Makana Dudoit and Mia Ayau-paulos

00:04 My name is makana dudoit. I'm 18 years old. It's Thursday December 14th, 2017. We are at Northwest Prep charter school in Santa Rosa and my relationship to my partner is she's my sister.

00:18 My name is Mia. Ayau-paulos. I'm 14. Today's date is Thursday December 14th, 2017 at Northwest Prep charter school in Santa Rosa and my relationship to her is she's my sister.

00:33 Okay, so we all know about the fire that happened a couple weeks ago. So what was it like seeing our whole community at the Finley Center early Monday morning. It was really intense. It felt like we were on like a movie set and everyone was kind of just you know, trying to act and there was Ash everywhere. He was like chaotic no one really knew what to do. And so I decided to stay back and kind of help out.

01:04 Oh, yeah, so so I work at the Finley Aquatic Center and we have a community center. That's right next door and it's kind of just our local area that people in the community can come and either, you know do different classes. We have like a senior wing and they have lots of activities for people to do and it is also an evacuation Center in in an emergency. So, how do you like? How did you first find out about the fire lights. Did you just wake up and somebody told ya so it was about

01:38 1 a.m. And Monday morning and our neighbors were pounding on our door. And first I thought it was just in my dream. So no one really woke up and my room is right next to the door. So I went and answered it and she was crying and saying, you know, there's a fire you need to get your family out of the house. It was right behind if you know, it's really funny clothes. And so I ran around the house waking everyone up and we got out as soon as we could. So when you're when you first find out about the fire and she told you and everything and you woke up and you were thinking like what were your thoughts do you think it was a small fire or where you like very very panic at the first moment. She told you when she first told me I didn't really fully understand how bad this fire was until I stepped outside and there were like Embers flying everywhere. Like people are just kind of like like it was like a movie set people just dropping all these things to make it look like really scared. I was really scary.

02:37 No, I haven't really been in a fire before like that. I feel like we've never experienced a fire. Yeah, so if you like one like at first when you guys woke me up that morning like you and when you and mommy likes her new suitcase that me and you guys like pack a type. We have to go through the fire now. They quite like I thought it was just a day or other day. Thought I was going to come to school that morning. So I brought my backpack and then we packed like a day's worth of clothes, but it was really scary and I didn't lie take it seriously until we got to the Finley Center and I saw all those people there like did you see a lot of people with a lot of people there or yeah, there was tons of people we went like way over capacity in the first two hours are parking lots were filled and so we had to go and open up all these other things just so they could drive up on the fields to park because there was nowhere for anyone to go.

03:25 So when everyone is just trying to figure out what to do like when Mom and my uncle were like talking about where we're going in your head were you thinking already? Yeah, I want to stay and help or were you thinking you're just going to come with us to my kind of knew I wanted to help because that's just me anytime anyone needs help. I'm kind of always there and once I saw all these people and they you know, they lost their homes or they didn't you know, their children were scared. Like I knew if I could do something to help and I would want to do it. But are you too sweetie scared to help or where you like? Are you confident enough that you were going to do it? Yeah. I was really confident. I just stepped right in there. So being away from make your family stuff, especially me. Was it very very hard. I mean it was so chaotic that I didn't really notice at first but after everything kind of like died down it was

04:18 Pretty sad not being with my family. Don't worry. I was very very boring and what the funny thing is was we wanted to be closer like once we got away and went to Stockton we want us to be like here because you have no idea what's happening. Like you see all these things. Like I heard schools were burning down. I heard that the fire literally was like behind of our house. I heard that pops went down and I was like what like you don't know you can't see anything cuz we're here. So we wanted to be here so bad, but everyone is trying to leave so when you first day like once we last and like everything really hard to kick in if I was getting closer and closer. What was the first things you did to help mainly what I did all morning. I was unloading buses of elderly people and people from Kaiser hospital and all they're like not non-emergency patients kind of thing. They're all in there. Most of them couldn't walk especially the people from the Elderly Homes and all coming to the Finley center from where they work as a fire was going to close. Yeah, so they were evacuated and they were

