire."
Today’s message is one nobody wants to encounter.
The ominous life-threatening alert came without warning to my relatives at 2:15 a.m. on Monday. The unimaginable struck my family.
THE CALL: With seconds to spare, from deep sleep to racing from their house there was just enough time to grab their two young children. Their house atop Tigertail Road in Brentwood, California was encircled by a hundred-foot wall of flames and an 80 mile-per-hour windstorm.
There was no time to collect their possessions. The call to immediately evacuate meant dashing towards their car and driving down the steep, single-lane curving road through a firestorm of embers. My family and their neighbors escaped down the darkened road aglow by flames and smokey ash raining down.
THE PLAN: We have written many profiles in the past from people we knew in peril due to hurricanes and wildfires. Our reminder was always to plan ahead and prepare. Focus on the “three-P’s,” people, pets, and pictures. Yet, with seconds to spare, there was no time to find those photo albums of nostalgic memories in their darkened homes.
After heading to an evacuation center, it was nearly evening when my cousin learned his house was spared. His neighbor’s fate was less fortunate. Many lost everything.
LIFE OVER PROPERTY: Whether it is the viciously destructive wildfire season affecting millions in California, to hurricanes and other natural disasters, please use this experience to plan ahead. Never stay behind searching for your family memorabilia. The family treasures are the last thing you should think about if all were digitized and backed up off-site.
We hear from too many after calamity strikes. The time to prepare is now. If you already had your memories protected, we are here to help others. From scanning everything to ordering online our e-Gift certificates sent to relatives, please share this message to inspire many to also safeguard their photo legacy. Before.
Be safe!
Mitch |
