San Diego Fires

On Sunday, I was walking out of church and noticed big gray clouds up in the sky and there was fine ash falling. Fire season was starting in Southern California. This last weekend and week was an amazing time in San Diego. At one point there were 11 fires burning in San Diego County, the Santa Anna winds were blowing them fast and moving into areas that were heavily populated. On Monday morning, my roommates parents were evacuated from Poway and they came to stay with us. While the fire was still at least 10 miles from my house, the evacuation orders kept moving south and for the first time in my life, I had to see if I was prepared to evacuate my home and what I would take. It was a sobering experience for me. Gratefully, the fires didn't get down this far and I didn't have to leave. There has been a lot of smoke and ash falling all around. My work was cancelled for the week due to air quality and the need to conserve power. Power lines were being affected by the fires, with the possibility of rolling brown outs happening if any of those lines went down.

On Tuesday, after one day of sitting at home glued to the news, my friends and I bought a bunch of supplies like water, granola bars, wipes, toothpaste, toothbrushes and other items to take down to the main evacuation center, Qualcomm Stadium. We arrived with our car loaded and waited in line for 2 hours to drop off our donations. It was so AMAZING the amount of donations that were pouring into that place and then being farmed out to other evac sites. I am honestly impressed with the amount of generosity the people in this area have shown. The news in the morning says what is needed and by midafternoon, they get it. I haven't heard of extreme shortages anywhere. It is amazing. The church sent down supplies as well and those made it to those in need. Members of my ward donated time, money, and items to help out. I am so impressed at the response to the tragedy faced by so many.

I have been off work all week and have been a little stir crazy with not much to do. But I am so grateful that I didn't have to evacuate. My roommate has heard of a number of people she knows in Poway who have lost their homes, my friends boss lost his home, there are so many who have lost so much, yet we are taken care of.