Round the Home Fire...

So I'm finally back at the keyboard, armed with pictures of the fire that was right behind our house. The Firemen did a fantastic job, keeping the fire moving slowly behind our hills, treating almost like a controlled burn - reducing the risk to all of us later in the fire season. Not one house was lost, though the fire burned right behind the northernmost homes across the breadth of Sierra Madre. There were helicopters, spotter planes, and hand crews. It was a tremendous and impressive effort. How to send enough thanks to the brave men and women who battle heat and flame to keep your home safe, I will never know. But I will continually try.

This is what we saw by day...




smoke....







The tanker diving...














dropping fire retardant foam...




















































one helicopter....









hand crews working....








fire trucks being stationed....








second helicopter






smoke on the hill...







spotter plane...





And at night ...










The window you see here is our kitchen window...
































At this point we packed up the children and left for my mother-in-laws, who was kind enough to take us all in - cat, dog, and bird. I will always be grateful to her for being there for us, without question. I will never get over how lucky I got when it came to my in-laws. I only hope they know how much I appreciate them, and every kind thing they do for us.

We were with my MIL for a little over two days total. It was a grand vacation for the children, and a good place to wait for news while the fire fighters worked so hard for us day and night. It was really good to get home.

More tomorrow on what we've been up to. Promise!