OK I guess I should not yell fire in a crowded forum!
Had a fire breakout close to my house yesterday;
http://origin.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_6769460
Not close enough that we got evacuated but close enough to scare the bejeebies out of us. The CDF was dropping the red fire retardant with DC10 and a helicopter was dropping water from the nearby reservoir. Cudo's to all the fire departments that responded and took control of the blaze. It is now about 50% contained and that is really a feat considering where the fire is. The terrain in that area is steep, rocky and covered with trees, so just the task of getting to the front line was amazing! Since California is in the worst drought in 3 decades the forest is a tinderbox. Even the redwoods are starting to turn brown, and that never happens. The whole community and those around us are saluting the firefighters! Thanks guys!
I had to drive right by the area on my way home and they had not closed the road. The main danger was not the smoke but rather the lookie loo's suddenly stopping and swerving off the road and then running across the Hwy... Almost took out 3 people as they rushed across the road in front of me on a blind corner. If I had not been expecting it, the three of them and I would have been in the hospital. I stopped and called the CHP to have them come take care of the situation _after_ I yelled at the Mom, Dad, and kid. First time in many many moons I have had to lock up my front wheel...
We were without power for 12 hours since our main transmission lines run right through the area that is still burning. They rerouted the grid and we had power by 1am.