Good (trite greeting rather than condition) evening to my pals on WS. (Btw you guys are terrific.) I have been reading your posts and so much to say. 1) I wish I had down loaded my family pictures to the cloud. Losing the pictures of my deceased child makes me feel as if someone has cut my heart in half! They are stored on the computer of my home office, which is now just a pile of ashes. From my balcony, I could always see the cemetary in the distance and always feel a closeness that few can comprehend. Tomorrow I will grieve losing that beautiful view and the glimmering Pacific Ocean beyond. I would always wake up and think how lucky I was to be living in the most gorgeous place on earth! I will miss the sweetest oranges from my trees, the avocados tree we nurtured to maturity, and the candy cane geraniums that bloomed year round.
2) Many of my neighbors had disconnected from land lines and used only cell phones, so they were not informed via the REVERSE 911 ALERT SYSTEM and were only aware of evacuation by police banging on their doors and trying to get everyone out of the area. The wind gusts were up to 70MPH and the fire spreading and acre per minute! It was a virtual fire storm moving at break neck speed. 3) Even though we had a fire hydrant 40 feet from our front door....there was no pressure left in the system and no more water left on the firetrucks. The winds were blowing so strongly (70 MPH gusts) the helicopters and planes could not be safely deployed to drop water or flame retardants on the area. The firefighters were fighting a firestorm from hell and I am thankful they will be able to go home to their families. No one should have to risk their life for a "structure".....it can always be rebuilt at a later time. 4) The insurance company has already cut a check to my darling husband for temporary housing, food and clothing...(and even for refilling his meds that perished in the fire).absolutely incredible service.....so pay your insurance premiums! My husband reckoned the devastation to the time he spent in Viet Nam....the smells, the destruction, wide-eyed disbelief at the total loss of all we had worked for in our lives. He doesn't have and emotional outlet like I do with Websleuths, and (thus) he is suffering a lot more than me. He is holding so much inside, trying to be the strong one..... he is on autopilot, one which comes from years of serving his country in the worst of times and seeing the aftermath of war.
My love to you all..... I don't know what to do next. How do I begin from nothing left?
a firenado from last night 