05:18 Put on city buses and they were all just brought to the Finley Center and most of them, you know couldn't walk and they didn't bring their walkers or their wheelchairs. So we had to use our tables with wheels that we have in our desk chairs just to you know, carry them all the bus and then get them on there and wheel them into the facility was there a lot of them. Is there a lot of people coming through vents old people like all the old people cuz like I saw pictures when we were driving out in like parts of Kaiser on fire or something like that. Yeah, there were lots of people some people even came and they were kind of burnt and we have to like send it back out but the roads were blocked so we had to kind of take care of them for a while until they could get you no help and it was crazy Ivan heard some people like giving birth. Morning crazy like somebody you know, who's giving birth the morning.

06:08 No, I don't know. I heard mom told me somebody was like in labor. And what's happening. Where are they named the kid smokey?

06:18 Question

06:20 State of people as you are like a loading both like that actual. Hope you're helping and the other one.

06:27 Well, most of that there wasn't a lot of volunteers was mostly the paramedics and me and another lifeguard that was there. But the the people on the bus is there were crying all of them were in tears and it was just so hard to try and you know calm them down and communicate to them, you know, and most of them don't have cell phones don't have their you know, families phone memorize so they didn't, you know, they weren't they were all alone and they were terrified cuz like I was so scared for like Mom like she I was asking her like is our house going to be fine. Like I know like I shouldn't be worried about the house. I cannot moment. Like I was really scared about like my things like now when I think about it like we talked about this Omission Appliance class, but on the first fire like when it initially happened, I was so scared about like my things like I supposed to go to her house burning down and like all my things being gone, but now they seem like all my friends who did lose your homework. I'm just thankful that they got out and they're not like you haven't heard of them really like

07:27 Loser homes. Do you think things are slowly recovering or do you think we're still in that state of mind would like it doesn't feel real yet. I think that they're slowly recovering. I mean one of my best friend she lost her house and the fire was in their backyard when they got up so they left with nothing not even shoes on their feet and they found a home and you know there cuz it in guarding. Yeah, they're starting to kind of get back on their feet and build up everything. Yeah. I think when we first came back from school and we all had like a conversation here, everyone was just so still in shock has like two weeks later, but everyone would just still didn't believe that it happened at all. Like in the stories people are saying I just like couldn't really believe it and like when I told him like I told him how you say back and stuff and like how you helped. I didn't know what to tell them what you did to help because I kind of forgot but now I know like you just have them off the city buses and stuff. Yeah, and then after everyone was off we help, you know, get them settled serve food.

08:27 I'll pass out anything. They needed blankets try to make them as comfortable as possible. But they're all kind of like crammed in these tiny rooms and they slept on chairs and it was just feel like that morning like Monday morning and like a whole day this felt like it was like 2 weeks in like a whole day and I guess I'll see what all along yeah, I was really long day and I was like 10 and it was only like something boring. And yeah. Yeah. I was just really confused.

08:51 So what about now? Like how you doing now after the fire?

08:58 I feel like everything's like starting to get back to normal. I'm starting to you notes.

09:07 Feel better and then the fires in Southern California have been and I just went down.

09:15 For the weekend and it was it was beautiful Friday Saturday and we woke up Sunday morning, and it was just Smokey everywhere. And then everyone else has it again. It's not reliving it. I was really bad and

09:31 Everyone had masks on and it was just like reliving the day all over again. It kind of made me and my friend that I went on the trip with kind of, you know, like in Southern California. Did he have to do you say anything related to the fire? Like did he see things that were burnt was bad as it was here. Do you think you could lose worse there? I didn't I didn't see a lot of it but I did drive by a lot on some of the mountains that burnt down. I didn't see any of that like, you know communities are houses and I feel like that when we when I let me roll it up and compare the fire stick is not right. But like I was just when I heard about that fire, I was just like another one like is is going to destroy Lake communities how it did here.

10:12 Yeah, it definitely impacted them like just as bad as it impacted us here.

