So, Sunday, I had to come into the canyon (where Master's is) to pick up Tommy. As we were leaving, I thought I smelled smoke. I commented on it, but he thought it was just a BBQ. We had hardly gone any further before a fire truck came toward us with sirens blaring. After we turned out of the canyon, we could spot the fire on top of one of the hills.

When we got back into town, we came back to the canyon. All along the back of the canyon was black ground with none of the usual weeds. Master's is spread out on the side of this hill, so it came right up to many of our buildings. Did actually burn a modular building and some equipment that had been left out, but the majority of our buildings, like where my office is or our library, were spared. We're very thankful for that.

Getting the story from some of the people who were here for the whole thing, I guess it just raced down the hill because of all the dry brush. And the canyon got so full of smoke you could hardly see or breath. You could still smell the smoke when we got back several hours after it had been put out. I'm very glad we left when we did. :)

Not to be outdone, there was a small fire yesterday in town as well, but I haven't heard any more about it.

If you want to read more, our local paper has an article about it here.

One thing we have been told is that our compliance with the brush laws in the area are probably partially responsible for how little damage was done. So if you live in the country, keep the brush down like you are supposed to!

I finally did my laundry last night. Three loads worth. I would have felt guilty, but no one else was down there, so there was no problem. I also made several phone calls. I was trying to watch three hours worth of recorded TV, and it took me four hours to do it with the laundry and the phone calls.

It actually sprinkled today. It's still cloudy and definitely cooler then normal (high 80's). And more humid then I'm used to for Southern CA. We usually get a few days like this every summer, but I think they are usually in June. Didn't stop Pete and I from swimming at lunch time, however.