2003-10-27 9:04 a.m.

I helped Jacqui move on Saturday & it wasn't so bad. It was hot, but her old apartment was in the shade. Saturday night I got home, took a shower, laid down around 7pm, slept until 6:30am Sunday morning.

I got up at 6:30 and took Roshi out for a walk. My apartment steps face north so as I was walking down the steps it was all bright blue skies. We rounded the corner on the apartment building and I got the shock of my life. The entire southern sky was this funky blackish-yellow. One of my neighbors was also out and she said their was a fire in Ramona.

I took the dog back inside and turned on the TV. Ramona's not that close to me, so I was concerned with air quality, but not worried. I put the dog in the car, ran to the ATM machine & went to fill the car up with gas. The sky was just so strange - black & orange if you looked one way, bright blue if you looked the other.

I went back to the house and started doing laundry. By 10am my concern went to worry. Scripps Ranch was on fire and the area where the news guy was standing watching a house burn was about 7 miles from my house. So I got out the suitcases & packed some clothes, my shoes, my "important papers", and found a box for my photos and DVDs. By 11 the fire had jumped the 10 lane Interstate 15 and they were reporting from the intersection of Miramar Rd (the road I take to work every day) and I-15. 5 miles from my house. And the fire was spreading west along Miramar Air Base. Seriously freaky, but since I was all packed and prepared I wasn't scared, I was just watching the news for an evacuation notice.

Thank God the notice never came. The fire on the base got with in 4 miles of my house, to the south, but the Santa Ana winds stayed in a south-west pattern.

During the day the news talked about why San Diego was short firefighters and air support - because they are in San Bernadino fighting a huge fire. The CNN Headline news guy was in Clairmont. I pulled out the Thomas Guide and saw that wasn't too very far from Monrovia, so I had to call and make sure all was safe there. Thankfully, all is well :-)

I laid down last night at 8:30pm, so I could get up again at 5am to check for updates. At 5:30 the winds were picking back up again & there was still trees on fire at Miramar and I-15. So I packed Roshi so water and food and she's having a Take Your Doggie To Work Day. I can live without the clothes and dvds. I'd be heartbroken if my apartment caught fire with Roshi inside and I wasn't there to save her. She's not loving the workplace. Finally after 2 hours she's pretty calm, but she hates the fax machine and the printer. Plus it's just the 2 of us & she keeps an eye out on the accounting office whenever they move around.