According to the latest from the KGET TV web site, the Tehachapi fire is 25% contained; it has burned over 1,400 acres; 25 structures are destroyed, and it's not known how many of those are homes; 150 to 200 homes are still threatened by the blaze.
The Tehachapi area is very large (we are 12 miles from the city of Tehachapi, for example) and while the fire is burning on our side of town, it's probably 10 – 15 miles from here. I'm not sure about the miles, but it is not very close.
After all the smoke on Tuesday night, I saw nothing yesterday morning and thought the fire had been contained. But when I got phone calls from relatives in New Orleans and emails from worried friends all over the place, I realized it was much more serious than I had first thought. Then when the strong Tehachapi winds started up later in the day, I called a friend for an update as a lot of smoke blew into the canyon. I also checked the internet and found out that the governor had been here and had declared our county a disaster area. There is a larger fire burning in a different area of the county as well, with over 16,000 acres burned and more than 2,000 firefighters on the lines.
I take this as a warning to check my bag of medical and personal supplies that's always packed for emergencies. Then I'll pack the paperwork, deeds, business CDs, a few photos, but not much else. I usually do that every summer, but didn't get to it this year.
And my friend is stopping by later today to help me get the birdcage down from the fireplace mantel. We put Pippi Birdie up there when Samson was here and forgot to bring him back down before my husband and Samson went back to LA. I had to balance dangerously on a stepstool just to feed the bird and found there was no way I could lift the cage with one arm. So I am very grateful to get my bird down on the table again.
I just took this picture and, as you can see the sky is clear here this morning. As you can also see, it's very dry and yellow. I'm happy I mowed some of the grass/weeds and very grateful to Rachael, who just wouldn't quit mowing until the mower ran out of juice.
Thanks to all my friends who have written or called, concerned about my safety. Have a great day everyone and I'll let you know when they put this fire out.
God Bless The Fire Fighters -- My Heroes, Always!
