FireStorm

This is a photo I took Sunday night, looking due East from my home.

This photo I took this morning, looking SouthWest. This line of fire is only about 1/2 mile away.

Here we still sit. We have been in the "estimated evacuation area" since about 2:00 pm yesterday, but have not received formal notification of evacuation. Our neigbors to the east, less than 1/2 mile away, have been evacuated.

As I mentioned earlier to Jen, the saddest thing is that there is really nowhere to go. Our plan is to head north, out of the County entirely. But for now, we are staying with our home.

The air is filled with smoke and ash, and it gives the day a "total eclipse of the sun" feel. We sat in our backyard this morning and watched a line of fire race down the hill to the southwest of us, less than a mile away. Soon it will be able to cross the freeway again, as it will just have to travel under it. So far, the wind remains in our favor, at least for the line we can SEE.

The same fire (what has been named the "Witch Creek Fire") continues to burn to the northwest of us as well. Should the winds continue, we won't be so lucky from the north. We are feeling rather insulated (a dangerous rationalization, I know), as this little valley pocket that we live in seems to be untouched... everyone around us has been evacuated.

At this point, there isn't a part of San Diego County that isn't threatened by one fire or another (except those that have already burned). Over 300,000 people have been evacuated and over 1000 homes lost, many of them multi-million dollar custom homes. Currently, the ultra-posh communities of Rancho Santa Fe, Encinitas, Carlsbad, Del Mar, and Fairbanks Ranch are evacuated as the southwest head of the Witch Creek Fire, fueled by the Santa Anas, races around uncontained. Brand-new subdivisions to the far south are threatened by the Harris Fire, and Donovan State Prison is currently being evacuated. Many state prisoners are being utilized as fire crews.

I wanted to upload some of the pictures that I've taken over the past couple of days, but I don't have the driver for my camera on my laptop. Bad planning kicks me in the ass again!! I will edit this post later (hopefully) with some of the photographs... none of them are very good, though. Check local and national news sites for some of the more dramatic images... and the satellite photos from space are revealing as well. (Note... images are up, so it's obvious I edited, right???)

Pray for your brethren in Southern California who have already lost so much... and send your strength and courage to the brave men and women who have battled to save lives for two days, in some cases at the cost of an irrevocable impact on their own. We are blessed to be safe and healthy for the time being, and able to mobilize quickly should that status change. So many are not so blessed... and it is for them that my prayers and heart beg to be heard.