Michael Eskin et al., I hope y’all and your homes are okay. These fires seem to be spreading fast – latest report I heard was that they’ve burned 500 square miles.
Thanks a lot, chas.
Just finished spending the weekend checking on family, friends, fellow parishoners, etc. Some had been put under voluntary evacuation, but it looks like everyone I know will be okay. The air is sure foul. The best sunlight has sort of a peachy-tan color to it, and some older people are having their lung problems flare up. Little bits of gray ash pile up in corners, even 50 miles downwind.
Also I pray for the firefighters, 2 of which I know, who are spending long hours in hot, dry, uneven terrain. As if that wasn’t hard enough, they’re fighting fires too.
The smoke (as a thin haze) is visible all the way up here in the SF Bay area - a number of folks on the TAC list (a mostly Bay area astronomy mailing list) reported noticable effects on clarity the last few nights.
From the same source, a satellite image of southern California:
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=11799
That’s a brilliant image!! Prayers are with you guys.
What a stunning image!
My mom and I were just talking about the fires last night ~ So awful…
Mary