Fire

This has been a weird week. I cannot believe how many fires burned in Southern California and how many people had to evacuate. We were fine, but it still makes you think about what you would grab if you had to go in a hurry. The fires were not close to our home, yet I had a runny nose off and on and a raspy throat now and then as a result of the smoke and particulate matter floating in the air. I was outside for an hour Monday night, and when I got home, my clothes smelled smokey. That was odd. The smell in the air was like a campfire smell. The sky over our house was clear for a day or so, and then it got slightly cloudy -- but not clouds, smoke. The fires were 45 minutes to 2 hours drivetime from us, and yet we still had signs of the smoldering. That was interesting, especially since where I grew up didn't have to deal with this. We do live near foothills, though, and they are very dry. Makes us grateful for every safe day. Now the air doesn't smell smokey, but there is a very fine dusting of ash on our cars, which floated from who knows where all the way to our community. Another reminder of the reality of the burning.