Goodness, Gracious

GREAT BALLS OF FIRE!!!

Wow - what a weekend - Southern California was on fire. Literally.

With the Santa Ana winds and hot, dry weather, we are used being on "fire watch" around here and seeing the latest blazes on the evening news, however, it is a whole different thing when it's at your back door.

I was enjoying a lazy Saturday morning - baby on my lap, talking on the phone with my mom, when Mr. D comes in from the backyard. "Get off the phone and go get dressed. You've gotta get out of here. There's a fire."

I dash upstairs and while pulling on my jeans, peek out the window. OH.MY.WORD. The hill behind our house is on fire. I could feel the heat on the window pane. I dash downstairs grabbing things here and there as I go... the pile of clean laundry on the bed, a pair of tennis shoes, diapers, my hairbrush. It was a pretty interesting pile of things that accumulated by our front door.

I look outside again and the flames are licking the top of our concrete block wall (Thank God it's a concrete wall!). Mr. D is pulling the dogs inside. I'm getting ready to leave, then, almost as quickly as it came on us, the fire ate up everything in its path and moved eastward along the row of houses. There wasn't even time for the firefighters to show up and put out the flames. So the fire moved along the perimeter of our neighborhood community. Some of the houses on the other side weren't as fortunate as us and our neighbors. There are about 16 burned and/or damaged homes.

This clip shows some of the damage to the homes. It's devastating - especially when they are our neighbors. I may not know them personally, but there's a connection. It could have been me.


Anyone local knows that this fire, which started in a tree less than a 1/2 mile from our home, then traveled to numerous cities and destroyed hundreds of homes, evacuated thousands. It was a crazy couple days watching the news and following the fires. I am so thankful for all the friends and family who called to check up on us and offer any help we needed. Again, I have to thank God that we didn't need any help.

This is our backyard, showing the smoldering hill behind the fence. In retrospect it would have been cool to get a picture of the flames, but you know, priorities - had to prepare to flee for safety!

This is our backyard from yesterday. The smoldering is gone, but the layer of ash is still back there.