Okay, no I'm not, but if you've watched the news recently, you probably heard about the wildfires in Southern California. One of the major fires is, like, in my backyard almost. Well, that's a slight exaggeration, but the major road along which the "Freeway Complex" fire is happening is actually my route to work -- Carbon Canyon Road. It's been a bit nerve wracking because the winds kick up every so often and fan the flames, and you can't always tell which way they're going to blow. Plus embers from the fire can be blown a few miles to another area and spark fire there. It's been very dry and hot, so there's no moisture in the air. Here are a couple of pictures of what the smoke looked like from Chino Hills yesterday afternoon:
The dude in blue in the foreground is actually a firefighter. I overheard him say that he'd just finished a 24 hour shift, and one of the engines was there loading up on food. God bless the firefighters, seriously.
I was at our local shopping center when I took that picture, and my house is about two miles closer to those fires. We've gathered important stuff together just in case we have to evacuate because we're literally surrounded by fire...eek!
Although, before everyone freaks out and goes "OMG WTF is with these fires every year?!" I'd like to remind/inform you that fires are a natural part of Southern California's ecosystem. There is a "fire season," and they do happen every year in some part of the area. In fact, the native plants have evolved and adapted so as to make their seeds and core parts fire resistant. The thing is that we just end up building homes right smack in the middle of places that are prone to fire.
Hopefully (inshAllah), we'll all be fine, but it's been stressful having this thing right behind my house. Not a disco inferno, that's for sure.
