10-13-8

We are now officially in Fire Season 2008. Let the burning begin.

Today has been strange. It starts off with this weird dream I had about Princess Diana. I don't remember much, but I do remember that it was weird.

Then we move on to walking outside this morning at 5:45am to go to work and thinking how nice it looked outside. The wind had made it really clear and the stars were quite lovely. That was until I looked at my car and realizing that the window had been bashed in. At first I was shocked and a little shook-up. I kept waiting for that moment when I would see eyes coming out of the walls like that State Farm Commercial when that guy finds out his car his stolen. In fact, that commercial immediately came to mind and pretty much stayed on my mind until I got to work. If your curious, the only thing they happened to steal was my iPod charger and peace of mind. Thankfully, my iPod was at work.


The morning continues to be weird when Liz tells me that there is crazy smoke over to the east of us and I shake my head, knowing that the fire from yesterday had been contained. Alas, another fire broke out mere miles from that one and essentially started to burn in Sylmar. Rey calls to tell me that he might have to be evacuated and if so, he's coming to my house. So, I'm worried about him and then annoyed at my car.

The flames were visible from Borders

Rudimentary panorama showing the smoke from the fire from yesterday

Then, the Porter Ranch fire breaks out. The smoke clouds are huge! My first concern is for Robert as I know the fire is near where he lives. Then I call to make sure he's okay and he's been evacuated and it's just crazy!

Normally, I'm a big fan of fire season and chasing around the fires and stuff, but this year it seems like too much, too soon, too close and my heart isn't really in it. I'll admit that after I got my window replaced, I went up to the top of Reseda, but I didn't even really try to get around barricades. I was sort of just like, "Meh..." Anyway, the Porter Ranch fire is actually continuing to blaze away as I write this, and they say that the Sylmar fire is 5% contained by thankfully, blowing away from any major structures. I think I'm going to stay awake until the winds pick up in an hour. Apparently, they're expecting gusts of up to 80mph (!).

The smoke from the Porter Ranch fire from Borders

In the meantime, let's hope nothing happens to my car tonight (though I think the statistics are in my favor) because tomorrow, I'm having my alarm reactivated. Let's hope Robert gets to go home soon. And let's hope that the next fires are a little further away from home next time.
This bottom picture really makes me sad as this road is my favorite road to take when driving to Rey's house as it's got that awesome turn in it and the surrounding area always seems to look really nice. Next time I go to Rey's, I'll get to see the charred mountain side. Even worse to think about though is that what's going in this picture is probably what's going on in the 3rd picture above.
(Courtesy of Yahoo)