Fires.

We have smoke in town.  Lots of it.  Air Quality Index is at 170 this morning and I suspect my son's soccer game will be cancelled.  Only good news about this is that we were on snack duty and now I have two dozen pumpkin chocolate chip muffins to consume.  The smoke, tis time around, is coming from the massive 90,000 acre Camp Fire in Butte County.  This blaze has costumed the town of Paradise, burning it to the ground.  54,000 area residents are evacuated.  It has already claimed 9 lives and it is only 5% contained.  The blaze ws so intense yesterday that fire fighters stopped fighting the fire and focussed all their energy on getting people out to safety.  Intense.  If you've been looking for cause to donate to, there are going to be plenty of pool win need of your charity.

Vernal Falls, Yosemite Valley, July 2018.

In Ventura County there are two large fires.  The Woolsey Fire has burned 35,000 acres and displaced over 200,000 residents, including Malibu.  It jumped the 101 corridor Friday morning and is headed toward the sea.  It is zero percent contained.  The Hill Fire is also in the county, and is 15% contained after having burned 4,500 acres.  Part of the excited zone includes Thousand Oaks, which experienced a mass shooting just this past week at a country western bar.  This is all very devastating, and saddening.  Please consider what you might be able to do for others this week. If you can not directly helps those effected by these tragedies, consider doing something positive for your neighbor.

A little cooler today.  And plenty of smoke in the air. As the day goes on, we should see it dissipate a bit.  And while it will be a little cooler, it might feel just as warm with a smoke blanket.  High in the low 70s.  Smoke likely to clear out overnight.  But really, the blaze and winds will determine that.  Lows in the low 40s.  That trend continues through the end of next work week.  Monday looks the warmest.  Speaking of which, it is Veterans Day.  Be sure to thank those who have served, and also consider the cost of war; to those who have fought, as well as to those who have not.

A mention in the long term.  The GFS has depicted a storm coming from the north around the weekend prior to Thanksgiving (17th/18th) for several days in a row now.  Confidence building on a pattern change around mid month.  There is also a second storm arriving just before or on Thanksgiving according to the same forecast charts.  Timing and intensity are till too far away to predict.  Hell, even actually forecasting precipitation at all is not viable at this time. Still, it is something to monitor and consider.  We will get our first storm sooner or later.  Still worth getting projects wrapped up.  As it sits now, rain is 9 days out, arriving next Sunday.  Once we get that down to 7 days, there will be more confidence.  Don't get caught by surprise.