Just an update on the Las Conchas fire…
I’ve received a few emails from folks wondering if I’m in the path of the fire that’s threatening Los Alamos county and the lab. I appreciate the concern, very much! But I’m comfortable and safe. I don’t live near the Las Conchas fire area. Please save your good thoughts and prayers for folks in the path of the fire.
(I actually live much closer to the Pacheco fire near the ski basin in the Santa Fe National Forest.)
As I mentioned yesterday, I was under instructions not to go to work today. The same holds for tomorrow– parts of Los Alamos county underwent mandatory evacuations today. (Including the neighborhood where I used to live when I did live up on “The Hill”, as they call it around these parts.)
I feel terribly for my friends and coworkers who live in the affected areas. Many, if not most, of those folks endured the infamous Cerro Grande fire of 2000. I can’t imagine having to go through it all over again.
But, like I said, I’m safe. Thanks for your concern.
I took a drive this evening toward the northwest side of Santa Fe, where I could get a view toward Los Alamos. (Went to the west end of West Alameda, the ridgetop just before it descends to join up with 599, for you locals.) Could definitely see the fire from there. It turned the clouds pink, and the flames themselves are visible and distint from the city lights of Los Alamos.
In the 10 years I lived in LA, I got very good at identifying “fire light,” especially in the mornings.
“The light’s gone funny. Something’s on fire.”
I lived near Venice Beach, well away from the fire-prone parts of the county, but I worked for a long time in Woodland Hills, and saw fire on the hillsides more than once.
I’m glad you’re safe. Have there been any injuries? I hadn’t seen anything in the news, but I know I may have missed something.
Fire light– yes, exactly! Especially in the morning for some reason. I can tell if something isn’t right by looking at how the sunrise looks on the adobe wall of my house. A bit of smoke in the air will make it slightly more red than the usual adobe color. It’s kind of amazing how much the color of the light can tell you.
Sort of, I suppose, like the way the sky can turn slightly green during tornado weather. I’ve never understood that, even though I’ve seen it a few times.
My last news ingestion was from around noon today, so I’m way out of date on the situation. It’s evolving very quickly. In 2000, the Cerro Grande fire had been burning for a while (I believe) before they evacuated Los Alamos. This time around, they evacuated the town not much more than 24 hours after the fire started, but in one day the Las Conchas fire already exceeded the size of Cerro Grande. Yikes.
Oh, and the forecast for tomorrow? More goddamned wind. Ugh.