Aaaand we're back!

Wow, folks. WOW. I could see the fire easily from across the street, and then when I went back out to watch in horror after writing the previous blogpost (remember the Russian accent when you think that word), it happened that the hills were suddenly covered with orange- and yellow-clad persons, armed with hoses! Yay! And the helicopters I'd been hearing so continually were actually dropping water, one after the other, over and over again. All that was left of the fire (which seemed so menacing before) was a few puffs of smoke and an occasional flare. I could have knelt down and wept for joy. Praise God- there is now hardly any smoke, and the fighters have moved on to cutting brush to prevent future flare-ups (there's a lot of leafy brush up there due to it not having burned in a few decades). We may not be completely out of the woods yet, but dang, we're close.

Fun fact: as the helicopters prepare to drop water from above, they let off this little beeping siren to warn the folks below.

I'll keep you posted as I learn/see more things.