Wildfires

We woke up Monday to news of fires about 60 miles north of us in Santa Rosa and surrounding areas.  Many neighborhoods have been evacuated, schools are closed, homes and businesses have burned.  The TV reports are almost unbelievable.  They are hard to watch yet can be hard to turn off.  Here we experience the worst air pollution ever, with unhealthy air.  Yesterday I could see the sun, but no blue sky; everything seemed hazy, a light orange or coral.

I remember the 1991 fire up in the hills, seeing many pine needles fall from trees across the street as we sat in church, noticing flames shoot up in the hills as we drove home on the freeway, riding bikes down to the bay so we could observe the plumes of smoke.  But that lasted only a couple of days.  Now we have multiple fires expected to last many days.  E and Randy and I have talked about what we would do if told to evacuate, how we can prepare now.

Wildfires in wooded areas or open fields is one thing; fire tearing through residential areas is scary.