Southern California Fires

 

 

I'm sure you are aware of the fires here in Southern California.  The devastation is widespread and heart breaking.  We are not in danger at this time, but still under a wind and fire advisory through tomorrow.  Les took these pictures while on a bike ride this morning.  The Palisades Fire is about 25 miles from us as the crow flies

 

We were at the church Tuesday night for prayer and there were multiple trees down in our parking lot.  At least one car was damaged.  Driving home that night was probably one of the scariest ever, the wind was rocking us.

 

If you're looking for a way to help, a local LA restaurant, Calico Fish House, is about 30 miles south of the Palisades Fire.  They are allowing people to park/camp in their parking lot, providing free meals and collecting supplies. They are taking shipments directly from Amazon, Walmart, etc.  16600 Pacific Coast Hwy, Huntington Beach, CA 92649.  There is also a local veterinarian who has taken in over 40 animals and Calico Fish House is sending supplies to her as well.

Please help us pray for rain and calm!

Update from Lahaina

As you probably know, the news out of Lahaina continues to be grim.  The death count is nearing 100 and the need is great.  

At church tonight we prayed for those affected by the fires.  At least seven families in the church in Lahaina lost their homes and there is one confirmed fatality.  Pastor McGriffin shared a link to a fundraising page that will go directly to our brothers and sisters on Maui.  If you can give at all, any amount will be a blessing.  The link is: HERE.

All is not lost.  In the middle of the destruction, the United Pentecostal Church of Lahaina is still standing!!  God is a miracle working God!

Hawaii Fires Update

You may be aware that there are wild fires burning in Hawaii.  These fires are on the islands of Maui and Hawaii (also known as The Big Island.)  Les and I are currently on the island of Oahu, we are safe and feeling none of the affects.  

Sadly, more than 50 people have died this week due to the fires.  The historic town of Lahaina has been destroyed.  People are homeless and tourists are stranded.

We have loved this state for many years and are heartbroken at the devastation.  Please pray for everyone affected by this tragedy.

Burning Down the House

Your home is on fire.  Grab five items (assume all people and animals are safe). What did you grab?

 

This post practically wrote itself, because I've done this!  Our house has never caught fire, but we have received evacuation warnings because of fires that were in our neighborhood. 

I wrote a post called "Why I Pray for Rain" in October 2009.  I shared our first experience with fire in our neighborhood that happened in October 2003:

After a restless night, we awoke to more fires in Simi on Sunday morning. Les got up for a while, then went back to bed around 7:30. I was following the news and talking to neighbors. A nearby development received evacuation warnings at about 8:00, they were told to pack up what they wanted to take, and be ready to leave with 10 minutes notice.

I decided to start packing things at that time. If you've never had to determine what is really important in your life and what is not, a fire in the neighbor will help you do that very quickly. I loaded about 3 boxes of pictures and financial records in the back of our van and decided everything else what just that - things!

I wrote another post called "Southern California Wild Fires" in December 2017.  Les was traveling for business, so I had to plan on my own.  Sometime between these two events, we moved all our computer files to Dropbox so I didn't need to pack any financial records or pictures.

I received an email from Nextdoor.com yesterday afternoon that first alerted me to possible trouble, "Simi Valley residents are advised that the Rye Fire in Santa Clarita may travel to Simi Valley this evening due to the weather conditions and heavy winds. Residents on the northern side of the City should be aware of this possibility and be prepared to evacuate if necessary. Residents will NOT be encouraged to shelter in place should the fire breach Simi Valley and will be encouraged to evacuate. Please be prepared to Ready, Set, Go if the situation requires."

We live on the northern side of the city so I knew I needed to pay close attention.  As the evening wore on, with winds howling, I decided to pack a few things in the car.  You might be surprised at how little I packed.  Les' trumpet and bass guitar, our wedding photo album, our Bibles (including Mom's), and an overnight bag.  I had all my electronics in a bag by my bed and woke every hour last night checking out the window for the glow of fire (did not see any) and my phone for any updates (did not receive any.)

One final post, written in October 2011 is called "Trusting in God or Riches."  This sums up my feelings about "things." 

 

We received an evacuation warning that said if an evacuation notice came we would have ten minutes to leave our home. That notice never came, but I did pack a few things just in case. I still remember the peace I felt as the fire raged ~ nothing that mattered was inside our house. Les and I were safe.

