TGIF

it's friday!
this week has been exhausting with the fires and stress and bad air. now the winds have died down so work is covered in smoke since the fire is still burning in the canyon. (only 30% contained) and it looks like a lot of the cleveland nat'l forest my burn since the terrain isn't good for people to get into they have to rely on the air drops which can only be done during daylight. it's not good still.
work was good. i started my new position and i have been busy!
my bro is back from his european vacation! welcome back!
have a safe weekend

still burning...

the fire is still going on behind my work. yesterday they were evacuated when the fire was across the street! i'm glad i was off already. today when i drove to work and home i wore a face mask. the air is "unhealthy" and it was really bad. my eyes are nice and red too.

here are some pictures. they're not the best.

the one on top is the street going up the hill next to work. you can kind of see the other side of the street and how it is burnt. that's how close the fire was yesterday. the 2nd one (L-R) shows a plume of white smoke and if you look really hard you can make out the orange flames.

the bottom 2 were taken at the same time in the front parking lot. the one on the left has so much ash it looks yellow. and this was all started by an idiot(s) who can't learn better ways of dealing with their childhood issues then starting fires. what loser(s)! i really hope they're caught and can be brought to justice.

Day 3 of the fires...

not much to report this AM. the 3 fires by magic mountain have apparently merged to 1 big one. that's where one of the big prisons is located as well. sometimes some of them help fight the fires but i'm not sure if they are evacuated. it's odd how the news rarely tells you of the unpleasant places that have to be evacuated as well. hmmm.
the fire by work is still going strong along with mailbu, lake arrowhead/running springs and ontario's. it seems the worst hit right now is san diego. the 2 big fires down there may be merging together also. people have evacuated to qualcom stadium and all the hotels to san juan cap are reportedly full.
bush has now given approval for federal aid. we'll see how that goes. i know on the news conference just on tv the feds said that we had plenty of cots and blankets while the local news stations are asking if people can donate cots and blankets. hmmm. the news has said that there are lots of people volunteering to help at the fairgrounds where people can keep their large animals and lots of pet hospitals are offering free boarding for small animals. that's so good to hear! the other interesting thing i hear on tv when they talk to people leaving there houses is when they ask what the people are bringing with them. nearly every person has said pictures! they don't care about clothes or tvs or "stuff", it's get the family, get the pets and get the pictures & documents. maybe people aren't all that materialist? maybe...

Mandatory Evacuations at Foothill Ranch...

that's where work is!
i hope everyone there is ok and has left the area. myfoxla has the best coverage so far. i just loaded some more stuff into the car just in case. not that we'd have anywhere to go if a fire made it to our place. that's kinda the scariest thing and that's the case down here for most people at this point...16 fires now going last count.
there is basically a big fire in a half circle surrounding the coast from malibu over to stevenson ranch area over to lake arrowhead over to ontario over to irvine down to san diego. to have a boat right now. i hope ab & uj are ok. the news said they're evacuated. i don't want to call now in case things are crazy and to save phone time just in case. i know they'd call if they needed us.

pray for all the wildlife and animals that have no where to escape to!!

cats are ready...

i just got back from lunch and running errands. i finally have leashes for all the cats (and harnesses) 2 disposable cat litter trays, and face masks, another brand new flashlight and gloves. so now i'm much broker but i feel better. still don't have a "complete" first aid kit.
when you're outside it's super ashy and smokey. now there are about 8 fires burning or so according to arnold.

Fire and Santa Ana winds in SoCal...

yesterday morning we woke up early in anticipation for ab & uj's visit that afternoon. i turned on the news and saw to my horror Malibu was on fire! my aunt an uncle live right over the hill from PCH and Malibu. we watched the news for a while and called them up. my aunt had been up all nite due to the smoke. she was getting things together and my uncle had gone out on a supply run early. it was a good thing since they had closed topanga canyon blvd by the time he got back.

while watching tv all day and seeing so many fires popping up i started getting a little worried. then about 6pm a fire was started in Irvine. the reports now are saying that was arson (the Malibu fire was cause by an electrical line as of now). I could totally go into a rant about arsonists but i'm not going to waste my time because karma will get them.

i spent most of the nite awake and watching the reports and checking blogs online. we only live about 20 miles from where that fire is and my work is almost right there! i did not go to work today. it wouldn't be as scary if the winds weren't going so crazy! the gusts are amazingly strong and change direction all the time. i've got all the water bottles full, the gas tanks are full, the cat carriers are ready...paranoid? no prepared! :) but i don't have some face masks or disposable cat litter boxes... i'm going to meet N for lunch now. i don't imagine i'll be relaxing until the santa ana's have died down this time. i usually LOVE it when they blow too. 2 more days to go.

here are a couple pics of the smoke from the Irvine fire from our balcony.