Blood-Red/Orange Sun in the California Fires

You can see the blood red/orange sun in the lower
right hand corner of this smokey image I took
while sitting in traffic on the I-215 as I approached
CA Highway 60 in Moreno Valley.

By Douglas V. Gibbs
Author, Speaker, Instructor, Radio Host

I was on my way to a meeting in Riverside, Monday evening, when I noticed the sun, blanketed by the smoke from a nearby fire, likely the one burning in Santa Ana Canyon, was an eerie blood-red/orange color as it worked its way westward.  We've heard about the blood moon events of late, but I didn't expect to see a blood red sun.

While Southern California has seen its share of fires during this fire season, I will have to admit I've seen worse, and what we've experienced down here near the Mexican Border has been nothing compared to the raging inferno that continues to destroy homes and countryside way up north near Redding and Shasta.

According to CalFire, the Carr Fire in northern California is now at an incredible torching of 173,522 acres and is still only 47% contained.  A number of other fires also dot the landscape in that portion of the Golden State.

I live in the middle of that cluster of five fires (three active,
two 100% contained) between Los Angeles and San Diego,
and own property on the western edge of the two fires you see there in
southwestern Oregon.  The stench of smoke in the air has been ominpresent
pretty much most of the summer.  I will be traveling to Brookings, Oregon
in about a week and our route to get there has been severely altered, compared
to how we normally drive to get there, thanks to the fires.

Last December, before school let out for Christmas Vacation (that's right, I called it by its proper name), we had a fire licking the hills near our house, and it got literally across the street from the school three of my grandchildren attend.  My son had to go pick up his kids early, due to the heavy dose of smoke in the air, and he took the following snapshot:

In 2015 we had a fire sweep across the Cajon Pass, literally igniting cars as it crossed the freeway.

During one fire season prior to that, while I was still driving big rigs, I remember driving up the I-15 towards the Cajon Pass around the Ontario and Rancho Cucamonga area and trucks were along the side of the freeway on fire, as the areas all around the corridors of travel were up in flame.

Last night, as I traveled south along the I-15 from beyond the 91 Freeway in Corona, through the Temescal Valley, I noticed a fire that has been burning in the Saddleback area of Orange County had made its way over the hills and was marching down the fuel rich Cleveland National Forest towards homes in Temescal Valley and the northern end of Lake Elsinore.  Here's the pictures I pulled over to the side of the road to take:

In that last shot you can see how close the flames are to those homes down below as the fire creeps onward, and in this case, downward.

While we have had fires get close to us, where we live, before, we have been blessed to not have ever been required to evacuate, nor have we ever lost our home due to a fire.  I could not imagine how that must feel, and while the fire marching over the hills from Orange County was fascinating to watch as I drove home last night, it was nothing compared to what is going on with the Carr Fire in the mountainous and forest rich Redding region of the State.  My prayers go out to each and every one of the folks up there having to deal with the tragic horror of being faced with a massive fire that is merciless, and relentless, when it comes to its hunger to eat up all that you own.

-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary