The last few days have been exciting. They’ve also been scary, nerve racking, and smokey. Oh, have they been smokey! The updraft from the Station Fire finally went away and allowed for all that smoke the fire was creating to settle down into the cities below; I think most of it’s settled around my house. In the morning, the Arroyo looks something like Mars – I’m thinking Mars from Total Recall. In the morning, the sun glimmers a red light onto the world. At night, the moon shines an eerie Halloween orange. If it weren’t for the fact that I can’t hardly breathe, I’d be totally stoked about all the reds and oranges and how spooky everything looks. Of course, it all reminds me that the Angeles Forest is burning, people are losing their homes, 2 firemen have been killed, countless wildlife has died, precious hiking trails have been ruined, and when the rain comes we’ll have to worry about mudslides. I don’t know who or what started it, but if it was arson, I hope whoever it was gets the slammer – forever.
I’m sending good thoughts to all the people who have lost their homes, to the families and friends of the firefighters lost in battle, and to everyone who has been effected by this terrible event.
While tragic, this has also, without a doubt, been a super opportunity for photographs – it’s what I do, you know. There are hundreds (if not thousands) of amazing photographs of the Station Fire on the net. Here are some more of mine.
These were taken on Tuesday September 29th, 2009 in the Rose Bowl parking lot and above JPL in Pasadena. Those clouds you see are actually smoke from the fire. These were the actual colors of the day as caught by my 40D. Pretty neat, huh?
Photos: Kristen Simental www.kristensimental.com
