For the kind souls who have inquired about the raging California fires: We're okay where we are. Others aren't so fortunate.
In our area of southern California, it rains only during winter months; we don't see a drop all summer, so unirrigated green things become dead, powder-dry brush. This past week the humidity slipped to 8% -- which means that I can touch my car and actually see a spark of static electricity. Combine that with Santa Ana winds (two nights ago, gusts topped out at 100 mph), and you can see why fires are popping up all over the area.
Our local firemen, bless them, have managed to put out all the small brush fires that started in neighboring hamlets and on the outskirts of our town. However, Piru (40 minutes away), Malibu (an hour away) and San Diego (5 hours south of us) are all disasters. Fortunately, the winds are supposed to ease up today, so I'm hoping things improve. Night before last, it was raining ash -- it looked like grey snow coming down.
In the meantime, I'm fortunate enough to be working undisturbed on THE BLOODIEST QUEEN (well, except for a couple of power outages -- but I work on a laptop with great battery life). But I'm thinking of all those who are suffering now as a result of the fires.
Comments (2)
Thanks for the update, Jeanne - I am sure it will reassure many who were thinking of you!
What a horror show - my east coast heart goes out to all the suffering Californians.
Apparently, a lot of the web social networking services are playing a valuable role in communications
Using social media services to track the California fires.
This MetaFilter discussion thread has some good links to news sources and occasional updates and comments from locals.
Posted by madamjujujive | October 23, 2007 6:59 AM
Posted on October 23, 2007 06:59
The fires are crazy. They have been one of the main news stories on the television up here in Canada. It really is a terrible thing. Last night I saw that Bush was making some statements and things. I was wondering, has he responded better than New Orleans or just as slowly... I hope the fires continue to stay away!
Posted by Kailana | October 24, 2007 8:12 AM
Posted on October 24, 2007 08:12