Fire, Fire Burning Bright

It is a little disturbing to flip on the news and find out that there is a fire burning within 5 miles of me. And then, following the news, paying attention to the live shots, and which roads they say it is crossing, discovering that it is, in fact, within about 2.5 miles of me! Possibly less in some areas.

Just north of where I live, a couple of blocks, is Portola Parkway. Just east of me is Jeffrey (maybe a mile). The fire is close enough that it is burning just on the other side (north) of Portola. It is close enough to Jeffrey that they started evacuations of some homes and apartments on the west side of that road. At last comment by a fire fighter, this fire has burned in excess of 3,800 square acres. The fire teams decided that Portola was where they were making their stand, as there is nothing left south of Portola but homes and apartments. So far, they seem to be winning. The helicopters and planes are constantly making water drops-- which is amazing because, at night, the pilots are on a voluntary basis. It is very dangerous for them to fly at the best of times, but doubly so at night. But they keep at it.

When you read my previous post about the wind, and the fact that the wind in this area is blowing west and south, it means this fire is heading directly toward me! We were alerted to "bunker;" which means to shut your doors and windows, try to stay out of the smoke and debris, collect important items, and pay attention to the radio or TV for alerts of voluntary or compulsory evacuations.

I have collected my important documents, medications, some clothes, etc. into a plastic bin and I am ready to evacuate if needed. I will sleep with more on than usual, so that I don't have to worry about getting dressed if asked to evacuate during the middle of the night. My plan is to drive to work, where I will have access to a phone.

My power is fluctuating quite a bit, but at least I still have power. Many areas are completely without, due to power lines being burned down. I called both mom and M to alert them to this potential problem. Yes, I woke M up at nearly 2 am her time, but I didn't want her to wonder about things if she didn't hear from me tomorrow because I've been evacuated and am trying to find a place to go. Hopefully she went right back to sleep. Yet one more inconvenience of a) not being together in the first place and b) the time difference between here and there.

There are, apparently, nearly a dozen fires burning in Southern California right at this moment. The three worst appear to be Malibu, Canyon Country, and Irvine, with many others threatening homes and businesses.
We're paying for the light- precipitation winter and spring we had followed by the hot, dry summer-- the brush is dry and there isn't a lot of water to use to fight it. When the winds blew down some power lines, the first fires started. But now there are so many that I wonder about arson or if one fire has ignited others.

I don't know how well I'll sleep tonight. The air is thick with smoke and ash, even with the doors and windows closed and my Ionic Breeze set on high. Hopefully our heroic fire people will keep this thing contained until morning. The bad thing is that the Santa Ana Winds are scheduled to hit hard again first thing in the morning and will last through the evening.