 

The process of deciding what to pack in case our house burned down wasn't as difficult as you might imagine. I packed very little. Don't get me wrong ~ I enjoy nice things. I have a closet full of clothes and shoes. We have a lovely home. We have also lived on unemployment checks that didn't come close to the income we were use to. None of those things change who I am... unless I let them.

The Bible has a lot to say about riches. Not all of it is negative. Riches themselves are not the problem ~ it's how we treat them:

 

Proverbs 11:28
He that trusteth in his riches shall fall; but the righteous shall flourish as a branch.
Proverbs 23:5
Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.
Ecclesiastes 5:19
Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of God.
Jeremiah 9:23
Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:
Luke 8:14
And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.
Philippians 4:19
But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
1 Timothy 6:17
Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;

It is not wrong to enjoy the blessings that God sends. It's wrong to think that we brought the riches upon ourselves.  His riches will never fade away.

Southern California Wild Fires

"Southern California is currently under assault from a series of wind-driven wildfires that have destroyed more than a hundred homes in Ventura County and threatened thousands more in Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties." (LA Times.) It started Monday with the Thomas Fire.  The Rye Fire and the Creek Fire started yesterday.  This morning there was another fire in Brentwood called the Skirball fire.  These are all pictured on the map, clockwise starting in Ventura (Thomas, Rye, Creek and Skirball.)

I received an email from Nextdoor.com yesterday afternoon that first alerted me to possible trouble, "Simi Valley residents are advised that the Rye Fire in Santa Clarita may travel to Simi Valley this evening due to the weather conditions and heavy winds. Residents on the northern side of the City should be aware of this possibility and be prepared to evacuate if necessary. Residents will NOT be encouraged to shelter in place should the fire breach Simi Valley and will be encouraged to evacuate. Please be prepared to Ready, Set, Go if the situation requires."

We live on the northern side of the city so I knew I needed to pay close attention.  As the evening wore on, with winds howling, I decided to pack a few things in the car.  You might be surprised at how little I packed.  Les' trumpet and bass guitar, our wedding photo album, our Bibles (including Mom's), and an overnight bag.  I had all my electronics in a bag by my bed and woke every hour last night checking out the window for the glow of fire (did not see any) and my phone for any updates (did not receive any.)

As of this morning, we have not received any new information.  I'm hoping that no news is good news but I would really love to have more information.  The winds have calmed for now but they are expected to pick back up and continue blowing until Friday.

The pictures below are from October 2003 when a fire came to our property line.  The house on the left is ours, so you as you can imagine I am a little bit nervous.

Prayers for this region are appreciated!

Just as I was finishing this post I received the following update:

Update as of Wednesday, December 6, at 9:50 a.m.

Due to the efforts of Fire personnel dedicating substantial resources on the fire overnight, the Rye Fire’s threat to Simi Valley has been reduced at this time.

The wind situation is expected to remain calmer today, with expectations it will pick up this afternoon/evening and be stronger than in previous days.

With that potential for high winds over the next several days, and the fires continuing to burn across Southern California, the City’s Emergency Operations Center will remain open until Friday in the event that Simi Valley is threatened again by either this fire or another fire event.

There are no voluntary or mandatory evacuation notices in place at this time.  

Prayers for this region are still need and appreciated! 

Fire Season

Next Tuesday is the first day of Fall.  Many bloggers are writing about the changing season, the beauty of falling leaves, cooler temps, sweaters, and pumpkin everything.  Unfortunately for dry California this is fire season.  There are a number of fires burning right now.  The Courtney Fire is near Bass Lake and a friend of ours shared this picture:

It's beautiful in a way, but so scary.  Praying for the fire fighters and those affected by these fires.

Heat Wave

You know it's hot in Southern California...

when it's hotter than Phoenix...

Multiple fires are burning - much too soon in the season for this.  Homes have been destroyed and thousands evactuated. We enjoyed mild temps while most of the country shoveled snow all winter.  Please help us pray for a break soon. 

In Case of Fire

We just finished eating dinner (I have a new recipe for tomorrow!) and I was sitting here reading a couple of blogs.  Sniff... hmm... I smell smoke.  I stepped outside and, low and behold, there is smoke.  Oh.Boy.  It's that time of year, Southern California's other season:  Fire.

This was taken in 2003, the house on the left is ours

There were several brush fires burning along the 118 freeway.  It's currently about 30 acres with no structures threatened.  Fire crews are on the scene with three water-dropping helicopters assisting.  It is along the route that I had mapped out for Saturday's 18 miler.

