The breathing is getting easier

There was, honest to god, some rain this morning — not much, a mere smattering, but enough to help feel like the air might clear just a bit. But it had actually cleared quite a bit last night, happily, and so this morning I could finally see out to Saddleback — while the smoke was still rising in a great plume, it was at least nice to see it from a distance than to be lost in the obscurity of it.

The weather looks likely to hold and the predictions are getting more optimistic, I’d say with good reason — cooler weather and more humidity is always going to be a help when it comes to extremely dry brush. So we’ll see how the next few days go, though I’m still wondering what it will be like when I can see the hills properly again, and what my thoughts will be when it’s all clear, too clear. But friend Stripey indicated in her own visit to the area that it seems some scattered patches of greenery did survive — there’s always hope, even in small amounts.

The fire rages on…

This map shows you the score all too clearly — use the satellite or hybrid option for a better sense of what’s at stake. With the fire moving into the Cleveland National Forest, things could get even worse in terms of air quality and natural devastation. The air around here isn’t going to improve any time soon either. More fire crews are available to help and the weather is getting less hectic but that’s no reason to be sanguine in the slightest. (If a certain someone visits here later, I’ll be further irritated.)

How the fires affect all

I’ve been through massive fires around here before. The Laguna Beach fire of 1993 crested the tallest hill I could see from my old campus housing; we fled for north Irvine just in case. The 2003 fires were no cakewalk — I still remember being shocked to realize that the smoke was so thick I could clearly see a massive sunspot eruption on the sun, there being no impediment to looking at it directly. There will be more in the future, and as long as people live so close to the fire zones — whether for reasons of beauty, affordability, family roots or whatever else — risks will be run. I live in an earthquake zone, I’m hardly excusing myself on this front.

Still, walking around today — a much better day than the immediately previous ones, by all accounts — was still a bit surreal, ash blowing everywhere, a brown cloud turning the sunlight red, and above all else the smell of smoke everywhere, inescapable. A couple of coworkers aren’t here today; they live down in north San Diego County, where conditions make here seem pristene. They’re all right by all accounts, I hope the best for them.

But there is unavoidable loss. I’ve had a few people contacting me asking if I’m okay, having heard news reports about Irvine fire damage. No worries — I don’t live in Irvine but Costa Mesa, which is nowhere near the fire zones (or any real wildfire zones; we’re firmly ensconced in developed areas), while Irvine itself is so huge that its southern end, where UCI is, is well away from its northern boundaries and the start of the local fires. Good friend Stripey, though, lives in an area not far from where the fires were burning, and I did contact her while I was away to see if all was well — she’s fine, though the bad air kept her at home for a day.

However, just now she followed up with some sad news — her favorite hiking area, Limestone Canyons and Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park, has been burnt out. Some months ago she asked me to join her on a hike; she strongly felt I had to get out there at some point, and I’m certainly glad she insisted. Here’s my photoset from the hike, so you can get a sense of what it was like, as far as we went. When it will be like that again who knows.

One photo I took from the start of the hike, in retrospect, is the clear warning: