Not Far From Alpine

We celebrated the Fourth of July with the ‘old timer’s group’ from my husband’s work. We met in El Cajon at our friends’ home, enjoyed the view, took photos, shared dinner, and capped off the day by watching fireworks. It was sweltering, and the topic of fire danger and prevention came up. Homeowners have all mowed the grass down to dirt and removed most dried up shrubbery, leaving the ground a yellow color.

The residential area on the other side of the mountains has been similarly groomed, but that did not stop Alpine’s hills from exploding into fire this morning. With all-time record heat across Southern California, there were some six fires in the San Deigo County area, with the one on the other side of the hill being the most serious. It is hard to believe that from one day to the next we can go from a serene vista to a smoke-filled sky and scorched hills and homes.