Another Day

We left the house last night and stayed at my BIL's house by the beach. Last night, the wind came up, flames crested the ridge and I didn't want to stay up all night watching for embers. A fire engine was parked at the base of my driveway, so I took it as a sign that it wouldn't be a bad idea to get out of their way.
It looked as if everyone else thought the opposite because there were MANY gawkers that drove up to the neighborhood, parked their cars and watched the fire. A-holes.
The fire is huge and moving in multiple directions.
The hill behind us continues to burn and there is one more ridge to go. No one is trying to put it out because of the steep terrain. It looks like they are just letting it burn down to the community like they have done in several other areas of the fire. It is a bit unnerving to see flames from the house, but the fire is moving very slowly. If there was any wind, I would be out of here.
My neighbor and I are taking turns staying awake tonight just so the other can sleep more easily knowing that the other is watching. We are not under an evacuation order, and probably won't be, but we will keep vigilant until the flames are extinguished.
My heart and prayers go out to the families of the firefighters that have lost their lives fighting this fire.

update

The smoke cleared for a while yesterday and the fire is moving in the opposite direction. Still, no wind, so the firefighters can do their job.
Yesterday afternoon, I corralled the kids into my bedroom, put in a Garfield DVD and tried to take a nap. I was successful for 30 minutes and it felt great since I hadn't slept much in the last 3 days. I was half-asleep and heard a knock on the door. No one just drops by here, it's out of the way, but there on the front step was my BIL. He came to check on us since he knew Stuntman was out of town. He could see the smoke plume from his house down by the beach and drove all of the way up here. The kids were ecstatic. They absolutely love their uncle.
Of course, my house was a DISASTER! On a scale from 1-10, it was a 9 on the messy scale. Toys all over, laundry in the midst of folding on the dining table, dishes in the sink. It was embarrassing. It didn't take long to tidy up while he had the kids occupied.
He stayed for dinner and left when it was the kids' bedtime once he could see that we were in the clear.
Right now, the smoke outside is unbearable and ash is currently falling, but no flames nearby. :)

What to do

What do you do when you're stuck in the house all day because it's 100+ degrees outside, and smoky, and there is ash falling from the sky?
Make cake pops with little lifeguard teddy bears on them for E1's upcoming swimming banquet.


Once again, there are fires burning in SoCal. Thankfully, the winds are low so the firefighters have a chance to do what they do best.
It's been quite an airshow today with big fixed-wing water dropping planes flying overhead. We watched the helicopters take turns slurping water from the pond to drop onto the flames. It was a constant rotation of helicopters pausing only to refuel.


At this time, numerous homes are being evacuated.
Of course, Stuntman is out of town for a couple weeks. I'm staying awake as much as possible in case the wind does pick up. After last year's fires, I know how quickly fires can move. This one is MUCH closer than last year's... once again, the reason I am planning to stay awake as much as possible tonight.

Reflection

Last night we I heard a deep, spooky growl coming from Cinnamon.
She was standing in the dining room and looking out of the patio door.
I was concerned, until I realized that she was growling at her own reflection.

I sure hope that she grows out of this.