Line Fire

 I was going to write a week ago but realized I needed to be further removed before telling the story. I guess I needed to know for sure it had a happy ending. Although the fire is still burning, technically we are no longer in any danger (we never were really). 

On September 5, I took the day off and drove Dad to Riverside for a nephrologist check-up. He's doing well as long as he keeps taking care of himself - diet, exercise, etc. On the way home we stopped at Panda Express and then started up "the front way" on Highway 330. Just before the first passing lane which is right at a fires station, we passed a turn out where there was a cop, another car or two, and a fire burning. It was 115* there in Highland. We passed a fire truck headed down shortly after passing the fire. We discussed how good it was that they were on top of the fire so quickly. We made our way home marveling as the temperature dropped to what is still considered hot in Big Bear - 84*. Dropped Dad off and went home to my puppy. 

By that evening, the fire had a name which is never good - the Line Fire. By the next morning it was 1000 acres maybe. (I don't completely remember the early timeline so just go with my numbers!).  School was normal. 

Sunday evening we got a call that there would be  no school on Monday. Monday we were told Tuesday off. At some point the entire valley was put under evacuation warnings. I packed the truck with the stuff that needs to be saved and tried to enjoy the extra tine at home with Slugger. Except that the smoke was SO incredibly bad by mid afternoon that there was only one walk each day. 

That's smoke, not overcast. 

I told myself, and prayed, that if anyone in the valley got put on orders then we'd bail. I was already contemplating going anyway because of the smoke. I already had a cough when all this started and I was at the point that all I did was cough. I knew the smoke wasn't good for any of us (i.e. me or Slugger). Dad evacuated himself on Monday evening. That helped the stress level for sure. David was busy helping his community help others, as they do. At about this point, school had been canceled for the week. 

On Tuesday afternoon, the area of Boulder Bay, inside the valley, was put on evacuation order.  I"d had enough smoke, and I knew that Sarah and Derrik and dogs would welcome us with open arms, so we went.  We didn't hurry, we didn't stress, we just finished packing the toothbrush and meds and such, and we drove away. It was VERY hard to leave. I never imagined that my house was in danger, but still, it was hard to leave, knowing that technically I didn't know what I'd be coming "home" to or when. 

Oh by that time the fire was over 20k acres. Anyway, while we were driving, the Bridge Fire that was burning on the sister mountain was apparently growing by leaps and bounds. Here's the view of OUR  mountain and then AWAY from our mountain toward that fire.

What we'd just left.

What we had to drive toward.

Clear sky on the left is where we would end up.

We stopped once we got past all the smoke and found ourselves at Del Taco with some firemen. They were on their way to the Bridge Fire that was now 30k+ and bigger than "our" fire. We thanked them profusely and then made our way to our safe haven in Placentia with S&D and dogs.  

I tried hard to prep Slugger as we drove. He had met Loki, the Great Dane, but not Freya the Husky puppy (3 years old?). To make matters even more fun, Loki had dental work done that day and was totally loopy from the anesthesia. I think that actually helped in hindsight - Slugger only had to deal with Freya. Sarah and Freya met us outside and we went for a walk around the block together. Freya welcomed Slugger inside and they quickly became friends. I don't think Loki even knew Slugger was there that evening as I kept him away as much as possible. 

Derrick works from home and I didn't want us to be an intrusion, so Slugger and I left for much of the day. We grabbed some food and then we headed to the beach! 

There's video but I'm not gonna bother. 

We ran some errands (Target pick up for the stuff I forgot like dental floss) and made our way back to S&Ds. Slugger and I spent some time sitting on their very nice patio. And visiting with Freya and Loki. 

Lots of sniffing

We had a nice time visiting and eating dinner with S&D on Wednesday evening. On Thursday, we made ourselves scarce again by visiting a local card shop (only spent $10, be proud!) and then having lunch with a firmer student who's in school nearby. It was fun catching up and learning how college life is going. I rarely get that opportunity. Especially with awesome students like Carlos. Another nice dinner and visit with S&D and it was time for sleep again. I had decided that it was time to go home on Friday. Nothing had changed with the fire, it was starting to get contained and I felt like I could be getting stuff done at home, like cleaning! 

Slugger was SUCH a good boy the whole crazy time. But he was very happy to get home to "his chair".

When we got home, we learned that during our drive, our evacuation warning had been lifted! Just us and one other. Everything else was the same. And the smoke wasn't great but better than when we'd left. But golly, our house REEKED! Luckily it had cooled off (which helped a lot with the fire and smoke) so we could leave doors and windows open at least most of the day. Also, the fire was now about 25% contained. That doesn't sound like much but it's actually pretty good. 

I did in fact clean the kitchen the next day and then just released. We went back to school on Tuesday but with minimum days all week to help with the afternoon/evening smoke issues. Though really the smoke has been non-existent for almost a week now. 

We're at 59% contained and the acreage has pretty much stalled at just over 31k or so. It's still burning and won't be "out" for some time but it rained yesterday and that helped. Except it brought lightning snags. Storms can truly be wins or losses! Luckily this was more win. 

And this weekend I'll unpack the truck and we'll be pretty much back to normal. Oh, except that highway Dad and I drove up on Sept 5, will be closed for a while. The fire jumped it in at least 3 places from what I know - burnt road, guardrails, etc. It'll be a very sad sight for a very long time even once it opens. 

Oh, and the fire was arson! Dad and I believe that one of the cars we saw was likely the culprit. They cops caught him and he's in jail with no bail :) I have some suggestions for his punishment but they probably won't ask me.