Through The Fire: Kimberly McCullough Reflects On Life After The CA Blaze

December was a devastating month for California residents after giant wildfires ravaged cities, towns, and neighborhoods. General Hospital (GH) actress Kimberly McCullough was forced to flee her Ojai home and says life is just now getting back to normal.

However, normal is relative. While she, her partner, and baby son are safe, she describes her current life as living in the “in between.” Nothing is yet how it was, but they are all struggling to get there.

“The initial survival mode has now turned to a desire for healing. But we are still a long way off to getting back to normal. The battle scars on the mountains are a 360-degree reminder of the natural disaster that devastated our town,” she wrote on her blog.

“But as I look down from the mountains and onto the faces of the people I pass on the trail, I see human beings who want to connect and say, ‘Are you okay? How long were you away? Is your house still standing?’ Instead, they offer a vibrant smile and we cross paths knowing… KNOWING, we are the same.”

McCullough describes the harrowing night when she and her little family were forced to evacuate, and it will forever be a reminder of 2017–a year she also welcomed her first child into the world.

“Right now, it’s difficult to recall all the great milestones that occurred in 2017. I know that they happened. I have utopian images on my iPhone to prove it! My son was born, I directed my first finale, and we had the most incredible Thanksgiving holiday,” she wrote.

“Unfortunately, I can’t see or feel those memories right now. The image of the entire mountainside on fire as we drove through it on the way to the 101 and my son is his car seat in the back, is all I can see. This is the in between. No longer in danger, not yet back to normal. And I have to find a way to soften and let go.”

General Hospital (GH) airs weekdays on ABC. Check your local listings for airtimes.