Fires All Around Me

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For a two weeks now there has been a bad wildfire in the north end of my country. It is closer to Hearst Castle than any other fire has ever been -- within two miles. The castle has been closed for a few days to aid in fighting the fire surrounding it. It is supposed to be reopened tomorrow. We have had smoke in the air off and on for this whole two weeks. Sometimes we have to leave the windows closed at night and use the air conditioning so that we don't breathe the smoke in the house. In my photo, you can see how the fire changes the appearance of our sunsets. On Tuesday night I went to a meeting in Atascadero. As we were standing around talking and eating refreshments after the meeting broke up, people started telling everyone to leave the building. A fire had broken out in the ceiling. Fortunately little damage was done. On Thursday we were running errands in San Luis Obispo. We had planned to get gas at the station at Costco after we finished shopping. As we neared the gas pumps, we saw they were blocked by orange cones. As we went past on the other side, we saw a fire engine and some fighter fighters around a lone car and pump. We didn't see fire, but I had to wonder. There was quite a difference in the response between the fire Tuesday night and the response at Costco. Tuesday night three police cars were followed by three engines and an ambulance. We only saw one engine at Costco. Maybe there had been more, but some might have left before we finished shopping. I had heard sirens, but didn't realize where they were going. One difference in the response may have been due to the difference in location. The Tuesday meeting was a grand opening of a political headquarters. The mayor and a city councilwoman were both there. Perhaps someone suspected terrorism, though the cause turned out to be a badly installed speaker in the ceiling. I still don't know why the fire department was called at Costco. Maybe someone had needed the paramedics, but there was no ambulance, unless it had already left. In any case, I feel like I keep running into fires or smelling their smoke. How about you? Have you been near any fires lately? Are you smelling smoke? Are any fires getting too close for comfort?