I learned an important lesson today: If you have to be in a disaster, do it in California.
This was the scene at Qualcomm Stadium, the largest evacuation center for victims of the fires burning in this part of SoCal. Some people have actually compared it to the Louisiana Superdome after Hurricane Katrina.
I know what you're thinking: "Are those evacuees getting massages?" Yes, they are.
And this guy is having an acupuncture treatment.
The stadium had the look and feel of a neighborhood festival and business convention expo. There were balloons and food (some evacuees complained that there was too much to eat) and plenty of water and sodas and army cots and newspapers and children's corners and performances by improv theater groups. And, oh, did I mention massages and acupuncture?
These evacuees were checking e-mail on laptop computers and watching a movie on high-definition TV at the AT&T tent. Yes, there were many corporate-sponsored tents lining the walkway around the stadium that normally is home to San Diego's NFL team, the Chargers.
For those who just couldn't bear any more food or drinks or massages or balloons, there was refuge in the stadium's comfy seats that offered views of televisions broadcasting live local news coverage of the fire disaster.
You won't be surprised to learn that I saw no one starving, no one dying without their medication, no guns, no broiling tropical heat, no packed crowds covering ever available square inch of space, no one hopelessly searching for his missing relative. Oh, and the fire wasn't burning all around the stadium.
Qualcomm certainly is no Superdome. And the wildfires are no Katrina.
That's not to say that there isn't plenty of suffering going on here. Thousands of people have lost their homes, businesses and possessions to the infernos. At least one person has lost his life. And it could be months or years before the lives of victims are put back together.
But Qualcomm Stadium has managed to be everything the Superdome wasn't - a refuge, a source of comfort and a ray of hope.
Except for the blue-gray haze and the smell of smoke, it's hard to tell from the center of San Diego that a disaster of near biblical proportions is unfolding only a few miles away.
More than a few people are wearing masks over their mouths and noses to keep from inhaling the particles now filling the air.
That might not be such a bad idea. I woke this morning to find my car covered with a thin layer of ash bits.
I took these pictures Friday morning in Rancho Bernardo's Westwood area, where 270 houses were destroyed when the Witch Creek fire roared through. (Click on any image to view it larger.)
Westwood is about 20 miles north of my neighborhood in the center of San Diego.
This might be the highest concentration of destruction from the fires. On some streets, brick chimneys and charred trees are the only things left standing for several blocks.
This was the scene at Qualcomm Stadium, the largest evacuation center for victims of the fires burning in this part of SoCal. Some people have actually compared it to the Louisiana Superdome after Hurricane Katrina.
And this guy is having an acupuncture treatment.
The stadium had the look and feel of a neighborhood festival and business convention expo. There were balloons and food (some evacuees complained that there was too much to eat) and plenty of water and sodas and army cots and newspapers and children's corners and performances by improv theater groups. And, oh, did I mention massages and acupuncture?
These evacuees were checking e-mail on laptop computers and watching a movie on high-definition TV at the AT&T tent. Yes, there were many corporate-sponsored tents lining the walkway around the stadium that normally is home to San Diego's NFL team, the Chargers.
For those who just couldn't bear any more food or drinks or massages or balloons, there was refuge in the stadium's comfy seats that offered views of televisions broadcasting live local news coverage of the fire disaster.
Except for the blue-gray haze and the smell of smoke, it's hard to tell from the center of San Diego that a disaster of near biblical proportions is unfolding only a few miles away.
More than a few people are wearing masks over their mouths and noses to keep from inhaling the particles now filling the air.
That might not be such a bad idea. I woke this morning to find my car covered with a thin layer of ash bits.
We returned home to San Diego tonight where fires continue to burn around the city and county. These pictures were taken last night and early this morning by our friend Fergal with a zoom digital camera from his third-floor balcony less than a mile from my apartment and Rex's house.
They show the Harris fire which has been burning across the city's southern side.
Here is a map of San Diego County (click on it for a larger view). The red, orange and yellow dots are where fires have been burning. The yellow thumb tack in the middle of the city is located over my neighborhood. Rex's house is only a dozen blocks away. (If you have Google Earth on your computer, you can see the latest version of this map here.)
I shot these photos from the plane tonight as I flew across the the central part of San Diego County. I was sitting on the right side of the plane looking north toward the Witch Creek and McCoy fires. If you click on the first pic to blow it up you can make out the orange light of flames at the base of the largest plume of smoke rising from the mountains in the background.
This view is further west and the orange dot in the middle is a large fire visible through the thick layer of smoke.