This Sylmar business looks really scary. I know at least one of you is in the Valley. Everyone ok?

What happened? Sylmar?

Nevermind. I googled it. Holy crap!

yikes!

Jeez. Looks like I moved out just in time. LA voters vote to raise taxes, and then this happens. It's the end of the world.

There are at least 5 fires. I could see the smoke plumes from the Corona and Brea fires from the supermarket a few minutes ago. We had blue skies, now post-apocalyptic brown. The light coming through the window is orange. Ash is coming down.

And I live so deeply in the suburbs that there is basically no danger to my house. (If my neighborhood went up, we would be talking about a Katrina-level event.)

Meanwhile, with 90-degree temps, we are being asked to conserve power because a major line into the basin is being threatened.

It seems like we get these firestorms every year now, like it's gotten worse over the past few years. There were fires when I was a kid, but not like this. Am I having retroactive rose-colored glasses?

Maybe it's another effect of the housing bubble, because the fires happen on the fringes, meaning new houses (inland) or the rich (the coast, Malibu and PV)....

The Sylmar fire is about 8-10 miles from us. We could see huge billows of smoke to the north (Sylmar fire) and southeast (Corona fire) this morning but by about 1/2 hour ago at least it looked a little clearer in the direction of Sylmar.

The winds always seem to blow the fire away from us (fingers crossed). I guess that would change if they were on the other side of us.

MamaNeedsAMartini is much closer to Sylmar than us, though, and had to evacuate last time. I hope she's okay!

T-Rex, I think you're right. I've lived in L.A. for almost 11 years now and it seems to get worse by the year. But maybe that's just because I have a kid now and I'm much more aware.

Stay safe everyone. I hope MamaNeesAMartini checks in. What about DGB and Neal, are they anywhere near there?

Yikes - the people two houses down got a bouncer for a kid's birthday party, and they kept using it until a few minutes ago. There is visible ash in the air....

holy shit - hope everyone is ok ???

The air quality has deteriorated badly over the day even in central LA. Yuck. Authorities are recommending that everyone close their windows and stay inside, but also conserve energy. It's 90 plus degrees! Ack! We don't even have central ac, so either way we breathe the muck.

I hope MNAM is ok.

What are the four seasons in LA? Fires, Mudslides, Earthquakes, & Riots

Stay safe, everyone, and I'll be praying for rain. Hopefully MNaM will be checking in soon! Who else hasn't checked in?

T-Rex - It does seem like I'm hearing about more fires. Damn global warming.

Hey everyone. I'm okay. I don't live near any of the fire zones. But the smokey skies are giving everyone in my house headaches. Even inside our house smells smokey. This sucks, but I keep reminding myself of the people who are losing their houses in the fires.

But great holy jeebus it's freakin' hot here. Even the Bean, who NEVER complains about the heat was complaining about the heat.

We seem to do happenstantial evacuations during all of the big fires. We've been in San Diego, and I'm not ashamed to say I was a little disappointed the OC fires didn't block our path home.

Maybe I should feel at least a little shame for that.

Tis indeed smoky. The kid coughed through the Santa Ana portion of our drive, which worried me some, but she's more or less fine now. She is feeling like crap, lying on the couch, which worries me some more.

We seem to do happenstantial evacuations during all of the big fires. We've been in San Diego, and I'm not ashamed to say I was a little disappointed the OC fires didn't block our path home.

Maybe I should feel at least a little shame for that.

Tis indeed smoky. The kid coughed through the Santa Ana portion of our drive, which worried me some, but she's more or less fine now. She is feeling like crap, lying on the couch, which worries me some more.

Oh double posting. You are so mortifying.

Not sure about the rest of you LA 'Sprungers, but the air in the West Valley cleared up enough for us to be able to take a short walk this evening. As I've been cooped up in the house all day, it was severely needed.

DGB, so glad to hear it! We did end up getting some smoke in our neighborhood today and cooped up as well. But I just stepped outside and it's pretty much cleared up...fingers crossed the wind doesn't pick up again.