10:18 Feel like I do have some fires happen. Like have you noticed any I noticed a lot more positivity like everywhere like even in this school, we have they even everywhere but especially one might like everywhere all the time. But I've seen people in this school at least be nicer. I've seen like moods change in like being more understanding towards people who have lost their fires cuz sometimes my friends names with my friend like she lost her home and sometimes when we do bring it up she gets like you notice her mood job and everyone like really notices that we like try to make sure she feels as comfortable as possible Butt-head Do you think you've noticed any mood changes are like have you noticed people change me on the community, especially in my workplace like a lot of people started donating anything they could or like swimsuits, you know, anything that

11:09 Could help a fire victim and so right now you're going to college and what you want to do in the future. I want to be a nurse. Is it going to be nice after seeing all these patients and the city buses and seeing how they were injured and bleeding and like just in that state. Are you still want to be a nurse? Yeah, it made me want to pursue that even more even more sleep thing that I do you want to be like in labor nurse, right? Yeah. I know it's not the same but I feel like I can never be nice cuz I just can't deal with blood and stuff like that. But I feel like seeing that made you want to do even more like I'm no. Yeah, you know, I even thought about like changing from labor and delivery into like a trauma or something.

11:58 I don't know. I feel like you you're really good at taking initiative like and it was that initiative initiative initiative. Okay to take initiative, but I feel like you get really stressed out really quickly. It depends on the situation. Like if I needed his chest out with me by quickly. It's mostly family, but other than that in an otherwise, so what's a good one?

12:27 So since you do want to be a nurse, so you thinking of changing it or you do want to change it? I'm thinking of changing it. I'm not sure together. Yeah, so where do you want to go to college for that? I not sure yet. Currently. I'm thinking transferring to either Sonoma State Chico State or Dominican. I really like to have a nice vacation without McKenna.

13:00 What are most drawn to about being a nurse is being able to help people? You know, I've always loved helping people ever since I was little it just there not something else fish. Do not like off-white off your selfless and I feel like my like a little bit but I feel like I'm still very like

13:26 First I want to help myself, but I just seeing what happened. I feel like my mind has changed a little bit and I kinda want to help people before me. So I think this fire was a big eye opening experience for everyone. I feel like it was very traumatic and I wish it didn't happen. But I feel like some parts some parts of it and made a lot of people stronger me a lot of people in nice people for the better. But at the same time like I really wish you didn't have enough.

13:50 About yourselves that you have learned from Surprise.

13:55 Yeah, what I've learned about myself is that in chaotic situations and like crazy situations. I'm able to kind of calm myself down and just kind of take initiative and start, you know, helping in any way I can Island that I can't handle this kind of situation cuz I do. I am very stressed the whole time. I'll take Mom is expired closer. Is it is it going to come by your house is going to come for us and like I'm just what I can't call myself down like I couldn't calm anybody down cuz I'm just so my mind stays in like I feel like I spoke it send the bad and I didn't happen yet. I don't focus on. Oh, maybe they can have them but I'm always like okay this is going to happen. This is going to happen. But so I realize that opposites. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

14:49 I honestly don't have a lot. I mean we should we kind of movie is Italy from Hawaii. So we got rid of a lot of things and we don't really have a lot of my mom doesn't really keep like a great person love her but she doesn't leave keep like old things like when we're going up or like anything like that. So I feel like oh my God, I need this, you know, yeah, so there's nothing I can think of

15:18 So what I learned recently not recently right after fight happen is Byers always roll through this part because we're we're in the middle of like we're in a forest. It not for us, but we're surrounded by all these trees and mr. Edmondson who's a teacher here at North Hills prep. He said that fires constantly roll through these parts of California and this would happen in five years. What would be the first thing you do is like this whole thing happen again. I would go out and help out in the community and do exactly what I did last time because it was it felt really rewarding and I knew like I made a difference

16:00 So

16:02 In like 10 in 10 or 15 years you would have loved back on this time. What do you think is like a single image of feeling you'll remember.

