Fire! Fire!

Staying home isn't as much fun as it was when I was a kid. I just don't get the same enjoyment out of Price is Right. That's not even on today, because it is just fire coverage. So I ultimately plan to do something productive with my day, like cleaning, but meanwhile, I'm enjoying my coffee and watching the fire on TV. They were broadcasting live from the Harris Fire, down in Chula Vista. My grandparents live in Chula Vista. I remember visiting them when I was little and their house was on a canyon, nothing but canyon as far as you could see. They had coyotes and road runners in their backyard. Over the years, Chula Vista has been built up to where there are no longer canyon views from their home. Just housing developments as far as the eye can see. So luckily, they are now safely in the middle of Chula Vista, because it is the neighborhoods on the edges of communities or along open canyons that are burning. They were showing a wall of fire coming over the hill, headed straight for the housing development. The firefighters were just standing there, watching, because there was nothing they could do until the homes were in immediate danger. But luckily, when they built this neighborhood 4 years ago, they took fire danger into consideration and surrounded the neighborhood with what is called "defensible space." In this case, a 10 foot road next to a 6 foot trail. The fire burned right up to the road and the stopped. Neighborhood saved without a drop of water, just good planning.
Currently 300,000 acres are burning, they are estimating full containment of at least two of the fires by November 4th. Still only one fatality. Poor Tori Spelling had to evacuate her B&B in Fallbrook, so won't be able to film her reality TV show until this settles down (she was actually already in L.A. so didn't really have to evacuate). The California condor enclosure at the Wild Animal Park was destroyed, but they had already evacuated the condors since they are critically endangered animals. The rest of the animals are safe in their enclosures, as they have fire breaks and well irrigated land which should hold off any fire. What does it say about me that I'm more concerned about the condors than Tori Spelling?