FIRE!

Today my 15 minute drive home took over an hour. There is a fire at the Tunnel. I was stuck with the fire on one side, ramps closed, helicopters dropping water, fire trucks everywhere. It was flat out scary. I kept calling Marty just to keep from crying.

The pictures are not great. I was heading due west late afternoon. I could not see what the camera saw because of the sun. All the white swirly stuff is smoke. There are dots in the smoke that are helicopters and other planes.

I still can taste smoke and my hair I am sure reeks of smoke. It looks like they have it under control. This is too close to the last Oakland Hills Fire. Hell, it is too damn close to my home and to friends' homes.

RAMP FULL OF FIRE TRUCKS AND FIRE FIGHTERS. THE HILL BEHIND IS BURNING.

MORE TRUCKS AND FIRE

SMOKE AND THE BLACK DOT IS THE HELICOPTER DROPPING WATER


SUN, SMOKE, AND HELICOPTER DROPPING WATER

WHITE STUFF IS SMOKE

MORE SMOKE

STILL LOTS OF SMOKE

I am always glad to get home. Today more so. This fire is still dangerous. We have high winds and very dry brush on the hill.

THOUGHTS OF WIND

The wind: do you like it, hate it, are you scared of it?

I am sometimes just a little afraid of the wind. We live in the Oakland Hills, wind is not our friend. Especially when it is the Diablo winds coming from inland and not from the sea. This wind is strong, hot, and dry. You can feel your skin drying out, your mouth is dry, and you feel anxious. And this is when we get the raging fires. So we are all a little nervous with the winds. The last two nights I have often waked up from the noise of the wind and from the sounds of the house. Things pop that don't usually, branches hit the house, and the security light keeps coming on. Is someone on the driveway, is it an animal, or did the wind blow things in front of the security beam?

Sometimes the wind is great. At night when the house is warm and we have the windows open, a gentle breeze will fill the house with cool fresh air. Even though it is summer time, we sleep under a down comforter, the breeze blowing over the bed.

The wind blowing long grass on a hillside looks like the sea. Petals blowing from fruit trees in a gentle wind looks like a snow storm. But it is spring in California.

The wind blowing leaves in the fall is good. The sounds of the dry leaves, the leaves swirling in the air, the color of the leaves piled against the fence, that is fall.

My favorite wind, Randy Strong's glass art. http://www.rstrong.com/ Check out the gallery and look at the Wind series and the Sonoma Breeze art.

Wind is usually good. Wind is scary right now. We are the lucky ones this time in Northern California, no fires, yet. Southern California has the fires this time. Our crews are there fighting fires.

The wind is calm right now. Hopefully the front has moved through and we will go back to off shore breezes. Keep your fingers crossed.