there was ash everywhere. it looked like a light flurry of snow falling, but with that overwhelming smell of smoke. who knows if the ash was from the plants that burned or from someone’s home that’s no longer there.
yesterday when i woke up, i remember thinking i hadn’t seen the sky so blue in such a long time. the santa ana winds were getting stronger, it must have blown off all the smog around the area.
several hours later i saw the smoke come in. i remembered hearing about a fire somewhere, but i paid little attention to where it was. i wasn’t worried that it might reach our house. we hardly live in a fire prone area. there were fires every year, it wasn’t something unheard of.
i had no idea the fires were so close, that it would come close to the homes of people i knew, but would eventually pass them by.