Fire Season

PG&E cut the power, last night at 6pm, just as they had threatened to do. No worries because the generator woke everything up again and life continued on, as normal, until bedtime, when He dutifully trudged out to make things quiet and very dark, without all of the little lights we have become accustomed to. At 1 am came a persistent chirp. “Can you sleep through it, He mutters, to which I reply “maybe”, which means NO. A hardwired smoke alarm, somewhere in the house was going into battery failure. Out came the tall stepladder, but of course, the Chirper had to be in his office, with the high ceiling, which elicited a string of curses that he had to get dressed to go get the BIG ladder. Of course. I acted as scrub nurse, holding the light and exchanging batteries but the damage was done. WIDE AWAKE.

Now, on to what is happening in California, at the moment. The winds that the weather service thought might make it here, to El Dorado County never materialized but God help the people to the Northwest. Santa Rosa is vulnerable again, as is the Napa Valley and whatever has been built in Paradise. Please send up some energy for these folks. Thousands of people have evacuated, AGAIN, and it feels like there is no end to this. WE ARE SAFE. WE ARE PREPARED TO GO, if any little bastard with a fire fetish starts something but, honest to everything sacred, there is Climate Change.

Just heard a helicopter go by. They are inspecting the lines, to see if they can be safely energized. Is this any way to run a business, with expensive fixes, after all of the damage from the big fires they caused?

The August fires have still been burning, here and in Oregon, if nothing more than underground or deep in the trees. The president talks about Sweeping the floor of the forest, but Napa and Sonoma counties are Chaparral, oaks and golden dry grass. Lightning, a hot car in the grass or some sicko with a lighter can take it out, because of how dry everything is. This landscape was built to burn. Where we live is a microclimate if mixed forest that grew up to heal the land that was ravaged by the Placer miners. It is cool in the morning and we have continued to get rain, when the season starts, although having no rain until November extends the Fire Season linger and longer. The fire across the road, 2 years ago, was started by a guy who hit…a power pole.

Please keep a little prayer going for the brave and tough wild land firefighters. They are heroic and so appreciated. The feeling of uncertainty will always be there but if it can happen to a subdivision it can happen anywhere.