The Heat is On

It was reminiscent of the Station Fire this past weekend. On Friday afternoon, the skies began to darken and ash started to fall from the newly ignited Sand Fire. By Saturday the Crescenta Valley was blanketed in smoke that turned the sun into an angry ball of orange. More than once I asked my husband Steve if there was a chance that we would be evacuated like we were nearly seven years ago. I am so grateful that was not the case.

Thankfully for us the wind shifted and by Sunday most of the skies over the foothills were clear. Steve worked on the fire for nearly 17 hours on Sunday as a volunteer with Montrose Search & Rescue. With his team members he searched for missing persons, did property damage assessments and aided in the evacuation of thousands of people. They also did welfare checks to make sure those who weren’t mobile were okay. As trained medics, they were also available to respond to any emergency medical situation but they weren’t needed in that capacity.

It’s times like this past weekend, especially when temperatures were in the mid-90s, that I realize how crucial the help is that our volunteers provide. By taking on these duties, full time fire and law enforcement personnel are able to focus on things that only they can do. Many thanks to all who lent a hand.

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But the Sand Fire was not the only place that was hot – how about the Republican and Democratic national conventions? From accusations (which were eventually proved) that portions of Melania Trump’s speech were lifted from Michelle Obama’s speech at the DNC in 2008 to former presidential candidate Ted Cruz refusing to endorse Trump, the RNC was fascinating.

Moving to Philadelphia and the DNC, a ruckus ensued when Sanders supporters walked out of the convention when Hillary Clinton was officially named the party’s nominee for President. This was in addition to her name being booed at a breakfast Monday morning when Sanders urged voters to cast their ballots for her. This followed the decision earlier this month by the Justice Department to not prosecute Clinton over her handling of emails when she was secretary of state.

Now Trump is pouring gasoline on that flame, dabbling in national security by seeming to invite Russia – a country with which the U.S. is not on the best of terms and which some are suspicious tampered with our elections – to find the estimated 30,000 missing emails of Clinton’s.

Just goes to prove that the sun is not the only source of heat.

  robin goldsworthy