The winds here are dead flat calm, which gives the firemen at least a fighting chance. Fallbrook to the far northeast and Julian to the east are still threatened, and the Witch Creek fire is still uncontained, but without the Santa Anas these are tactical struggles.
Slept easy and woke up to a chill morning feeling like something had drained out of me over the night. Put the 870 back in the safe.
School is canceled for the Hobbit and the kids, but I’m heading in this morning.
Funny the little things you sweep up when you bug out. The Biscuit took her school yearbooks and I grabbed my stack of flight log books. I don’t know why I did that, I’m never going to put another military flight in there, don’t intend to be an airline pilot and haven’t even opened them in years. Just a collection of scrawls – aircraft bureau number, type, flight time, approaches and landings. Instrument time. Black ink for daytime, red ink for night flights. Green ink for combat. Nothing that would be of remotest interest to anyone else. There are no special memories attached to any of the entries, nor even any of the books individually. They had once been valuable to me though, and I had always taken a secret pleasure as one book spilled into a second, then a third, then a fourth. Couldn’t leave them behind.
Huh.
Update: A thousand people have lost their homes, and of the 500,000 who were evacuated most remain displaced. I’ve lived here now for a bit over 6 years but – having seen San Diegans facing adversity – can say that I see them now in a new light. Qualcomm Stadium was one of our principal evacuation centers and had to actually turn away donations of bedding and supplies. I’m proud of this city in a way I wasn’t before.
Still, people will need help and if anyone is interested in making a cash donation, the local branch of the American Red Cross will gratefully put your generosity to work.
Glad to hear you are OK. My niece in Oceanside is at her Aunt Rosa’s. My sister-in-law and brother-in-law were in Syracuse, NY for our son’s wedding when the fires started. They live one hill south of Pendleton.
Lee,
I read this article here;
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/fires/weekoffire/20031101-9999_7n1uproar.html
As a pilot, I can understand where they are coming from – flying at night, under VFR, close to terrain, in a remote area, with smoke and disorienting ground light sounds like a recipe for disaster.
Babs – I believe that how we care for our defenseless creatures in a crisis shows what kind of people we are, deep down inside. Witness Lex – hates cats, yet took them with the family and let them roam his office, sans litterbox.
Chris,
I read that too in ‘03, but, I know Gene, have for about 14 years. He said that, yes, but talk to him and you’d get a better idea of the conditions. He had his bucket already filled when CalFire called him off. There was about an hour to an hour and a half of good light still. I’m sure the people of Scripps Ranch who lost homes the next day would argue with you and that newspaper.
Glad to hear you and yours are doing alright brother, none of my guys lost anything either, I was the only real “evacuee” out of my shop, 2 nights of sleeping in the suburban with daily showers wasn’t bad at all.
AFSister
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/10/24/news/californian/21_53_2910_23_07.txt
They are safe and keeping their sense of humor. He is an article with a picture of them with their dogs.
Lex
Glad you made out alright.