We lived in Anaheim..and I remember my dad making sure our garden hoses were long enough to soak all the roofs...if need be.
My dad wasn't the only one who thought that trouble couldn't come to their neighborhoods...30-40 miles away or not.
FWIW-
your father was a smart man who was willing to read between the lines. I am not willing to wait even way down here in South OC. Besides, it's a choice to be prepared and/or well stocked up for ANY type of emergency or civil disturbance regardless of what "it" is.