in the middle of a firestorm

many of you might remember my extended family members who were right in the middle of the fires in California a few weeks ago. I got this email shortly after they were allowed to return to their home. If you ever wondered what it is like to be in the middle of something like this, please read on as my brother-in law describes it in his own words....

Evacuated again, third time in three years - and this was the worst!

House had flames within sight on 3+ sides - several hundred yards tops each
way, maybe 75 yards at the closest. Smoke was so thick in our yard that, at
one point, I couldn't see the end of a 20-foot driveway from the doorway of
the garage. Even before it got that close and that thick, half-burned leaves
were dropping in our yard, still warm. Fires were within 20 feet of a half
dozen homes within shouting distance, and several yards were burned. Winds
topped 40mph, with gusts up to 75mph! Helicopters dropped water more than 9
times behind a single house, but the flames kept coming. Two houses burned
down, but that was a few neighborhoods away.

Sent the rest of the family out of harm's way well before noon. I stuck
around, packing up pictures from the walls, spraying the bushes and trees
and patio with both hoses, and gathering info from neighbors, cops, and
firemen - or what info I could; radio, tv, and internet aren't very useful
in circumstances like this - ya gotta be on the ground. I left by 430 -
which was good, because it apparently flared up and was dropping embers in
our yard as late as 9pm.

Spent the night @ a beach hotel, made a mini-vacation of it, and came back
home today. There
are only a few plumes of smoke visible, and the firetrucks haven't been in
the neighborhood for almost 14 hours, woot.


for those of you who were keeping a good thought or a prayer goin their way, thank you. There were many internet friends who were hopin for the best.. fortunately the best possible outcome ocurred and everyone is fine. Lets just hope they move out of that hell hole sometime soon!