The Fires Worsen

I knew yesterday morning when I took Cody to golf camp that it wasn't good news that there was ash falling from the sky, our deck was lightly covered in ash. The fires have been burning non-stop for the past few weeks and the smoke has waxed and waned throughout, but we've never had ashes. This new development clearly indicated that the winds had shifted in our direction. Now we are not in any threat of danger from the fire. All the action is up in Paradise, however our good friends, the Barbers and the Arringtons were. They live on the canyon that overlooks Feather River. The fire is actively burning on the other side of the river. I received a call around 11 am yesterday morning from Bruce, the son and brother of the Barbers and Arringtons, asked if his parents, the Barbers could come and stay with us as they were being evacuated. I immediately asked about his sister and her family, the Arringtons, regarding their evacuation plans. It was quickly determined that both families needed a place to stay. My sister in law, Jackie, who lives next door, also has family living in Paradise. I immediately called her to see if her pool house would be available to the Arrington family. She generously said that they could stay there. Soon thereafter she got the call that her mother and aunt would also be evacuating. By the end of the day Jackie had 10 evacuees in her home and we have a total of 7, plus Bruce drove up from the Bay Area to help out. This is the third time that the Arringtons and the Barbers have had to evacuate and it is clear that they are growing weary. My thoughts this morning are also with the firefighters. They have been working non-stop for weeks battling these fires through rough terrain, but they are like the Energizer bunny; they just keep on going. We are unsure of when it is going to be safe for the Arringtons and Barbers to return home so I'm mentally preparing for a long haul. The bright news on the horizon is that on Friday, Chelsea and I will be flying to San Diego for the day to celebrate her 16th birthday with her Aunt Tere, Aunt Caralyn, Grandma, and her cousin Kendall. She is so excited, which fills me with joy because, quite frankly, she hasn't had much of a birthday celebration yet. Each time she arranges to celebrate with her bestfriend, who happens to live in Paradise, she has to cancel because they have to evacuate. Yesterday, Katelyn was scheduled to come down to finally celebrate Chelsea's birthday and yet again, they had to evacuate. Hopefully Friday will make up for her repeated disappointment.