Hey there Ginger.......I have been thinking about you. You may want to put together an evacuation box and make sure you have gasoline in your vehicles. The #1 reason I left my mountain village was the threat of fire. What made it worse was that the last time we were evacuated was because of an arsonist who threw flares out his car window as he was driving up the mountain. We can do some fire prevention by clearing the underbrush fuel bank but we cannot control the crazies. In addition to that arsonist, there was another one who had tried multiple times and finally got one started which killed five of our firemen.

And then there was the guy who set fires at all three exit roads from the village during the annual Jazz Festival. If you need any must-do lists to prepare I can direct you to the source in Idyllwild.

Be safe, free, and protected from inner and outer harm.
Chris

@gingerw I know whereof you speak, Ginger. You're in a really dangerous situation right now. I lived in the Okanagan, B.C. for 10 years - hot, hot summers surrounded by dry, dry forests. In 2003, we were literally surrounded by fire in Summerland where I lived, with water bombers filling up at Lake Okanagan (a yearly event) and hardly an escape route. I had just had thyroid cancer surgery and can vividly recall barely being able to breathe as my friend drove through firey and smokey passages of highway going home from the hospital in Vancouver. I'm sure thinking of you and praying for your safety.