Fires in San Diego

It was a bit late yesterday when I read the news about raging wildfires in southern California. A friend of mine, who I will call S.K., lives in San Diego. I immediately got in touch to get her status. We weren't at the frantic level, just serious concern.

She was alright for the time being but planned on keeping an eye on her parent's house, as they were out of town. S.K. informed me that it was very windy and smelled like campfire everywhere. Campfire seems like such a nonthreatening word. I suppose that the good news was that she wasn't smelling a bunch of burning chemicals. She described the sky as bright orange, but you can probably see that on the television reports. This particular CNN report was sponsored by Residence Inn. In the commercial, some actor throws off his jacket and began juggling a lit torches. He was actually playing with fire. Is that appropriate or just in bad taste?

This morning she got the evacuation notice. I can't imagine what it must be like to grab only the essentials and flee but it is something that everyone should consider, given all of the natural disasters over the past few years.

S.K., wherever you are right now, take care.