When Fire Season Comes Back.

For Sonoma County residents who still feel on edge every fall, years after the fires, and wonder why it has not gone away.

Sonoma County residents have lived through some of the most destructive wildfires in California history, including the 2017 Tubbs Fire and the fires that followed in later years. Many families evacuated in the middle of the night, lost homes, or watched neighborhoods burn. For a lot of people, fall has never felt quite the same since.

PHP covers outpatient mental health therapy for Medi-Cal members in Sonoma County, including trauma-focused care. You do not need a referral, and you do not need to have lost your home to qualify. Evacuating, losing a neighborhood, or living through the fear is enough.

Sessions with PMHS take place over secure video or by phone, so you can be seen from home in Santa Rosa, Petaluma, Sonoma, Windsor, Healdsburg, or anywhere else in the county.

Trauma is stored in the body as well as the memory.

Trauma is stored in the body as well as the memory. That is why the smell of smoke, a hot dry wind, the sound of a siren, or a red flag warning on your phone can set off a racing heart, tight chest, or urge to pack the car, even when you know you are safe right now.

Anniversaries are a common trigger. As October approaches, many people notice they are more irritable, sleep worse, or feel a sense of dread they cannot quite explain. That pattern is a recognized response to trauma, and it often catches people off guard years after the event.

Some people did not struggle much right after the fires and only began to notice symptoms later, once the immediate work of rebuilding was over. Delayed reactions are common. Getting through a crisis often requires pushing feelings aside, and they can surface once things calm down.

Trauma-focused therapy helps the brain process what happened so that reminders lose some of their power. PMHS clinicians use evidence-based approaches, including EMDR and trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy. Your clinician will explain each approach before you begin and move at a pace that feels manageable.

Children who lived through the fires may still react to smoke, wind, or evacuation drills at school. They may have trouble sleeping in the fall or worry about losing their home. Therapy for children and teens is covered under EPSDT for members under 21.

Many residents also carry ongoing stress from rebuilding, insurance battles, higher housing costs, or moving away from the neighborhood they loved. Those losses deserve attention, too.

Practical preparation, such as a go-bag, an evacuation plan, and alerts, can be part of feeling safer. Therapy helps separate reasonable preparation from the constant scanning and worry that keeps your body on high alert.

First responders, utility workers, and others who worked during the fires may carry their own trauma, along with a sense that they should be able to handle it because it was their job. Their reactions are just as valid, and therapy is available to them as well.

Survivor guilt is also common. People whose homes survived while neighbors lost everything sometimes feel they do not have a right to struggle. Trauma is not measured by what you lost. It is measured by what you experienced.

You do not have to wait until fire season to start. Many people find it helpful to begin in the summer, so they have tools in place before the anniversary and red flag days arrive.

If you are in crisis, call or text 988. During an active fire, follow guidance from local officials and call 911 if you are in danger.

To begin, submit our intake form at www.pacmhs.com/connect. We will verify your PHP coverage and reach out within one hour between 8am and 8pm, or by 9am the next morning to get your first session scheduled. You can also press the Get Started button below, which takes you to the same form.