I’m coughing as I write this. So is my son, my daughter and my wife. We all are. No, we’re not all sick with a cold.
At the time of this writing, hundreds of thousands of Southern Californians are recovering from a series of extraordinary wildfires. Stretching from as far north as Malibu all the way south to San Diego, hundreds of thousands of acres have been burned along with thousands of homes, businesses, structures and dwellings. Hundreds of thousands of people and their pets have been (many still are) evacuated from their homes and many of these people have no idea whether or not they have a home left. Scary.
One of these fires, the Santiago fire in Orange County, got uncomfortably close to our house. Communities that were just next to us were being evacuated. For several days, flames (yes, flames, not an orange glow, but actual FLAMES) were clearly visible from our home and there was dense smoke everywhere. Everything was covered with soot and ash. Not good if you have allergies – hence the familial coughing. Some of the employees where I work had flames come right up to their home and brave firefighters saved the homes. We had one employee who was evacuated, but everything ended up fine.
My family and I consider ourselves very fortunate and blessed to have avoided any direct damage or injury from these fires. Our hearts truly go out to all the families, some who we know very well, who have been affected by these fires.
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