photo credit: CAL FIRE
Eaton Fire in Los Angeles County on January 14, 2025

 Sonoma County residents who lived through the various wildfires in 2017, 2019 and 2020 have been struggling over the past week and a half. All too familiar emotions are surfacing after witnessing the horrible, and eerily similar situation in Los Angeles County with their wildfires.

Andrea Kirk is a licensed clinical psychologist in Sebastopol. She says it's understandable this scenario would trigger post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD in our community. She describes the impact of trauma.

“Trauma is really any stressful event that overwhelms our nervous system to such a degree that it exceeds our capacity to cope. This includes directly experiencing or witnessing things that feel threatening to our safety, be it, physically emotionally, or mentally. This experience was overwhelming and the stress that has a direct and lasting impact on the brain and body and it subsequently changes how the nervous system perceives and even responds to future cues of threat or danger. Basically, the body can become stuck and feeling like the trauma is still happening in the here and now, even months or years after the actual traumatic event has passed," explained Kirk.

Kirk says the sensory connection created in the brain makes the body feel like the original trauma is happening again.

“After watching some news footage, or maybe seeing pictures of homes that have been destroyed in the LA fires, a Sonoma County resident who lost their own home in a fire may suddenly experience a sense of panic in their body, racing heart, difficulty breathing. Others may feel on edge or have difficulty sleeping. Perhaps even feel suddenly shut down and numb all together," Kirk said.

There are healthy coping mechanisms that increase mindfulness and grounding during bouts of PTSD, according to Kirk.

“It's kind of like doing a bench press for the prefrontal cortex. It brings it back online so it can quell the fight or flight response. Some examples of this would be ‘54321’ which is noticing five things that we can see, four things that we can hear, three things that we can touch, two things that we can smell, and one thing that we can taste," said Kirk.

Kirk says it’s common to get into a bad headspace when experiencing PTSD.

“Sometimes there'll be some negative self-talk. ‘Why am I feeling this way?’ Or, you know, ‘I shouldn't still be so upset about this. This happened a long time ago.’ So being kind and compassionate with ourselves is really vital. And giving ourself permission to take breaks from media coverage. You know, engaging in self-care activities, such as exercise, having time to connect with loved ones, doing things that just bring us joy and meaning like our hobbies, being in nature," said Kirk.

She says professional help is also useful if that sense of being overwhelmed continues, as is keeping up with mental health on a regular basis.

Kirk says this emotional trigger around wildfires is something that is very common here.

“Just any Sonoma County resident, right? We've all been through this experience of either being evacuated, experiencing going outside and smelling that smoke, seeing the red sky. I haven't yet met a Sonoma County resident who doesn’t, on some level, still hold the impact of having wildfires become more and more a regular part of our existence here, in this part of the world," Kirk said.

Despite having empathy and compassion for those in Los Angeles County who are going through wildfires, Kirk says it is normal to want to disengage or need to distance oneself. She also recommends other resources, including mindfulness apps like Calm or Headspace, a series of self-help books, and websites to find local therapists.

“The Redwood Psychological Association is the local chapter of licensed psychologist here in Sonoma County," Kirk said.

For those who are in crisis, Sonoma County offers a Crisis Stabilization Unit available 24/7.

Here are resources recommended by Kirk:

Self-Help Books:

The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel Van Der Kolk, M.D. 
Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma by Peter A. Levine
Anchored: How to Befriend Your Nervous System Using Polyvagal Theory by Deb Dana 

Finding a Therapist:

Psychology Today therapist search Sonoma County: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/ca/sonoma-county
Redwood Psychological Association: https://rpapsych.org/find-a-psychologist/
Recamft (Redwood Empire Chapter of California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists): https://www.recamft.org/find-a-therapist

Mindfulness and Meditation Apps:

CALM: https://www.calm.com/
Headspace: https://www.headspace.com/

Crisis Support:

Sonoma County Crisis Stabilization Unit: 1-800-746-8181
National Disaster Distress Helpline: 1-800-985-5990