16:14 I think like the image I'm going to remember the most is like just walking out of my house like after you know, our neighbors knocked on the door and just seeing like everyone in our whole neighborhood just like reading a ride with fast I can up and like, you know, right behind our house is like this like huge like red glowing smoke and like fire you can just see it cuz it hit the neighborhood right next to us, but it stopped before ours. That's why it's so crazy. Like it stopped right before our house. Yeah. I feel like I remember I remember it the worst moments but always remember the best moments of what happened after was like seeing like seeing everybody after the fire coming back to school like I don't like school coming to school because no it's a great school. I love it but comes goes always like yeah, but just seeing everybody after it was like the best feeling ever it was like, but also remember the worst moments like when we first saw it and like Ash's get getting in her eyes and her mouth and

17:10 I feel like I was trying to make jokes a lot because that's what I do try to make things better. But I feel like there was really no jokes for me to make so you're just going to buy it straight.

17:28 Oh, yeah.

17:31 There's a group chats like my everyone at the school or like I think the whole High School like it was I saw it on Snapchat. They made like a fire group chat and every time an updated come out. Somebody would send it out and we all talk about if you're doing okay like, okay. Do you need anything or you? Okay, do you need help getting evacuated and seeing that whole other side of people people like I don't really talk to and like asking like, oh, are you? Okay, are you? Okay? Do you need anything? And so I feel like that group chat was like really good for people to stay away from people that like find out what's happening with that's how we found out that we lost that are some of our friends lost their homes and it was a chance for us to be there for them. Yeah. I had something similar we had like, you know a group chat on just regular message. Love all my co-workers mainly just to make sure you know, everyone was okay and their houses were okay, we found out a lot of my co-workers lost their house cuz a lot of them lived and Coffee Park, but we were just glad that everyone made it out safe and no one got hurt.

18:31 Volunteering like how was how do people make things organized like with somebody in the car. Yeah. Well, it was a little chaotic at first but we keep moving the meetings, right? Yeah and but a lot of our city employees they kind of like, you know took charge and they set up all these systems.

18:58 Oh, I set up these systems for everyone, you know to check in we had you know, certain Wings really bad like the elderly people in this part of the facility and we had some families in this part people with dogs in this room people with cats over here people who needs medical attention, you know over here or special attention. We had some nurses we didn't have any doctors wouldn't have nurses that kind of just volunteered and stayed in that room for anyone who needed assistance. We have to work with

19:42 I don't know.

19:44 Feel like I have a question. So when you since you did have to work at the Finley Center and people are staying in that what's that building a building, you know right next to the community center or staying in there. What kind of things did you see throughout those two weeks that we were that people right by that? I mean it started out, you know with just so many people in the community and it's as like the week, you know, what went on there was like, you know last families that were there they kind of, you know move on to other places and by the end of like those two three weeks, they're mostly homeless people and so Red Cross actually decided that they were just going to stop the help and so we were just

20:30 Make shelter in a shelter. Yeah, we weren't an evacuation Center anymore. We were at shelter. So when it was still wasn't evacuation Center, what were people doing to keep themselves busy? Like we're going to go in to see what we tried to we all went back to her home. So you could go back and we brought DVD so that you know, the family is good or anyone could watch there. A lot of shows that you know, we couldn't show even like Moana because we can show it because there's lava and Ash and so it wasn't appropriate for the situation. So we really had to let you know look through and like I said that it yeah, they're really strict about the movies we showed and we try to bring board games card games, you know, we have some things at the community center because you know, that's you know, they do activities there anyways, but they had like a little rum for you know, that like a daycare kind of weird kids could try to just play and color and you know, just to keep them occupied.

