F-I-R-E Day 6

I'm starting to relax a little bit. It is surprising how much adrenaline kicks in and how long you can run on it if you need to. We are now getting an 'on-shore' flow of wind. That means that the temperatures have cooled off considerably, but now we run into the problem that all the smoke that blew out to the ocean is coming back in. Dan is running errands and Dodie and I are picking up and cleaning. She is getting some much needed laundry done. She is taking the back and I took the front and we have gotten leaves and branches picked up, and washing down the driveway and patios and walkways. I scooped up all the junk in the gutters. Sprayed down all the bushes. The ash, soot, and dirt is amazing.

Dan and Dodie GOT BACK in to their homes, and they are STILL STANDING!!!! So grateful and so emotional. EVERYTHING around them is burnt. It is a miracle. One of the things Dodie grabbed last night was her temple bag. She is a convert of 4 years and went to the temple 2 years ago. The RS presidency organized a temple trip this morning for those sisters who have never had the opportunity to do baptisms for the dead to participate in that ordinance. So last night she and I stayed up almost until midnight getting all her temple whites washed and the fire soot and smell out. Dear, dear tender feelings....

The FBI is in town. They have joined the CDF (California Department of Fire )in the ARSON investigation for our fire. The official name is now the Santiago Fire. The canyons and a section of the 241 toll road are still closed as the comb the area for evidence. They had a big press conference yesterday. There are only 2 origination points, instead of the 3 previously thought. They are being VERY closed mouth about the other details, only to say that they have collected evidence and that the person/persons who set the fire were very knowledgeable of fire, conditions, and that it was absolutely a deliberate act purposely done to inflict as much damage as possible. That just gives me the shivers! In some ways I feel a little violated, I guess.

Look at these brave firefighters along this ridgeline. Boy do we owe them a lot!

This is some of the aftermath from Modjeska Canyon. Unfortunately fits right in to the Halloween spirit. Even the colors fit in. Totally not funny.

This picture breaks my heart. Someone's bike. This is how things look. Kind of like a burnt moon-scape.

This is just down the road from us. Santiago Canyon. The Edison (electrical) Company trying to get power restored.
This is where one of the points of ignition is. At the 133 and 241 tollroads intersection/transition. Meredith was on her way to John Wayne airport to fly home to AZ and her sister Kristen was driving. They actually saw when it very first went up in flames. By the time Kristen was on her way back to the Peterson's from the airport, it was getting going. That would have been a 20-30 minute time period.

This is what it looked like from Sand Canyon and the 133.

View of smoke going over the beach out to the ocean. Look at the 'red' sun. Hmmmm.....

I talked about this in an earlier post. This is the Joanne's SuperCraft store center that got closed down. Wal-Mart is just behind it to the right. Also In-N-Out Burger, Mervyn's, Michaels, Regal 16 theatres, restaurants, a Target, etc.
They were all evacuated.

One of our heroes! A Super Scooper. They fill up in the small lakes around us. Boy--are we ever greatful for these and the tankers.