I'm ba-ack!!!
My flight was WAY late last night because of the fires in SoCal.. The flight out of LAX was on time and I got to Phoenix when I should have...but the plane I was supposed to pick up there was stuck on the ground in Ontario, Ca. because of the fires. When we took off out of LA...I was STUNNED at all the damage I could see from the air.
Saturday night Annie and I sat outside for a while because it was such a nice night. Then these crazy winds started picking up, going in every direction. The next day we went to Venice Beach and we could see the fires in Malibu. I have pictures...I have to get them developed today because instead of getting in at 9:30, I got in after 1. My daughter asked someone if the fire we saw was from the winds the night before. People were saying that it was and then the news started covering the fires 24 hours a day out there. I had more vacationing to do so I didn't pay much attention.
I did make a note of those odd winds...and I learned that they were the infamous Santa Anna winds.
What I saw from the sky made it seem as though the news was underestimating the fires but they weren't...there's just no way that television can appropriately show how bad those things are.
When we took off from LAX, I was on the right side of the plane and I could see 4 fires as soon as we got up to any height at all. The higher and further we flew, the more fires I could see. It was like nothing I had ever seen before and I couldn't believe how bad it was. Nothing on TV could have prepared me for what I saw from the sky. From the cruising altitude I could see the flames. That's AMAZING! Not just the smoke, but the actual fires were visible from 23,000 feet. And they went on forever and ever! I couldn't believe how far the fires had spread nor how large they were from the sky. If I could see them from that high up and they looked so huge from the window of a commercial jet, I can't imagine what it must have looked like on the ground. Every time I thought that I had seen the last fire, another one would be off in the distance. By the time I did see the last fire, the flight crew said we were beginning the descent into Phoenix.
This morning I woke up to see that the national news is covering the fires now. Usually I would be whining, "WHO CARES! I want to watch Judge Judy!" But, after seeing those fires yesterday, I don't blame them. I'll never listen to a report of a fire with such disdain again.
Anyway, it didn't surprise me when a plane was stuck in SoCal from the smoke...I'm amazed that my own plane took off in that mess. You couldn't drive down a street in LA without seeing smoke off in the distance.
So, I'm home. I'm drinking coffee and I have to unpack. But first...I'm going to write a post about some of my exploits while out of town....and I'll have more stories to tell you as I go along. I can't really write much when I'm at someone else's computer...but I'm home now and I can type all I want. So, let me suck coffee and I'll be right back!
Meg
My flight was WAY late last night because of the fires in SoCal.. The flight out of LAX was on time and I got to Phoenix when I should have...but the plane I was supposed to pick up there was stuck on the ground in Ontario, Ca. because of the fires. When we took off out of LA...I was STUNNED at all the damage I could see from the air.
Saturday night Annie and I sat outside for a while because it was such a nice night. Then these crazy winds started picking up, going in every direction. The next day we went to Venice Beach and we could see the fires in Malibu. I have pictures...I have to get them developed today because instead of getting in at 9:30, I got in after 1. My daughter asked someone if the fire we saw was from the winds the night before. People were saying that it was and then the news started covering the fires 24 hours a day out there. I had more vacationing to do so I didn't pay much attention.
I did make a note of those odd winds...and I learned that they were the infamous Santa Anna winds.
What I saw from the sky made it seem as though the news was underestimating the fires but they weren't...there's just no way that television can appropriately show how bad those things are.
When we took off from LAX, I was on the right side of the plane and I could see 4 fires as soon as we got up to any height at all. The higher and further we flew, the more fires I could see. It was like nothing I had ever seen before and I couldn't believe how bad it was. Nothing on TV could have prepared me for what I saw from the sky. From the cruising altitude I could see the flames. That's AMAZING! Not just the smoke, but the actual fires were visible from 23,000 feet. And they went on forever and ever! I couldn't believe how far the fires had spread nor how large they were from the sky. If I could see them from that high up and they looked so huge from the window of a commercial jet, I can't imagine what it must have looked like on the ground. Every time I thought that I had seen the last fire, another one would be off in the distance. By the time I did see the last fire, the flight crew said we were beginning the descent into Phoenix.
This morning I woke up to see that the national news is covering the fires now. Usually I would be whining, "WHO CARES! I want to watch Judge Judy!" But, after seeing those fires yesterday, I don't blame them. I'll never listen to a report of a fire with such disdain again.
Anyway, it didn't surprise me when a plane was stuck in SoCal from the smoke...I'm amazed that my own plane took off in that mess. You couldn't drive down a street in LA without seeing smoke off in the distance.
So, I'm home. I'm drinking coffee and I have to unpack. But first...I'm going to write a post about some of my exploits while out of town....and I'll have more stories to tell you as I go along. I can't really write much when I'm at someone else's computer...but I'm home now and I can type all I want. So, let me suck coffee and I'll be right back!
Meg
posted by Meg Kelso | 5:39 AM
2 Comments:
Meg, My sister lives in Canyon Country and was evacuated because of the fires. Her family and the family across the street went to stay with my mom for the night. They are home and safe right now but she says that her yard is full of ash and soot. You cannot walk in the front or back door, you have to go in through the garage because of all the soot. She says that it will be forever before she wants a fire in the fireplace because all she can smell right now is the smoke.
What a tragedy for all out there. I pray that everyone is safe.
Glad that you had such a great vacation :)
Thank God she's OK. On the news they said that all people could do to help was, "Pray for a change in the weather." Canyon Country was one of the first hit, that's by Malibu. I wouldn't have known that before the fires. I have a picture of your sisters' fire.
It was AWFUL. I'm sure at ground zero it was devastating.
Meg
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