Smoke Gets in Your Eyes … and Hair … and Lungs

Like you, just a few days ago I woke up to blue, clear skies. Temperatures were beginning to climb but weren’t yet unbearable. Little did I know that this was about to change.

A scant few days later I smelled it before I saw it – smoke from the Ranch Fire permeated my house causing me to take a quick look outside. I saw everything bathed in a grotesque orange haze reminiscent of how everything looked during the Station Fire back in 2009. We live north of Foothill Boulevard and during the Station Fire we were evacuated three separate times. That also was when I launched the Crescenta Valley Weekly; in fact, the first issue was actually distributed on Sept. 4, 2009 – a Friday – rather than Thursday, Sept. 3 because there were so many street closures we couldn’t deliver the papers on that Thursday.

Thankfully evacuations due to the Ranch Fire don’t seem to be in our future though the haze and stink definitely are hanging around.

Then, like a Biblical prophecy, the heat hit record temperatures. We try to keep our thermostat at higher settings, especially at night, and make use of a fan to keep us comfortable while we sleep. Unfortunately, that wasn’t possible this week. I awoke a couple of times during the week simply because I was so hot. We had to cave and lower the thermostat so we could sleep through the night. I do not look forward to seeing this month’s electric bill.

And, if you remember, we had an earthquake a couple of weeks ago. So far it’s been a pandemic, an earthquake, fires and excessive heat. Is pestilence next?

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At least students returning to school this week didn’t have to endure crowded classrooms along with the high temperatures and haze. Most are working remotely, which presents an entirely different set of challenges. More than once I’ve turned to Steve and said how happy I am that we don’t have little kids anymore. I don’t envy those who do, especially my son and his wife who are coping with a special needs child. My granddaughter cannot sit in front of a television screen to watch “The Muppets” much less a computer screen for distance learning. My heart aches when I think of the social interaction she is missing during these times – something she very much enjoys and benefits from. I am very grateful that there is a support system in place that will allow them to continue working while providing her with the care she needs.

I also don’t envy the tough choices local school administrators have had to make to accommodate students. In addition, I offer encouragement and kudos to those teachers who have had to create remote learning curriculums. These professionals have had to adapt to unprecedented circumstances during uncertain times. Thank you.

In this week’s issue of the CV Weekly I hope you’ll enjoy some of the back-to-school (sort of) photos we’ll be sharing as well as the informative stories on the current fire and heat conditions written by Mary O’Keefe and Charly Shelton. So grab a cold iced tea and settle in.

  robin goldsworthy