The Fire

As most of the world knows, Southern California has been besieged by wildfires. It has been quite eerie this past week. From Santa Barbara to the border, it has been a series of flames. Our home in Rancho Santa Margarita has been relatively safe up to this point. But we are within view of the flames. Just to our north, the Santiago Canyon Fire continues to burn. The fire started in Irvine, it has crept south to the Foothill Ranch/Trabuco Canyon area. As I write, I can see the flames on the hillside. It would take a lot for the fire to actually reach our house, but we have been thinking about the possibility of evacuation. We were starting to plan what necessities should be packed in a moment's notice. Luckily the Santa Ana winds have died down, and the fires are not spreading as quickly.

View from our driveway

The Santa Ana winds were unbelievable. There were gusts over 100 mph in some areas. While the winds were not that extreme in RSM, they were still howling. Sunday night/Monday morning was unbelievable. We woke up to some substantial debris.

Our yard needed some restructuring after the Santa Ana winds

The air quality has been well below average. There are ashes flying in the air. It smells like a giant campfire. Today in my San Clemente classroom, I could smell the Camp Pendelton Fire. The kids were complaining, and they would walking around campus like little banditos with shirts covering their mouths and noses. As a result, the school district has just canceled Thursday's classes for the entire district.

Afternoon sky

Now that we have tomorrow off, two questions remain:

1. What will April, Cade, and I do? (South Coast Plaza? The Shops at Mission Viejo? Clifford the Big Red Dog marathon?)


2. Will this "Fire Day" (as opposed to a "Snow Day") have to be made up at the end of the school year?