Bullet Dodging

I had some ideas for posting my Fave Fives this week.  I'd sort of been thinking through my little moments from the week.  But. Then. It. Happened.  This. Morning.

The Fire.

Unless you have been living under a rock today in the US and possibly other places around the world, you will have been informed by various news stations that there is a wild fire raging in Southern California.  In my backyard.  Literally.

At 8 am, our next door neighbor yelled my husband's name and informed him that there was a fire burning between us and the 101 freeway (that's a distance of less than 1/4 mile).  As she is quite elderly, her daughter had called and insisted that she put her valuables in her car and leave home immediately.  We could see and smell the smoke when we opened our front door.  Since we were on our way out to work, we stopped for an extra five minutes and threw a few papers, photos and files into our cars and left to teach our Thursday classes.

As I drove up the on ramp onto the freeway, I pulled over and snapped this photo at about 8:15am.

I am grateful for so many things this evening.

1.  No homes in our neighborhood burned. The fire came within 300 feet of our house.  Yes, really.  I walked up the hill less than two blocks and photographed the burned areas.

2.  The Professor texted me to tell me that he had been evacuated from the university.  The announcement came as he was teaching his 10 o'clock class.  He didn't realize how close the fire was to the campus until he had left and was driving away.  I am thankful he is safe and the university did not sustain any damage.

3.  So many people called, emailed and texted to offer a place to stay if we were still on evacuation status.  I am so grateful and thankful for thoughtful friends.

4.  One friend texted me updates throughout the morning while I was teaching to let me know the status and direction of the fire.  There was nothing I could do even if my house did burn, but it was a comfort to KNOW.

5.  That comfort.  Knowing that God was still in control of everything.

As The Professor stated, "We really dodged a bullet this time."

Update:  The area where I hiked last week has burned.