On Tuesday, a fire broke out in the Rancho Santa Fe area due to the heat and high winds. No big deal really, the fire crews were on it pretty quickly and were able to save all the houses. So then Wednesday rolled around....
First, a fire broke out on Camp Pendleton. The next thing you know, there's a very dangerous fire breaking out in Carlsbad. This one threatening homes and schools. While all the resources were being spread all over the county, another fire broke out in Bonsall and near the I-15 and 76. And if that weren't crazy enough, this is what I saw in San Marcos, as I was picking up Gav from school around 3:30 PM-
This one became the most dangerous one, because of the speed and the homes and the University it was threatening. When I got home, there were 2 more in Oceanside that broke out and another on the base. We were literally surrounded! It was really scary. We stayed glued to the TV all day. We were having record breaking heat and winds that day. And it all seemed really suspicious that all of these fires could just possibly be a coincidence. We were very on edge, just waiting and watching to see if Vista would be next. But, thankfully, it never was. But due to the situation and bad air quality, Schools were closed for the rest of the week.
Thursday was just as bad. A couple more fires flared up around the county, but nothing compared to the San Marcos and Pendleton fires. They were still burning out of control. We needed a break from the house and the news, so we headed out to Fallbrook to do some swimming. This is what we pulled up to-
It looked pretty close, but Papa insisted that it was a few miles away...
So, we jumped in and swam. Then the smoke became higher and bigger. Ash began blowing everywhere. The smell of smoke was getting stronger and our eyes were beginning to burn. I decided it was time to leave. I asked Papa if we wanted to leave with us, but he said no. So, we left.
As we were driving out of his street, we noticed a bunch of emergency vehicles flying up the other side if the road. The Sheriff had the street blocked to oncoming traffic. Papa's neighborhood was being evacuated!!! I panicked and wanted to turn around to get him, but I couldn't. I tried to go around the back way and they had that blocked too. I called him and he said he would just get out with the neighbors. Except that he neighbors didn't want to leave. Nana had their only car and tried to get to him, but she couldn't. Thankfully, the High Priest Group Leader was able to get in and get him out. And then the evacuation order was lifted. It was pretty chaotic and stressful and exciting. I'm just glad everyone is safe.
San Marcos and Pendleton are still burning today. They are both around 85% contained. Everyone has been allowed to return to their homes. Unfortunately, some people in Carlsbad and San Marcos, have no homes to return to. The good thing is, no one died. Well, except for one person they found in a migrant camp in a canyon. That's pretty amazing. We are being told this is just the beginning of a long fire season. This is a great reminder to us to be prepared. I hope they are wrong about a long fire season. I hope we can all be safe. And I hope they catch whoever did this, so they can't do this again.
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