Close Call?

So here is the question as I write this. Is it a close call? Well I know it is for my younger sister Patty. I was on the phone again yesterday to California. I decided I would rather call Patty to get the latest on the fires. I figured she could give me the low down on everyone. I didn't think that she was threatened. Boy was I wrong. She woke up the other day to spot a wall of orange on the ridge across the way. It was racing in her direction. Actually her home was wedged in between two of the fires. Her husband Jim went out on the sidewalk to take this pictures.

As I pointed out the other day in my blog it looked like my nephew James had lost his home in the fire. We still don't know if that is the case. He was under one of the mandatory evacuations. At last check he had not returned to his home to see if it was still standing. Patty seemed to think his home was spared. She's hopeful. But the fact of the matter is a lot of the people in her community will have to literally rise from the ashes.

Jim also captured a picture of a local strip mall parking lot. A trailer has been set up by one of the insurance companies to help homeowners with their insurance claims. The fact that it is already positioned here speaks volumes of how much traffic they expect to see.

But now the concern is over the home owned by my niece. She lives in the San Diego area and she too has been evacuated. All of this is pretty tough on another sister Ann Henry. She's on vacation in Washington State. She called to find out if her home was okay. But she also wanted to know about her children. She has a daughter in the San Diego area, another that lives in Castaic. That's the site of two of the big fires.

Like so many, my sister Ann wants answers, but they are to find. The hope of course is that the winds will die down and the firefighters will gain the upper hand. Not enough can be said about the aerial attacks on the flames, or the firefighters on the ground who aren't getting any rest. Many of them have homes that are threatened as well. I know my sister can't thank them enough for all they did to save her home. But we know that so many people will be returning to their neighborhoods once the flames are extinguished. They'll be holding their breath and praying that their homes will still be standing. For now they hope for a close call, but for so many there are no answers.