En Fuego

I really don't mean to make light of the fire situation in San Diego and LA (no pun intended), but it is quite surreal to be in the area or to have lived in the area, then see everything on CNN. Unless you are completely living under a rock, you would know that Southern California has been battling major, major fires this week. Almost a million people have evacuated their homes, and a few thousand have lost their homes entirely.

Lindsay, Jon and Mom are all very, very, safe. The closest fire is about 40 miles from where they live in La Jolla and San Diego proper, respectively. Here is a diagram of the fires from CNN that gives a good view. They all live directly IN the white "San Diego" circle.



Mom flew up here yesterday, not because she needed to evacuate, but because she was basically "stuck" in her own home. With the ashes and fumes and general danger outdoors, they instructed everyone to stay inside their homes as much as possible. Doors and windows were closed (which NEVER happens in San Diego) and everyone has, understandably, been glued to the TV watching CNN non-stop. So it made sense for Mom to come up here for a few days and leave the unfortunate scene behind her. Lindsay and Jon JUST got an adorable dog named JACK about a week ago, which made their "escape" a little more complicated, so they opted to stay back in San Diego and wait it out.

Just wanted to give the update that our family has a happy progress report. Thank you for all of the emails and phone calls with concern. I know Lindsay, Jon and Mom all appreciate them. Mom is definitely giving a big "WHAT THE HECK???" (if you know Dianne, you know she has never used the word "heck" in her life) about life in California. First, she experienced the earthquake with us back in February, then there was a landslide in La Jolla this summer and now these horrible, horrible fires have swept across Southern California. She's questioning the "peacefulness" that came with the annual hurricanes and tornadoes of North Carolina...you always knew to expect them and you almost always have time to evacuate. And hell, if not, grab a bottle of moonshine and it will get you through just about anything. Right, y'all?

All joking aside, our thoughts are with our neighbors to the south as they continue to fight the fires and protect their homes. It is such a sad scene to see areas we know burning down, yet we are grateful to hear that our friends and family in SoCal are all safe.