Everybody Pitches In

It takes a lot longer to reboot after the power has been turned off than it took to disconnect it. Anything in our house that is on a timer (hot tub,  irrigation system, thermostat) now needs to be reset. The grocery store is still trying to get their freezers cold enough to keep food frozen. There is no bread from local bakeries yet.

"To do what they did at 101, to stare a dragon in the face and say, 'You're not crossing this road.' Well, it almost makes me tear up."
--Randy Cargill, Geyserville resident

Today I bought A LOT of Geyser Peak wine which is in Geyserville not too far from where the firefighters made a heroic stand to keep the fire from jumping the 101 freeway. 

Our favorite restaurant, Diavola, in Geyserville stayed open, in spite of the mandatory evacuation, to feed the firefighters. In the end, powered by a large generator and a wood fired pizza oven, they made pizza and cappuccinos for  anybody who walked in the door. Some locals whose freezers had been rendered worse than useless by a certain equally useless power company brought food to Diavola where it was cooked.  One man brought 10 pounds of elk meat given to him by an uncle who is elk hunting in Idaho. "I should probably get a message to him: All the elk went to the firefighters so you'd better bag another elk." 

The owner of Diavola, Dino Bugica, used to be a volunteer firefighter, and his wife, Sonia, who is from the Cinque Terre said, " I'm Italian. This is what we do. We feed people." Their 15 year old son, Valentino, combined a friend's Hulu with his Nintendo Switch and they were able to watch the World Series on the big screen TV behind the bar. Instant community for people in need of it.

PG&E cut not only the electric power but the gas to many homes, compounding a week of unforgettable misery for people returning home. Especially since the temperatures are falling below freezing at night. The electricity has been restored to many of them, but they must be home before PG&E workers can inspect the lines and relight all the pilots to restore the gas.  Many people may have to wait until Monday. However, how to stay warm during freezing nights without gas and in some cases without electricity as well is "not a question for PG&E," said a spokeswoman for the company. "You'll have to ask the customer."

PG&E's attitude seems to be , "let 'em freeze in the dark."
I'll have more to say about that later. 

Thanks again to Biker Bear for keeping the Flower Friday challenge going. I've enjoyed seeing all the flowers today although the best I could manage was a shot of the Bird of Paradise valiantly blooming next to our front porch.