Thanks!

Just wanted to update to say that the fire was extinguished Friday afternoon/early evening. There was a crew up there on Saturday cutting brush and checking things out, because any unextinguished sparks could have easily resulted in more conflagration, but the weather was cool and there wasn't much threat of that. This morning was (unseasonably) cool again, and even misty/drizzly; I'd say that there is no further threat this fire restarting. *Whew.*

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.

Surprise!

A post! Sooner than you (or I) thought. Bad news, though. There's fire coming over the hills directly to the north of my house. It's close. Please pray. There haven't been evacuations yet, but so far all that seems to be happening is helicopters flying around assessing the situation. Slurry bombers will be soon, I hope! Yay more pink streaks.

This is kind of an interesting story- I was supposed to go to Claremont to work all day today, and then go from there almost directly to a wedding up north a ways. Then, due to sad circumstances involving an injured back (not mine), the trip to Claremont had to be cancelled, and then transportation things for this wedding started to crumble. About an hour ago, this fire started, and now I can be here with Eleanor (and Cinder the dog!) and help her pack stuff up if we need to head out.

I have to say it- I'm glad there are other houses between mine and the fire. Surely help will arrive in time to save them (and mine).

I'm working on something that may involve the following verse (haven't decided yet for sure), and I find it particularly pertinent right now:

Psalm 121:1 - I lift my eyes up to the hills- where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the maker of heaven and earth.

Please hold...

Internets are broken-ish, and I'm busy. Sorry (if anyone is offended or upset, which I doubt) for the lack of posts lately.

Posts may or may not resume with any semblance of regularity in a week or two.

Also, I'll probably change the banner thing. Nobody likes it. I can just tell.