(no subject)
Today was one of the longest days I have had in a long time. The fires are killing me out here. First off, I don't know what kind of fucking asshole thought it would be a good idea to start a fire somewhere when it's around 80 outside and the Santa Ana winds are blowing. Well thanks to you a few people have already died and many, many more are being pushed out of their homes for their own safety. So to those assholes who just thought they'd "have a little fun..." Fuck you. Rot in hell.
I got to work today and it was insane. The air was full of smoke and crap, the wind was blowing all matter of detritus in my face, and it all just generally sucked. Alex left and went home after an hour and there was nobody to come relieve him except one of the patrol guys, Erich. Thankfully he's cool and it wasn't weird being confined a room for 8 hours with someone I couldn't stand. Those shifts are the worst. Anyway, Erich doesn't work the gates so he doesn't know how to run any of the stuff. So I was basically on my feet working the gate the entire day. It was busy as hell because everyone was evacuating their horses to the equestrian center, and as the night went on, more and more people were being evacuated to Coto. So the traffic pretty much never ended, and I was running the show the whole time. Tough. Then around 9 Erich had to leave to go on patrol so I was left there by myself for the remainder of my shift. It was the busiest I've ever seen it. What a day for all that to go wrong.
I also found out midway through my shift that the fire had spread down to Trabuco Canyon, which is right behind my house. So if the flames climbed the hill up O'Neil Park, I'd be out of a house. But what really worried me is my grandparents live down there. I called my mom and found out they had been evacuated and had to go to my cousin's house. Then I found out the fire was spreading down there. Last I heard, Hamilton Trail (the street my grandparents live on) was on fire. My uncle Rocky, who lives right across the street from my grandparents, refused to leave. He's a retired firefighter, and he's in his 60's or so. He suited up and went out to fight the fire. My cousin was really freaked out about that. But God bless 'im. I called my mom to find out what was going down and she told me the fire was way back in Santiago Canyon and it would be a long time if it ever made it to our house. Still, I'm scared.
Then later that night another fire popped up out near Ortega. That's really scary because all that lies between Ortega and Coto is drybrush. So these fires better stop because I like my job and would like to keep it. Heh.
But I'm really trying to stay positive right now. I find it really funny that the one band I want to listen to right now is On Fire. Which I didn't even draw the connection until a few minutes ago. Not really something to joke about, but I'm trying to see the bright side of things. I know this will end. And the earth has a very bolstered immune system. With all this smoke in the air, we're due for some rain relatively soon. At least, I hope so. Let's just keep our fingers crossed.
I got to work today and it was insane. The air was full of smoke and crap, the wind was blowing all matter of detritus in my face, and it all just generally sucked. Alex left and went home after an hour and there was nobody to come relieve him except one of the patrol guys, Erich. Thankfully he's cool and it wasn't weird being confined a room for 8 hours with someone I couldn't stand. Those shifts are the worst. Anyway, Erich doesn't work the gates so he doesn't know how to run any of the stuff. So I was basically on my feet working the gate the entire day. It was busy as hell because everyone was evacuating their horses to the equestrian center, and as the night went on, more and more people were being evacuated to Coto. So the traffic pretty much never ended, and I was running the show the whole time. Tough. Then around 9 Erich had to leave to go on patrol so I was left there by myself for the remainder of my shift. It was the busiest I've ever seen it. What a day for all that to go wrong.
I also found out midway through my shift that the fire had spread down to Trabuco Canyon, which is right behind my house. So if the flames climbed the hill up O'Neil Park, I'd be out of a house. But what really worried me is my grandparents live down there. I called my mom and found out they had been evacuated and had to go to my cousin's house. Then I found out the fire was spreading down there. Last I heard, Hamilton Trail (the street my grandparents live on) was on fire. My uncle Rocky, who lives right across the street from my grandparents, refused to leave. He's a retired firefighter, and he's in his 60's or so. He suited up and went out to fight the fire. My cousin was really freaked out about that. But God bless 'im. I called my mom to find out what was going down and she told me the fire was way back in Santiago Canyon and it would be a long time if it ever made it to our house. Still, I'm scared.
Then later that night another fire popped up out near Ortega. That's really scary because all that lies between Ortega and Coto is drybrush. So these fires better stop because I like my job and would like to keep it. Heh.
But I'm really trying to stay positive right now. I find it really funny that the one band I want to listen to right now is On Fire. Which I didn't even draw the connection until a few minutes ago. Not really something to joke about, but I'm trying to see the bright side of things. I know this will end. And the earth has a very bolstered immune system. With all this smoke in the air, we're due for some rain relatively soon. At least, I hope so. Let's just keep our fingers crossed.