I have always said I run for my health.  Yes, I enjoy it.  Yes, I'm training for another marathon.  But I will not go running (or cycling) in smoke filled air.  So in case of fire, no matter what the training plan says, smoke filled days are mandatory rest days.

It could be a long couple of months if this is any indication.  Time to start praying for rain.

Trusting in God or Riches

Eight years ago today, Les and I watched as a Santa Ana wind driven wildfire made its way toward our property line. You can read the entire story here. Les had been in a bike accident the day before and was moving slowly. We received an evacuation warning that said if an evacuation notice came we would have ten minutes to leave our home. That notice never came, but I did pack a few things just in case. I still remember the peace I felt as the fire raged ~ nothing that mattered was inside our house. Les and I were safe.


The process of deciding what to pack in case our house burned down wasn't as difficult as you might imagine. I packed very little. Don't get me wrong ~ I enjoy nice things. I have a closet full of clothes and shoes. We have a lovely home. We have also lived on unemployment checks that didn't come close to the income we were use to. None of those things change who I am... unless I let them.

The Bible has a lot to say about riches. Not all of it is negative. Riches themselves are not the problem ~ it's how we treat them:

Proverbs 11:28
He that trusteth in his riches shall fall; but the righteous shall flourish as a branch.
Proverbs 23:5
Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven.
Ecclesiastes 5:19
Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of God.
Jeremiah 9:23
Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches:
Luke 8:14
And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.
Philippians 4:19
But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
1 Timothy 6:17
Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;

It is not wrong to enjoy the blessings that God sends. It's wrong to think that we brought the riches upon ourselves.

Eight years later, I still catch myself thinking about fires at this time of year. We've only received one inch of rain this month and a mild Santa Ana condition is in the forecast this week. I pray we don't face evacuations again, but if we do I'll trust God to keep us. Remembering that He is our provider and protector.

Happy Fall, Y'All!

This year has flown at lightning speed! It's hard to believe that today is the first day of Fall. I was looking at sayings and poems about Fall and found this:

In the other gardens
And all up the vale,
From the autumn bonfires
See the smoke trail!

Pleasant summer over
And all the summer flowers,
The red fire blazes,
the grey smoke towers.

Sing a song of seasons!
Something bright in all,
Flowers in the summer
Fires in the fall!
~ Robert Louis Stevenson, Autumn Fires

The last line really grabbed my attention. I don't think of cozy bonfires and roasting marshmallows. "Fires in the Fall" look like this in my neighborhood:


Obviously, I'm praying that we don't have any fires this Fall!

I still like the idea of Fall. In fact, I made Pumpkin Muffins this morning. I made one slight change and they are delicious!

1 spice cake mix
1 15 oz can pumpkin
1/2 cup soy milk*

1. Mix all ingredients together
2. Pour into greased muffin tins
3. Bake at 350 for 23 minutes

* For years I have made these muffins with just the cake mix, pumpkin and about 1/4 cup of water. They are good, but very dense. I decided to add 1/2 cup of milk and they really turned out good. The taste is the same, but they are a little lighter. And my house smells wonderful!

Nutritional info: 116 calories / 1.9 g protein / 24.3 g carbs / 1.1 g fat / 1 g fiber / 3 WW Points plus per muffin. Makes 18 muffins

Wet Wednesday

I snapped this picture just as I came in from my run this morning. There really is a hill behind our house ~ you just can't see it this morning!


Summer is saying goodbye in a very gracious manner. It makes me hopeful. Hopeful that we'll have a calm Fall without the numerous fires we have had the past few years. But for the next few weeks I'll still pray for rain.

30 Days of Thanks - Day #9

These leaves are in my yard right now and I'm so thankful for them!


Many years our weather doesn't cool enough and our leaves don't change. The closest I can get to "Fall" is my living room decor...


With the warm weather come Santa Ana winds that blow through and tear the leaves from their branches. With those winds come fires, but not this year! This year God sent more than two inches of rain in October! So I'm thankful for these leaves.

Makes me want to rake a pile and take the plunge!

Singing in the Rain!

We've had a wonderful few days here in Southern California. It's been cool, cloudy, misty, and even a little rainy! Mid October with rain and not Santa Ana winds is a miracle and I'm rejoicing in it!

Everyday we have a little more of this...


or this...


I worry less about this...


and this...

