Post fire update

We are home!!! We can still see a multitude of 'hot spots' (little fires) in the hills around us. However, the major body of the fire is a couple of canyons down our little valley( ~5mi) and moving away from our home :) It is pretty cool to sit in our bay window or on the porch and watch the fire as it adapts to the water and retardant and other tactics used by the firefighters. The night is especially graphic as the fires really stand out in the darkness. Last night, I tried to take pics of the fire with our little camera. Unfortunately, it was unable to capture the depth and beauty of the fire. Bummer.

There are still firefighters all over our area working on these "hot spots". The firefighters have lifted the evac orders, allowing us back into our homes, with instructions to be ready to evac again in under an hour, if the fire changes directions again. An hour! What a luxury! Last evac we had no more than 5 min.... "Mandatory Evacuation- Get out NOW, the fire is already in the draw." Heck, we saw the fire come over the mountain and were already in the process of loading the animals when the police showed up with the evac orders! Even though the fire caught them by surprise, I must say the firefighters have done an amazing job! We were sure most of the houses in our area were lost Thurs night as we watched the fire come roaring down the mountain. Amazingly enough, no occupied homes were lost! Some people lost their garages, barns, shops etc. also various animals including at least 1 horse that had to be put down related to burns. There are many sad stories, but none are as bad as it could have been and we have a much different view of "wild fire".

We brought the cats and dogs home with us, but the horses are still at our realtor's home. We will bring them home when we are a little more assured that the fire is not going to return this direction. The winds have been so erratic, that the firefighters are having a terrible time getting the fire under control. Also, there are so many fires in the area/state, that fire fighting resources are severely taxed and sometimes not available.

We are no longer the #1 priority fire in the nation. So. California's national park fire has taken over that spot as of yesterday.