21:24 So like seeing like there's a lot of kids that write like a lot of the kids sake of his age like 5 for the other lot of little feel like do you think's like it was like like like Aqua was funny at Mom's because he didn't know it was happening. So like when he found out like, you know, you wanted to Sprint down cuz the day before he got stung by a bee and so he said confused about it like that. We think he's like 5:55 not right when we were in the car like driving to Stockton. He was like like my mom is trying to explain to him. Like I like I like there's fire happening. You know, what fire is like our house might burn down like a lot of people are losing their homes. It's really sad and then he was very really tired and like all like Looney and stuff and he was like, okay. I hope her husband. I just got burnt. I got it. I just got bit by a bee yesterday twice and then you sure you know when I can stings and I was like, it was like me to stop a little bit but thinking again like it was sad that

22:20 We had explained that to him at such a young age. I can do that still like to Matick like and when we finally got to go back to the house, you didn't bring down like he was so excited. But that was really exciting to see him happy. Yeah, I think first a lot of the kids there didn't really understand what was going on. They were all just kind of excited that there are up in the middle of the night for their laws than likely running around and like, you know, they thought I was like, yeah, there's all these kids to play with and you know, it's the middle of the night like I'm not sleeping. It's like, you know this really cool thing but no as the week kind of went on and was like, oh I want to go home and you know, it song didn't have a home and so they kind of started you not to kick into those little ones. It was really sad. So like things that did happen like what kind of like, I don't know if I can just meet me like the recent fires in California, like that's really devastating but I feel like a lot of people were paying a lot of attention to that fire and I didn't see a lot of people paying attention like celebrities. I saw a lot of celebrities probably cuz they don't know about Santa Rosa are like this area.

23:20 Like a lot of celebrities are paying like attention to that fire more Elsa.

23:29 Like celebrities were like not even celebrities, but I just feel like there's a lot more tender and a lot on that fire in California. I saw like all these things like on Snapchat like in California what your help we can do to help make and there wasn't a lot for yeah. I know I saw a couple people but it just I wish there could have been laid the same support. Yeah. I got it.

23:56 How do you think of buyers have impacted your family? Is that all?

24:02 I feel like we're lucky enough that nothing happened to nothing too bad happened to us at all. So I feel like it made us a lot more grateful for what we have. I can be having a lot more grateful for what I have after those couple weeks that we couldn't go to her house when we finally got to go back. I was like so happy to see this yet so I can lay in your bed until I say or said. Yeah, I feel like driving into our neighborhood like after we finally got to go there where it wasn't like the cops feel like telling you when you can't when your house it was just like the most relieving moment of my life. I think I'll ever be yeah definitely made us more grateful for things we have

24:43 I know I didn't know never liked and anywhere here like the winds could change at any second and that's what I kept telling me cuz I'm like, okay, the fire is past the mountain. It's not going to come back. But McKenna was like, you know, like the one can change in the middle of the night like anything can happen like one Ember Ember, right? Yeah and Braken flight near there's like this huge grass field behind her house, like really in the neighborhood would basically be gone. So I'm just like you you're just I was so unsettled. I think everyone is so unsettled until you finally got to go back to your house and see it like you don't know.

25:19 Is there anything bad in the people from outside the community don't know about what it was like for people who actually live here and lives. There is anything that you would want them to know about?

25:31 I mean one of the like big things that kind of Stand Out is how quickly our community kind of came together and started, you know, helping out, you know donating things opening up their homes to people just kind of you know being there for everyone it was it was really nice to see it, you know our community kind of come together like that and what I wish is what I also saw what people were when if they did find out that someone did lose their home. They would be overly they would give them a lot of sim sympathy empathy to wear like it was really over time for that person that person I couldn't take it that like, yes, like I'm grateful that you feel bad and like you want to help but like I feel like a lot of people needed their space and it's like I knew to get like my friend's face after cuz I she told me right away when it happened. I didn't know what to say. Like, I was just like I'm so sorry like if you need anything, I'll help you but they really just needed to be with their families for a little bit and I feel like a lot of people are coming on too strong to them and it was really hard for them to talk about.

26:31 At the time so I just wish people some people just laid off a little bit.