I'm singing in the rain
Just singing in the rain
What a glorious feelin'
I'm happy again
I'm laughing at clouds
So dark up above
The sun's in my heart
And I'm ready for love
Let the stormy clouds chase
Everyone from the place
Come on with the rain
I've a smile on my face
I walk down the lane
With a happy refrain
Just singin',
Singin' in the rain

Why I Pray for Rain

We have had beautiful weather this entire week. Every morning, while I've gone out to run, I have thanked God for it and asked Him to send rain. We've had a lot of fires the past few years. Two were very close to us last year, but the real reason I pray for rain is because of a fire that took place in 2003. Since I didn't have a blog back then, I sent an email to our friends and family about. After you read it, I think you'll understand...

Sunday, 10/26/03, 3:47 p.m.

Hi Everyone,

Some of you are aware of the weekend that Les and I have had and some of you are not. To those of you who have called or emailed with kind words, offers of help, and prayers, we truly appreciate it. I'd like to bring everyone up to date:

Saturday morning Les left the house at 7:45 to go for a bicycle club ride. I left at about 9:00 to run a couple of errands. When I returned, there were 3 messages on our answering machine letting me know that Les had been in an accident in Camarillo and was being air lifted to Los Robles Hospital in Thousand Oaks. The final message was, "the helicopter has gone, but he's okay." What's a wife to believe??

I arrived at Los Robles shortly after the helicopter landed and was told that Les was currently in the emergency room being X-rayed. When I was allowed to visit him in the room, he was covered in blankets (his cycling clothes were cut off at the scene), shivering, filthy, and in a neck brace. His helmet cracked in 3 places, but protected his head from serious injury.

What happened? Les was going down a steep hill on his bike, lost control, regained control, and then lost control again. Thankfully with God's protection and a little help from his helmet, he did not break any bones or have any serious injuries. He did pass out on the scene, thus the reasoning behind the call for a helicopter. He has "road rash" on his left side from his shoulder to his knee and is having quite a time trying to sit down. I was able to bring him home after about 3 hours in the emergency room.

His bike had been taken to the fire station in Newbury Park. Our friend Daisy Mekash (now Daisy Oscal) agreed to go with me Saturday afternoon to retrieve our van from the parking lot in Thousand Oaks, then follow me to the fire station to get his bike. This was just a short trip that should have taken 60-75 minutes. Wrong!! On our return trip to Simi Valley we were stopped on the freeway and had to turn around due to fires that were quickly spreading in Simi Valley and Moorpark.

After about 2 1/2 hours of trying to get to Simi, Daisy and I regrouped at a Chevron gas station and decided to go to the Emery's house in Moorpark. Karin Emery kindly allowed us in and found a phone number to the California Highway Patrol that gave us road conditions. All roads going in to Simi Valley from Moorpark were closed indefinitely. Daisy and I decided to leave one vehicle at the Emery's and traveled for another hour on the 101 freeway into the San Fernando Valley. We arrived home approximately 5 hours after we left and still only had one of our vehicles!

After a restless night, we awoke to more fires in Simi on Sunday morning. Les got up for a while, then went back to bed around 7:30. I was following the news and talking to neighbors. A nearby development received evacuation warnings at about 8:00, they were told to pack up what they wanted to take, and be ready to leave with 10 minutes notice.

I decided to start packing things at that time. If you've never had to determine what is really important in your life and what is not, a fire in the neighbor will help you do that very quickly. I loaded about 3 boxes of pictures and financial records in the back of our van and decided everything else what just that - things!

At about 9:00 our neighbor from across the street, Paul Kovelman, came over and informed me that our hill was on fire!! I ran upstairs to look out our master bedroom and I saw the flames coming over the top of the hill and down our way. I decided it was time to wake Les from his nap!!

We moved our van across the street, turned on the sprinklers, and hosed down our back yard, trees, and house as much as we could. We then joined Paul across the street in his yard to watch, wait, and pray. It was during this time that we received our evacuation warning, but we were never told to evacuate.

What we didn't know at the time was the fire department had set a "back fire" in hopes of controlling the one that was raging. The two fires converged behind our next door neighbors' house and we could feel the heat across the street. Again, God's protection was evident as we watched our entire hill burn, but the flames stopped at our "green belt" and not a single home on our street was damaged! We were able to return to our home at about 11:30.

