My Town Monday: Wild Fire in San Diego County
In San Diego County, Fire Season starts at the beginning of the summer and runs through Halloween. Not to say, wildfires don't burn at other times of the year. That's just our "official" season.
We don't get a lot of rain here, about 10 inches annually. So you can imagine the state of our brush: dry and parched. Add in hot Santa Ana winds that blow in from the desert, lightning, sparks from machinery, arson, cigarettes, and campfire, and we're a tinderbox.
This past Friday, Child #4 invited a friend over for a swim. The friend lives three or four blocks from us. Below is the view from my car as I waited for the girls to gather up the friend's belongings. I took all the photos with my Blackberry.
At first, I could only see smoke from this wildfire. There are houses below it. I'm sure people were evacuated.
After a gust of wind, the fire spread along the ridge and I could see orange flames. It's frightening how quickly a wildfire can race out of control.
When we got home, our backyard was filled with the sounds of sirens and helicopters. We could see the helicopters too, flying into the smoke and dropping either water and/or flame retardant chemicals. This photo was taken from my backyard, about 45 minutes after the first photo. You can see the wildfire is now contained. Phew.
Please check out the links to the other My Town Monday posts on the official My Town Monday blog.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN2218909720071022
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Glad to know the fire is contained and that you're all safe!
ReplyDeleteThat's a little too close for comfort, I think.
ReplyDeleteGlad all is well
San Diego must be a lot like the Kelowna area (only worse). I can see how backyard pools become a necessity. But being so close to the ocean must bring relief, no? Great photos.
ReplyDeleteThat would be terrifying--how do you stand it?
ReplyDeleteSo scary. "Fires frighten me horribly."
ReplyDeleteWe get a tad more rain than that yet our landscape seems to be browner than y'alls . We get lots of wildfires as well but usually in the spring when winds are high and the lightening of thunderstorms starts them.
ReplyDeleteI posted about this too, it was right over by my house and my mom lives behind Grossmont College.
ReplyDeleteI live across the street from Mission Trails so I'm ready to be evacuated again at a moment's notice!
Stay safe,
T♥