Hug a Firefighter Today

The wind changed and the fire headed back the way it originally came; yay! We thought we might have to evacuate last night, especially when the power went out for a while, but thanks to a strong offshore wind, we're good. I think the fire's probably almost burned itself out, because the news isn't covering it 24/7 anymore. The Valley is still filled with smoke, however. My throat feels like I swallowed knives, and I can't breathe to save my life. That really sucks. The part about not having to evacuate rocks, though. Hurray!

I think in the long run, the thing burned somewhere around 20,000 acres, and you could actually see the smoke from space. (It looked like clouds.) 3,000 firefighters did battle with it, and they did a helluva job; only 3 or 4 structures burned - an unattached garage, a Rocketdyne building, and 1 or 2 homes, depending on which newscast you listen to. That's phenomenal when you consider the sheer area burned, how far it spread, and the density of population in Southern California, and this area in particular. I am amazed and think all those firefighters deserve medals, because they worked nonstop for like 36 hours and did an insane job. Seriously, firefighters are underpaid and unsung heroes, all of 'em.

So anyway, we now return you to our regularly-scheduled blog programming. Only I have errands to run, so I think the Finds will have to wait until tomorrow.

:)
Jenie