Finally got to sleep last night at about 2 am. I was sleeping well when I heard the phone ring early this morning. A ‘friend’ who lives in Maryland was calling to find out if I was OK. She had just seen the news about the fire and, not knowing where it actually was burning, she heard the mention of Pasadena and felt the need to call. Only problem was that she called and 6:45 am Pacific time. While I appreciate her concern, her timing was certainly not all that great. I wouldn’t have answered the phone, but I imagined it might be Patrick calling saying they were being evacuated.

After being awake and having a couple of cups of coffee, I figured I might as well stay up. Patrick called to say they were OK and that the fire was being contained by the helicopters that began dropping water around 6 am. The Forest Service is using a large plane that is filled with fire retardant that is being dropped all along the top of the ridge to keep the flames from jumping over and coming down the mountainside to the homes below. He said he and Veronica were coming over later to use the pool since the temp was already up to 80 degrees and it was only 9 am.

He asked about the air quality in my house, what with all the smoke and ash, and then I noticed Honey, my cat. She was gasping for air and had water droplets coming from her nose. I grabbed her and took her to my bedroom where I held her right in front of the a/c and put water on her tongue and face. I held her there for 1/2-3/4 hour, thinking she was dying. She finally came around and spent most of the rest of the day either sleeping on my bed or next to me on the couch. She drank some water on her own and I’m hopeful she’ll eat a bit of food tonight. She probably doesn’t have much longer for this world, but I’m not ready to give her up just yet.

Patrick and Veronica spent the afternoon here, with Veronica hanging out at the pool and Patrick and I inside out of the sun and nasty air. Spent the rest of the day talking to my sisters and brother and am now ready to crash. Just heard on the local news something about the ‘growing’ Sierra Madre fire. Oh God. I’ve noticed a lot more helicopters flying overhead, so I hope the damn fire isn’t taking off again. I need some sleep tonight.