Daily Drive- the fire edition;

The fires in Southern California are raging, pretty much unabated. The San Diego County area, where I live and where the company is located, is the number one fire priority in the state right now. Already, more than 250,000 residents have been forced to evacuate their homes. At least 8 wild fires are raging right now- all of them with 0% containment. Luckily, my family and I are safe, but many other people are not as lucky. In fact, I have an aunt and uncle who have been evacuated and do not yet know the fate of their home. In 2003, they got lucky and did not lose their home during the horrible fires we had that year. Obviously, we're hoping they get lucky again.

This was the view driving up the to the offices this morning- the fires were just off to the right of us, a little southeast of our building. The drive on the freeway this morning, like my drive yesterday after my ride, was equally eerie.

The winds have been blowing with gusts up to 75mph out of the deserts- Santa Ana winds. Very hot and dry, which has been blowing the fires around with devastating speed.

This was my view driving home today- can't even see the ocean and the lagoon has an eerie red glow, due to the sun filtering through the heavy clouds of smoke.

The view of the freeway wasn't much better.

We left a little after 2:00 today because the power went out. Possibly not a very good sign. We'll see if we go in tomorrow. The plan is to watch the news and play it by ear until we know more about the evacuations and the direction the fires are heading.

Thousands of firefighting teams and their equipment are on the way to help with the efforts. Hopefully, they will be in time to save homes and lives that are now in danger. For those who are not in the SoCal region who wish to help with the efforts here and possibly improve the situation for the many thousands now displaced, contributions can now be made through the San Diego chapter of the American Red Cross.

Tim