Among the Green Leaves

i am sitting in a hotel in redding. the air is thick with the smoke of the 1000+ fires.

i had to try four hotels before finding one not booked solid with fire fighting crews. (17,000 fire fighters, 1500 fire engines and bulldozers) i must say, there are some fine looking men who fight fires. oh my!

having driven from san diego northward in the span of less than a week, i want to state right now i am worried deeply about southern california. i have seen how parched it is. there is nothing but tinder as far as the eye can see. trees are sickly. yes, those in yards are dying if you take a look. they are not green, they are yellowing.

here in redding the area is much more green than southern california. it is in conflagration right now. northern california is expecting more lightning storms which can potentially spark more fires.

southern california will be at the mercy of the santa ana winds. from what i have seen, i expect this year to have fires far worse than last year.

take a look at the berms of the freeways near you. caltrans has stopped watering. there are swathes of land with no ice plant on it any longer. san diego will again burn. i suspect significant areas of los angeles and orange county will be touched.

be prepared to evacuate.

hmmm... called the bro to see if he would like to meet for lunch or dinner.

seems he is not in a position to do such. he is currently trapped in lone pine due to all roads south being closed as a result of the forest fires in inyo. he said he is going to take his del sol on service roads to try to get to china lake, then head back to l.a. as he must be on set monday morning for filming.

i do not have a good feeling about this. dirt roads, desert, heat wave and a tiny car with 300K miles on it.