Fire!

Southern California has been on fire many times. Sometimes just down the freeway from us. But I have always told the kids that they don't have to worry about a fire coming towards our house. Not where we live. And I have always believed that.

I wasn't even worried when I saw the smoke on the other side of the hill. I was surprised that that hill was burning, but still not worried. It wasn't until I could see flames from our front yard that I started to panic. Everyone knows what a worry wart I am, and that day was certainly no different. I made David come home from work early, and started to gather our important pictures and family home videos. I actually thought that we should pack up some things in the car - just in case. I did realize that the fire probably wouldn't reach us, but I was very worried about the wind and embers blowing our direction.

Needless to say, the AMAZING firefighters put the fire out within a few hours. But those few hours were very unsettling. The air around our neighborhood was smoky, and although it was two o'clock in the afternoon, the sky looked dark and dreary. People in our ward were evacuating and we didn't know if they were going to get it out or not for a while.

I can no longer tell my kids that there will never be a fire within view of our house. But David took them up the hill to take some pictures as they were finishing up, and I think they felt better watching the firemen and helicopters do their jobs. It was a great lesson for everyone around us. We need to be prepared for any type of an emergency that may come our way! I am working on this more now than ever.....food storage, organized pictures and videos, etc. etc.

Here's the view from our street when the fire was almost out. I have never been so happy to see white smoke before! That entire hill was covered in flames hours before.