The Second, Second Best Blog

A quiet gray Sunday afternoon was interrupted by the sound of a low flying helicopter circling above the neighborhood. A quick look around revealed a thick black column of smoke rising to the northeast. Maybe down at the Ralph’s shopping center, or a car parked on Mustang Run? I dropped the lawn edger, ran in [...]

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Sunday morning was a return to more normal conditions after a week of … you know, not normal. It started with the Sunday paper, followed by some outside tasks, then a departure from routine to get a look at how close the fire had come. Our good friend Terry made his weekly trek to Disneyland, [...]

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The fire has moved north and east into Modjeska and Silverado Canyons. Shortly before 4:00 this afternoon I took some more photos from my backyard vantage point, about 4 miles away, as it burned in the rugged terrain above the community of Portola Hills. Here is a high resolution video made from those stills.

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It is very sad to see one of my favorite spots in the world go up in flames. The photo was taken from my backyard about 3 miles away at 9:45 PM. Watch a slideshow taken from 9:29 to 9:52: Whiting Ranch In Flames. We watched the KCAL coverage for several hours earlier in the [...]

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Patty and I had planned to see a movie this afternoon but were thwarted by the fire. The Regal Theater manager at Foothill Ranch informed us that they would not open because the Wal-Mart a short distance away had already been evacuated and they did not want have to do that as well. The first [...]

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On a day that Santa Ana winds were predicted, several fires raged in Socal. The worst by far is in Malibu. But Orange County was hit as well. This photo,  taken from my backyard at 8:17 PM, is of the Santiago Canyon fire. The Orange County Register reported its size as 3800 acres.

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