26:48 For me home is just where my family is. I mean like our home will always kind of been Hawaii cuz we grew up there but like anywhere that my family is I just kind of consider home to see is I don't know if I feel like yeah, I feel like this is where I'm living but I feel like when I think of home I think of like our grandma's house in Hawaii, like I don't I don't even really grew out of our home here. This is like how I think like I think of like my grandma's house

27:18 I love that's like my favorite place. That's like when I think of like what I think of like comforting like I think of her home like right away. Like I saw it. She has like a two-story home in the mountains in the forest like in the middle before it's basically like in the middle of like you look out the window and it's just like trees everywhere in the Stream that kind of runs by and they have like a cute little backyard and a shed in the back of my grandma snores really loud. And so annoying also my grandpa had to get out of their hair like took over at ASAP.

28:05 I'm defending him. Okay. Alright his favorite. Okay, but yeah, it's like when I just wish I could have been there. Yeah, that's where I felt most comfortable. Yeah, that's where I would want to be to cook for us so much good food.

28:31 Oh, I'm just leaving all the negative stuff in 2017. I'm trying to have my best my best year in 2018. I'm leaving behind all the negative. I'm cutting off all the fake people heading into 2018 with a positive attitude.

28:54 I am really excited to start my second semester in college. I want to find out, you know, getting more into the classes that no interest me more of like the science side and not having to take me out General Ed can the future more cuz I feel like I'm so scared to think about the future that I don't want to like as soon as I start talking about college remind Nana Nana Nana Nana know but it does make a stressing me out at is taking us on these college tours, and I'm like, oh my God, I'm only 14. I just want to be 14 and do whatever I want. Like, I just want to focus more on what I'm going to do with myself when I graduate cuz it's only like three more years and it's so crazy to think about but I just

29:39 Trying to live my best life long as I can.

29:58 I do first. Okay. I think my future self would tell me to relax. I'm really uptight and I have to lie, like I like things, you know in a certain order. I have to kind of like I do I plan everything and I really like to stick to the plan or I kind of get really, you know, like anxious if it's not, you know going I plant that's what we both haven't gone. I'm so anxious about everything. That's why I think that's what I said. That's what she gets mad at me a lot about his when I'm anxious and like I need things to happen is when you get most mad at me like me has stopped you have done. It doesn't have to be to have a smoke on his way or the highway. I would tell myself in the future tone down the Sass little bit because I think I tell myself to

30:50 Maybe

30:52 Think more positively cuz I feel like I mean nothing much has happened to me and like my life. I can make it seem so dramatic sometimes like nothing that bad has happened to me before so but like a couple things but this is how my self like Mia.

31:07 Going to be alright girl power through it. Close your eyes. Take a deep breath. You're almost there. Oh and tell your man's 200.

31:36 I feel like I'm such an open book. I am as soon as the cute costumes and a day with her and you just looking at is how funny she is around her friends. Like she's not as funny as she is around me. Like she's just heard completely nasty's like Rossell from me and Christian on me, but I wish people could see the IRS decide cuz it's so hilarious. Yes. I can. I don't know around family like a little more playful. Yeah. That's how I want you to understand cuz I'm your friends. I don't like your on your friends. I don't have to help yourself for No One.

32:28 Oh my God, she knows everything about me. I don't really think I have a question. I know everything about her. Yeah, I don't know. I don't ask you this question.

32:48 What's slope? I'm not smart as her. So, where do you see me in five years. I just graduated college College High School. I actually I see you going until like beauty school or something like Mom did cuz you guys are kind of similar even though you guys I think that's why you guys fight a lot is cuz you guys are and I think you could go into like a similar field issues it I think I could do but do you think you're smarter than me?

33:23 In five years. She's going to where are you? How old are we will you be 18 19 20 21 22 23. I see her I still would have been calling to see how to make medical school medical. Are you go I see her doing I see her being like I'll make this path to Lake Success and like I see me kind of like, you know, like I've always been that kind of like not going to be is up there is more, but I see her soon. So up there in five years. I see her so rich. I'm so excited by me all the Chick-fil-A I want

33:58 Why don't my Snapchat live your life to the fullest you never know what's going to happen does the Sunday before the Monday. The fire happened. I was eating my in and out laughing it up with my sissy next morning that happened. So you never know how to connect fax to just be grateful for every single moment. That's true.