As I write this, ash is floating in our back yard, helicopters are making occasional passes to check for sparks, the smoke is starting to clear, Les is once again trying to take a nap and I am starting to relax a little - I can truly say "all is well."

We will have pictures of the fire the next time you see us. Thank you again for your kind words and prayers.

Love, Les and Kathy McElhaney

P.S. So how was YOUR weekend???

So now you know. Why I pray for rain...

Laugh or Cry?

In Southern California we have four seasons - Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fire. Today, as the official first day of Fall, Santa Ana winds started blowing. It was 103 with 5% humidity. HIGH fire alert. Les emailed that there is a fire between Fillmore and Moorpark, that's not far from us. As a matter of fact, we were on roads Saturday that are now closed due to this fire.

I thought I'd check online for any news, here's the headline that caught my attention:

Ventura County fire burns 6,000 acres;
caused by spontaneous combustion of manure

I did NOT make that up!! LATimes.com Wildfires are no laughing matter, especially for residents who have been evacuated. I'd say this one "stinks!"

Running in the Cold!

To truly enjoy these pictures, click on them to enlarge them!

I know I blog a lot about running, but today ranks among one of my favorites! Not because I was super fast, because I wasn't, but it was a beautiful morning! After a very cold storm yesterday, the world was clean and fresh! Yes, I wanted to stay in my warm flannel sheets but I was definitely rewarded for my efforts!

This was the temperature AFTER I got home. Peeps, that's definitely cold! (But not freezing!!)



This tree is in our next door neighbor's yard.
I took this from my front yard.


This was taken about two miles from our house. I had a feeling running with my camera would be a good idea today!


Here are the hills that were burned a couple months ago. New life already!



As I headed home, I felt like singing "How Great Thou Art." So I did!

Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder,
Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed.

Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, How great Thou art!

First Fire of the Season and a Game of Tag

The weather has finally cooled a bit here. Only suppose to get to about 65 today! Bring out the hot chocolate, sweaters, and mittens!! Yes, I've turned into a bit of a Southern California wimp!! In honor of our "cold front", I decided to start a fire in our fireplace for the first time since about last March.

I'm also playing a game of tag with fellow blogger, Karen Hopper. Here are the rules:

RULE ONE: Grab one of the books closest to me, go to page 56, type the fifth line and the next two to five lines that follow.

RULE TWO: Pick five people who love books (I think) and who could receive the Bookworm award with honor.

From "The Christmas Scrapbook" by Philip Gulley, lines 5 through 10:

"Do you remember what she said when she saw that picture?"
Sam thought for a moment. "I believe she said the life jacket made her look big."
"See what I mean." He put the offending picture back in the box. "Won't be needing that one."

Here's where I'm changing the rules! I'm including some of my non-blog-writing book lovers! Since the rules said pick five people, not bloggers, I'm doing just that! So here are my five: Chris Tarazon, Cynthia Simmons, Lori Long, Chloee Tarazon, and Caroline Rogers. If you are a non-blogger, please leave the words to your book as a comment on my blog. And if you are not named here and want to play, please feel free to join in. Maybe I'll write a story entitled "Page 56, Line 5..."

And now, with such a wonderful fire blazing, I think I'll look for another book!

November 15th Weather Report

We are 12 days away from Thanksgiving and here are our current weather conditions:

Current temp: 82.5
Expected high: 88
Humidity: 7%
Winds: Gusting to 39 mph

There are two fires burning in Southern California - the largest being driving by 70 mph winds! One minute the sky is blue, the next it is orange, the winds are changing that much.

I would rather it be cloudy and rainy, but I still have joy! I am a very blessed lady and I never want to forget it. My personal weather report won't change with the outside temps, and I am so excited to be going to church tomorrow!

Built on the Rock

I've been trying to write a post about "Beauty for Ashes", but at this time there are only ashes. We are at the beginning of the cycle that goes like this: fires, rain, mudslides, regrowth.



It is usually in late November, December or sometimes even January when "torrential" rains (2-3 inches) hit. Hillsides that have been destroyed by fires are then in danger of mudslides. Multimillion dollar homes in Malibu slide or have rivers of mud running through them.

But I'm not worried about mudslides. Our house is truly built on a rock! We learned this a few years ago when we had our swimming pool put it - a one day dig turned in to six days of drilling.

Though I'm glad that our home will stand safely if a flood comes, I want my life to stand because it's founded on the Rock of Ages.

Luke 6:47-48

Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like:

He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.