Ahh...That's Better

First, an update. The hillside fire shown in my previous post's photos was set by the fire department to protect the homes. While the perspective from where I shot my photos made the fire seem on top of the houses, it was actually in a valley I never realized existed in all my years of hiking there. It was covered by brush...hence the burn. The homes on the mountain are safe but residents were still not allowed to return until 11 p.m. on 9/2 because of spot fires and embers.

While the Station Fire rages on, the good people of Sunland are feeling a bit of relief. There are no visible fires on our mountains. Gone are the neighbors gathering on any high peak for hours on end to watch the fires. Gone is the constant fear of the fire spreading into our valley. And as I write this (3:28 in the morning), for the first time in week, there are no helicopters and planes flying constantly overhead....but it was a fire truck that woke me an hour ago.

Still lingering behind, we have white columns of smoke rising on the mountains. Our daily smoke and ash assaults are still occurring in the wee hours of the morning and only giving us a break in the late afternoon. With that comes stinging eyes and the struggle to breathe and the need to be indoors - that last part is huge obstacle to our normal way of life here in the foothills.

There is also a lot of sadness - for those that lost their homes and for the precious firemen that lost their lives. And there is hope that they get this inferno under control as it continues east through the Angeles National Forest.

The smoke hanging in the air has made for some gorgeous smogsets sunsets. These were taken 9/1/09 at the creek.