Fire Update...

Good news on the fire front. Although we were concerned when we lost power this morning before leaving for Class Day, we couldn't see any smoke as we left town. Our last reports were of 35% containment and the fire is now a mile and a half away, and still moving away from town. The fire should be contained (surrounded) by Saturday, and who knows when it will be put out completely.

This morning on the radio we heard that there was a slight danger regarding a valley in the path of the fire that could bring the fire back into town, but I think that danger is past.

The cause: a camp fire apparently set by an illegal border crosser. Sheer stupidity in such dry weather and dry brush -- even the off road vehicle area just south of town was closed over the weekend because of high fire danger. Yesterday I didn't have time (or room with all the TV crews' vans parked everywhere) to snap a photo of the "high fire danger" sign with clouds of smoke behind it -- that would have truly been a picture that spoke a thousand words.

Over 700 firefighters from all over California are here fighting the fire, and more than 2100 acres have burned so far. Two firefighters have been injured, but their injuries are not life-threatening. Today was still hot, with the high around 96 and low humidity. However, tomorrow should begin a weather change that will bring below-normal temperatures and much more humidity.

So we thank God for the west winds that have been steadily taking the fire away from Pine Valley, for the area that has burned -- all brush and no structures in an area that hasn't burned in over thirty years, and especially for great firefighting from the air and the ground. We love and appreciate our town's volunteer fire fighters as well as the firefighters who have come from all over the state.

We've also been having small earthquakes lately, and another today off the coast of La Jolla ... there's just no rest from Mother Nature here in sunny Southern California.