When I woke up this morning I saw something VERY strange!There was a broad smoke defined shaft of brilliant clear light shining in through the window! It looked sort of like common fire-born light in that it emitted light and heat, but it was clear, like an electric light. It seemed to come from above the house and even the trees! It looked pristine and pure, a natural goodness.
I got up and went to the window for a better look and then I could see it! Joyful memories flooded my consciousness and I smiled. Removing my C-PAP face mask and donning my small particle air mask I headed onto the deck but as I opened the door the light again faded into smoky darkness.
For a moment the sun had broken through the smoke, but then it was gone. No matter how dark things get, the sun is always there and we can take solace from the fact that this too will pass.
This will become progressively more important to remember in the weeks and months ahead of us all.
Areas hardest hit by the lightning fires include Butte County, where 31 fires have charred 17 square miles and threatened 1,200 homes
Thus far:
Total Fires: 1,345Total Acres Burned: 333,858
Personnel Committed: 18,039
Fire Engines: 1,356
Hand Crews: 466
Dozers: 310
Water Tenders: 368
Helicopters: 92
And its not over yet.
These numbers are totals from state, local and federal firefighting agencies. Updated 6/28 at 9:00 p.m. (Source http://www.fire.ca.gov/index_incidents.php_).
Butte (my county) : The Butte Lightning Complex has burned 16,000 acres and is 20% contained. The Butte Fire Information Number is (530) 538-7826. Click Here for more information.
Mendocino: The Mendocino Lightning Complex has burned 35,700 acres and is 20% contained. The Mendocino Fire Information Number is (707)-467-6426. Click Here for more information.
Shasta & Trinity: The Shasta and Trinity Lightning has burned 40,000 acres and is 10% contained. The Shasta-Trinity Unit Information Number is (530) 225-2510. Click Here for more information.
Lassen, Modoc: The Corral Fire has burned 10,000 acres and is 5% contained. The Peterson Complex has burned 7,824 acres and is 90% contained. The Lassen-Modoc Fire Information Number is (530) 257-9553.
Humboldt: The Humboldt Complex has burned for 1,275 acres and is 50% contained. The Paradise Fire is north of Shelter Cove and is 925 acres and 40% contained. The Humboldt-Del Norte Fire Information Number is (707) 726-1225.
Tehama & Glenn: The Tehama-Glenn Lightning Complex has burned 17,541 acres and is 55% contained. The Tehama-Glenn Unit Information Number is (530) 528-5193. Click Here for more information.
Mariposa: The Oliver Fire is located in the Ponderosa Basin and is 2,603 acres and 45% contained. The Oliver Fire Information Number is (209) 966-4784. Click Here for more information.
Lake: The Walker Fire has burned 14,500 acres and is now 100% contained. The Walker Fire Information Number is (707) 967-1456. Click Here for more information.
Napa & Solano: The Wild Fire burned 40,000 acres and is now 100% contained. Click Here for more information.
Santa Clara: The Whitehurst and Hummingbird Fires burned a combined 994 acres and are both now 100% contained. Click Here for more information.
Fire Threatens Homes in Big Sur
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger had made the request on Friday, saying that fires had burned more than 400 square miles.
Areas hardest hit by the lightning fires include Butte County, where 31 fires have charred 17 square miles and threatened 1,200 homes; Mendocino County, with 121 fires that have covered 42 square miles and threatened 900 homes; and Shasta-Trinity counties, where 230 homes were threatened and 55 square miles of forest was charred by about 160 fires.
Voluntary evacuations have been ordered communities near the Indians Fire burning in the Los Padres National Forest in Monterey County.
The evacuation advisory affects these areas:
According to fire officials, there is the possibility of southeast winds accompanied by thunder storms with lightning over the weekend. Barring any new fires, the Indians Fire is expected to be completely contained by Thursday. Meanwhile, many of the rustic inns, restaurants and art galleries that dot the rugged Central Coast are nearly deserted this weekend at the height of the tourist season as a huge wildfire threatens Big Sur.
The blaze had charred nearly 42 square miles as of Friday in the Los Padres National Forest and destroyed 16 homes in the Big Sur area, one week after it was started by a lightning storm that also ignited more than 1,000 wildfires from the Central Coast to the Oregon state line. Firefighters braced for the possibility of more lightning in Northern California during the weekend. The Big Sur fire was only 3 percent contained. Firefighters concentrated on protecting more than 500 homes and other buildings threatened by the blaze and let the wildfire rage virtually unchecked in remote mountain wildernesses. A roughly 12-mile stretch of coastal Highway 1 was closed, shutting off access to several popular tourist spots. Thick smoke obscured iconic coastal vistas. "Our No. 1 priority is we want to stop any new, small fires," said Jason Kirchner, a spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service.
The blazes also have spread a smoky haze over much of the San Francisco Bay area and Central Valley, prompting air regulators to urge people to stay indoors. Air pollution readings in Northern California and the Central Valley were two to 10 times the federal standard for clean air, said Dimitri Stanich, spokesman for the California Air Resources Board. More than 1,000 fires, mostly caused by lightning, burned from the Central Coast to the Oregon border. (Source: http://www.kcbs.com/Federal-Emergency-Declared/2498915) |
KCBS' Mike Colgan reports
The fire threat has already led communities to cancel plans for Fourth of July fireworks displays.
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