Monday, October 22, 2007

The Eye of the Flames

If you have been following the news recently, you know that there are several fires in Southern California. Irvine is currently surrounded by flames. There are fires in Los Angeles and San Diego, and there is one on the outskirts of Irvine as well. Last night, my friend Heidi called to tell me that she could see the Irvine fire from her apartment. There was a thick cloud of smoke in the air, and sure enough, we could see a fire north of UCI. Apparently, these fires are person-made; they can start from something as small as a discarded cigarette. Put that together with the Santa Ana winds and an unusually dry year, and we end up with uncontrollable fires.

The governor has declared a state of emergency, and some schools have canceled classes. The air quality is pretty bad, and breathing the outside air is like breathing campfire smoke. My cousin Mallory called me to see if I was okay, and she told me that the San Marcos fire is very close to her place of employment. As a result, she will not be working for the next week or so. I talked to my dad today, and I told him that I would rather be in a snowstorm than this wildfire weather.

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