A View from Highland
I woke this morning around 5:30 a.m. at my Highland home to the taste of smoke on my teeth. The stench was thick.
Having been stationed in the mountains during the Old Fire, I knew this was a bad sign. I looked out the window and saw a crimson haze upon the furtherst ridge I could see. Smoke filled the air around my house, creating an odd glow around the street lights. Clearly, far more smoke had descended on the community from the night before.
I drove up to the northeastern corner of the East Highlands Ranch but could not see flames. A security guard with the Ranch told me that the fire is not moving too quickly, but it was a few ridges away from where we were. He has a home in Running Springs, but he has been staying in a hotel.
He doesn't know if he still has a house anymore.
Firefighters may start a backburn nearby to try and stop the blazes advances., the guard said.
He shook his head. The danger to East Highlands Ranch seems much worse this time than it did in 2003, he said.
-- George Watson
Comments
I was driving through Highland today on my way to work around 6:15 am. At first I thought it was thick fog, only to come into the city realizing that it was smoke. I could barely see the car in front of me it was so thick. The smoke got into my truck and I found myself having a very hard time breathing.
Posted by: Rosie | October 24, 2007 8:04 AM