A Natural Disaster
I'm kinda a siren chaser.I'm fascinated by natural disasters.
Does that make me freaky (ier)?
Last weekend I spied smoke.
Considering the temps and all the recent CA fires, I was immediately drawn.
On our way home from out of town, we decided to take a detour.
Well I begged hubby to take me to the fire, and he obliged.
As we drew closer I began snapping in the car.
Finally after 10 through-the-dash photos, Hubby pulled over and I got out of the car.
Hot. Fire and temperature hot.
The huge puffy pillows of smoke expanded.
Wondering, hoping there were no homes damaged, no firefighters hurt.
The kids watched the airplanes fly over and spray their orange retardant.
After 15 minutes, I snapped the last few.
Awestruck by nature's sadness.
September 6, 2009 at 12:59 AM
So sad, the whole thing. Not to mention the crappy air quality. We have been trapped indoors for over a week. You are brave to get so close!!!
September 6, 2009 at 3:56 AM
Amazing photos. The fires are tragic. Your awestruck by nature's sadness says it perfectly. Sometimes we just can't look away.
September 6, 2009 at 5:09 AM
Amazing photos of a truly sad event. My cousin and her husband live right by the Station Fire. At one point it was just about a mile from their house. So far they have been able to keep it away. The photos and videos that they took are unreal, especially when you realize it was their backyard.
September 6, 2009 at 6:02 AM
Gosh, that is scary!! Hope you are FAR away from all that...
September 6, 2009 at 7:21 AM
As usual, great photos. Sometimes we forget how destructive Mother Nature can be... but still eerily beautiful at the same time.
September 6, 2009 at 7:48 AM
Nature always amazed me as well. It is so mysterious and God has so many plans that we just dont understand.
For the longest time as a child i either wanted to be a tornado chaser or a shark diver (the one who goes in the cages and video's the sharks). I guess part of me grew up to be a scaredy cat cause i could not imagine doing it now but a part of me still longs for the adventure and dange rof it all.
September 6, 2009 at 7:59 AM
So sad...it truly breaks my heart seeing this on the news :( Your pictures are amazing, though...I hope y'all are FAR away from the fires, sweetie.
September 6, 2009 at 8:12 AM
Wow, great pics. Glad everyone was safe.
September 6, 2009 at 11:09 AM
still visible yesterday - just a dirty orange kind of sky.
I was coming from Cabazon on the 10freeway and you could still see it.
September 6, 2009 at 12:18 PM
Wow, those are great pictures. Not great that there was a fire, but nature's fury is sometimes so intriguing. I hope everyone is safe and that the fires are under control! :)
September 6, 2009 at 12:55 PM
The fires are quite a tragedy. You got some really good pictures though. I hope they are under control and not spreading any more.
September 6, 2009 at 2:30 PM
It's awful that something so cool can be so uncool!
September 6, 2009 at 6:06 PM
Amazing photos!
September 6, 2009 at 7:20 PM
great photos!
can i ask what program you used for watermarking? it was great, you could see photos well
September 6, 2009 at 8:13 PM
These are fantastic pictures, Jen! Wow! It really brings those fires closer to home, makes it more 'real'. Thanks for sharing them with us! I, too, hope no more homes have been destroyed by "nature's sadness" - you've described it perfectly! So true!
September 6, 2009 at 8:55 PM
6 years ago... when california was burning to the ground, i used blue painter's tape to "seal-up" all my doors, so that the smoke and ash would stay OUT of my perfectly nested home... and then i headed to the hospital to have my first baby girl.
on a side note. my little brother (not so little... 26) sent me a pic from his car temperature gauge at the LA county fair. it was 113.
crazy stuff.
September 7, 2009 at 4:10 PM
Amazing pictures...but Oh it is so scary!
September 8, 2009 at 5:49 AM
While that is truly a disaster, there is such beauty in the scene. Your pictures are wonderful. I hope you and your family is safe and sound away from it!
September 8, 2009 at 11:14 AM
Love the pictures, Way too many fires though. So much has been burned by all the fires these past few years.
September 8, 2009 at 10:33 PM
These fires are so destructive, it does not matter what is in it's path. My friend lost a house last week. He does not care too much because it was his rental house. He will be turning it into the insurance company, but there were people who lived there that lost their belongings! Some things you can never replace.
The air quality is so bad. My oldest daughter's allergies began acting up yesterday. It is horrible trying to keep them indoors all the time!
September 9, 2009 at 10:18 PM
I didnt realize that you lived in CA. I do too and it always amazed me when I see the fires. When Pendleton burnt really bad last year we went to have a look. It was amazing how fast the line of fire moved and how big it was. The tv cameras just dont capture this. Seeing it in person really gave me respect for the fire fighters out there. They do an amazing job trying to keep us all safe.
Lucy
September 10, 2009 at 3:40 AM
I'm drawn to that kinda stuff too. We took a trip outwest a couple yrs ago and it seems like every state we went through there was a fire of some magnitude going on. Weird when you come from Ohio and stuff doesn't just 'catch on fire'.
September 10, 2009 at 7:30 PM
It really is hard to stay away from sites of disasters, especially something so huge! I live in Michigan so I've never seen anything like this. As I looked thru the pics, to me, each cloud seemed to have a very evil face, each different, but all so evil. Then I saw the pic with the flames & almost cried because I can not imagine why anyone has to deal with this. It is all so sad.