Praise God!!

Praise God! We've got a little bit of rain today!

It's still too smoky to let the kiddos outdoors,

but at least it's cooling down and clearing up a little.

Here's the latest fire info (in a nutshell) from the LA Times:

Nine fires continued to burn Friday night, at the end of a weeklong siege that has included nearly three dozen separate blazes. The total acreage burned topped 500,000, only 12,000 acres more than had been reported a day earlier but more than double the size of all of New York City's five boroughs. The number of homes reported destroyed increased from 1,775 to 1,889. The death toll remained at seven.

Wow!

Friday, October 26th

Today started out smokey but this afternoon we have blue skies! You'd never know that we still have two major fires burning. The Poomacha Fire is still about 10 miles outside of Temecula & firefighters seem to have a good handle on it. The Santiago Fire (O.C.) is heading into the Cleaveland Natl. Forrest & Riverside County. It could threaten the cities of Corona & Lake Elsinore, but hopefully as nightfall approaches the winds will stay calm and it will slow down.

No fire/smoke pictures today as Kylee has requested something more positive! The kiddos recently had their soccer photos taken so we thought we'd share those.

Smokey Thursday Afternoon

Where's the sun?

Today we are getting lots of smoke from the north-west ~ coming from the Santiago fire in Orange County. Apparently, the firefighter's lost ground last night and containment went from 50% to 30%.

This is from the LA Times: "About 1,100 firefighters are now fighting the Santiago blaze, nearly double the staffing of earlier this week. More than 200 of them, along with bulldozer teams, are trying to shore up a firebreak near the ridgeline that separates Orange and Riverside counties. They are working to clear a stretch of eight to 10 miles on a fire road built in the 1930s. If the flames jump the break, firefighters said, the blaze could threaten the community of Lake Elsinore."

This is scary for us as Lake Elsinore is just 10 miles north of Murrieta, off of the 15 fwy.

We are meeting with our "Life Group" (Bible Study) tonight and I think that it will be a good time of encouragement and prayer. It can feel lonely when you're sitting in your house all day watching the news reports!

Ultimately, I am at peace knowing that my God is in control of all of this. It's when I immerse myself too much in all the details that I forget to completely trust in Him and remember his faithfulness to me. Please pray that we will focus our attention on God and His Word so that we can stand firm against the temptation to be fearful and anxious.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6&7

Thursday, October 25th

I found this map on another website (http://and-still-i-persist.com/?cat=50) and it shows all of the current active burn areas. The Rice Fire is the one that still concerns those of us in the Temecula/Murrieta areas. Especially with the change of the wind patterns. We are praising God this morning for a thick marine layer and approx. 60% humidity ~ compared to 6 % the past few days!

The San Diego Union Tribune has published an updated map / graphic of San Diego county showing the current active burn areas, and the total areas affected by the fires still active.
October 25th 2007 Posted in SAN DIEGO FIRES, Witch Creek Fire, Main
By: bhenderson http://and-still-i-persist.com/?cat=50

Wildomar Fire

This is a small brush fire in Wildomar ~

about 3 miles from our house to the north

Tony was in the area and took these photos ...

We're so thankful for the quick response from ground & air fire crews!

Wednesday, October 2th

This is the sky we woke up to this morning!

This is the view from our front yard facing south east

I climbed up the hill in our backyard to get this one

Tuesday, October 23rd

This is the Poomancha (Palomar Mountain Fire) in the afternoon

as seen from a hill in northwest Murrieta

Here's the same fire that evening as seen from the top of the hill in our backyard. I wish we had a better camera so that this picture would have come out more clearly.

So Cal Fires

Wow, what a crazy ordeal we are going through down here! Last night was the first time we could actually see the flames (from the Palomar Mtn fire) from our house. We've had smoke all around us, especially from the Rice (Falbrook) Fire ~ which is the next town south of Temecula. This is the fire that officials are keeping a close eye on as it could come up north into Temecula if the winds change. Please keep all of us down here in you prayers. "The Lord is my rock and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and salvation, my stronghold." Psalm 18:2. This verse was especially helpful to me this morning as I remember that my life is in God's hands!