10:34 a.m.
I am having a progressively more difficult time writing about the fire situation here. There is so little good news. A new fire has started up on the La Jolla Indian Reservation in the north area of the county, and they are sending people to the Palomar Mtn. Observatory, which frightens me. What will happen if the mountain catches on fire? They will have nowhere to go. I am trying my best to trust that those in charge know what is safe. So many areas have been evacuated now I can’t even recount them here.
One thing I noticed this morning really helped me feel better--three local clinics have opened up on a no-appointment-needed basis, and are charging those without insurance on a generous sliding scale. Bless them. I am feeling more and more helpless and useless as I sit holed up in my apartment with my air filters on. I want to help, but I really don’t know what I could do. I can’t volunteer at the shelters because I have to stay indoors for my stupid lungs. I am frustrated.
I’m thinking about making brownies or something for the firefighters. There is a fire station right across the street from my house, and their parking area has been full of cars for the last few days; I’m assuming that the volunteers have all been called in. I know it’s a tiny and somewhat silly gesture in the face of things, but it’s all I can think of to do. No one has called to have me take in their animals, which surprises me due to the huge number of evacuations that have taken place.
1:26 p.m.
I'm a little less frantic than I was this morning: I have been on the phone much of the day (not on my cell as they've asked us to save that for emergencies only). I've also recruited another friend to help in my baking-for-firefighters efforts. I called the non-emergency fire line and the woman who answered the phone said that yes, they are allowed to receive treats from the public, and that they would be thrilled to have them. When they get back, that is. Currently, all the firefighters from my station here are up at Pomerado Rd. fighting the Witch Creek Fire. That's the really huge one up there.
For the curious, my house is about 10-12 miles from the Harris Fire, but I really don't think I'm in any danger. I'm also about 4-5 miles north of it, and the winds seem to be blowing straight west. The bad part is that while my neighborhood and much of central San Diego don't seem to be in any danger, the Harris Fire is heading for a very populated area. Much of Chula Vista is being evacuated right now. Below is a photo (taken yesterday) sent to me by my friend Joe. The big lake you can see to the right near the grey triangle is the Salton Sea, so you can kind of get an idea where the border of Mexico is; the bottom-most white smoke should be the Harris Fire, which is pretty much on the border line. The thickest white smoke in the middle is from the Witch Creek Fire. The paler brown ones near the bottom are in Mexico.
7:59 p.m.
My friend Jen just went home; she came over almost four hours ago and we spent the whole time working on her Halloween costume. I was so grateful to have something to do and to have company in my stuffy little abode. I am going to go to Kiki's house to watch a movie if they are still up for it.
Firewise, I have some scary statistics: over a half-million people have been evacuated. The good news is that at least 50,000 of those have been allowed to go back home. The Witch Creek Fire, the big one up north, is still only 1% contained. It really looks as if it won't be stopped until it runs into the ocean. It has burned 200,000 acres so far. The Harris Fire has burned over 70,000 acres and continues to burn northwest, which is scary since it's heading straight for some densely populated areas. It doesn't seem to be moving as fast as it was--although that is purely my own observation from following fire maps periodically throughout the day. Don't take that as a fact. Earlier today I got my first heartbreaking message from a good friend whose parents lost their house to the fire. And she doesn't know yet whether her own house survived or not. This is so difficult--even though I am relatively safe it is still entirely nerve-racking knowing that so much destruction and loss is happening all around me, especially to people I know and love.
There was another hazy and vivid sunset tonight; this time the sun began glowing an angry bright red before it was anywhere near the horizon. This photo I took from my kitchen window doesn't convey the intensity at all--my camera couldn't register the color, just the relative brightness of the sun through the masking smoky haze.
11:44 p.m.I just checked the latest fire map: the Witch Creek Fire seems to have slowed or even halted its westward rush and is mostly growing to the north. This bodes very well for the densely populated areas that lie in the westward path of the fire. People in the communities of Del Mar and Solana Beach were allowed back home earlier this evening. Unfortunately, since it's now spreading northward, it looks like this fire will join up with the Pumacho Fire (the one that started near Mt. Palomar on the La Jolla Res). The Harris Fire is 10% contained, and continues to advance slowly to the northwest. Residents of Chula Vista have been allowed back home. I believe the winds may be dying down, which would be a godsend. Let's hope.
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