Fire, Day Three

The Washingtonia, AKA San Marcos, AKA Cocos Fire rages on. This view of the fire is from our Parking Garage, some 10 miles or so away. Comparing yesterday's picture, you can see the fire has moved a bit to the right. It came closer to my Mother in Laws house. Throughout the day it was burning West and South of her house. Yesterday the Santa Ana winds were blowing east to west, taking the fire away from her house but today the winds shifted and started coming from the west. This pushed the fire back in her direction. It's hard to work under such circumstances and I found myself checking the live feed of the news, twitter, and the county emergency website routinely, trying to keep up with what was going on. As of this evening her house is still fine, but the area is still evacuated.

This photo was taken about the time the winds changed. You see spirals of smoke in several different directions. Of the 9 or so fires in the county, this is the worst one right now. It has consumed over 1000 acres, multiple houses and businesses, and apparently one life now. I'm ready for the fires to be over -- but I know there is still much more work they have to do before these are put out. The last three days we've had record temperatures, but tomorrow we are looking for a little cooler climate with it getting cooler even more throughout the weekend. No wind and some rain would help, but I don't see that happening.