Ron and Brenda were some of our favorite friends when we lived in Dallas. They actually left before we did and we have not been able to see them other than a night in St.Louis before a golf tournament. That was way fun! Anyway, they have since moved to southern California and you know what has been happening there this week. Please read this moving account from Brenda and keep them in your prayers!

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Ron and I awakened to a second dawn of sobering gratitude for our continued safety from the fires raging in three directions around us.  You asked if we are safe and doing ok, and my answer is a heartfelt “more than ok”, we are blessed, because we still have power and water and are able to live at home.

We began to hear fire engines racing and helicopters buzzing early Sunday night. The swirling winds were blowing with gusts up to 70-100 miles per hour from the Santa Ana Mountains. The humidity level was a mere 3%, with a record-low annual rainfall of less than 4 inches, so the thousands of acres of dry tinder were easily fueled with a mere spark.

By 2am Monday, the winds were high, and the stench of burning trees and homes were so strong we closed our windows to try to shut it out. We tried to rest, but the intense smoky air was a constant reminder of the helplessness of damage and losses occurring. We offered silent prayers for those lives affected in much worse ways than simply dealing with smoke fumes.

5am passed, (after a sleepless night), as we watched the sun attempt to force its way through the corpse-like-grey rain of ashes blanketing the air. We began to watch and read the tragic news about our neighboring towns evacuating for the safety of their lives.

As you probably know by now, Ron and I live in southern Orange County; equal distance between Los Angeles and San Diego, and approximately five miles inland from the Pacific coast. San Diego county, approximately 30 miles south had mandatory evacuations of more than 300,00 people, and neighborhoods ranging from low income homes to $10 million+ homes have been leveled to nothing more than embers. To our north in Malibu, known for its “paradise of homes to the famed” destruction falls at the same pace as neighborhoods with less fortunate financial status. To the east of us, in Orange County through the canyons are many newly developed neighborhoods with young families displaced by the inferno. We witnessed the effects of Mother Nature’s powerful control over our lives without judgment of age, gender, race or faith; and without regard to one’s station in life.

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