California Burning
Jul 2nd, 2008 at 9:35 pm by Susie
The scope of these fires is hard to grasp:
BIG SUR, Calif. — Facing a stubborn fire, California officials ordered the evacuation of Big Sur on Wednesday as flames flared on nearby mountaintops and moved steadily toward this coastal retreat.
Firefighters have been attacking a fire near Big Sur for 11 days and had been helped in recent days by fog, moist conditions and lighter winds. Seventeen homes have been lost here — more than half the total destroyed statewide from the first major wildfires of the season — but many residents had been allowed to remain as the fire stayed to the east and south.
But overnight Tuesday the fire unexpectedly intensified, prompting mandatory evacuations of residents on both sides of Highway 1, the scenic coastal byway that runs through the Big Sur valley.
“It’s tough to move out of your home; we understand that,” said Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who visited the town with federal emergency officials on Wednesday, “but do it.”
Our entire skyline is black, gray and orange - you can actually look at the sun, it’s so obscured by smoke. Glad to get out of here tomorrow.
And the smoke has made its way up north to Oregon, giving Crater Lake just enough haze to remind us of dear old Los Angeles.