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Update from the Glendora region:

The entire area of the eastern San Gabriel Valley is completely choked with smoke. The skies above us, at dusk, looked the same as they had since about 2pm; dingy orange-grey with dim light filtering through. As the sun set, the sky went steely grey... with no stars visible whatsoever. Who knows if the moon's up.

The smoke, of course, rings the mountain range directly northward of us. It's like a halo of darkness. Standing in the parking lot of the local Walmart, I could barely see the nearby hill (approximately an eighth of a mile away), and I could not make out the tops of the mountains whatsoever; there was a dim outline which might have been the mountains, but it was virtually impossible to tell through the haze.

People are moving around here actively now that the sun has set; the parking lot at the Walmart was crammed, as was the local Target. It appears that now that the major "danger" has passed as per the newscasts, people are feeling daring enough to leave their homes. However, if the wind shifts, there's still danger; there's still a fire burning in the mountains above us, and it's perched directly over the only canyon that did not burn in the Curb fire. As things stand now, it's likely that it won't shift... but then again, the weather changes this last week have been staggering.

I've developed a cough from breathing so much smoke-filled air, but then again, so has everyone else out here - we've been breathing this sludge for days on end. I no longer notice the occasional flurries of ash, as long as it's smaller than pencil-eraser size. On the bright side, we aren't getting any more blackened leaves fluttering our direction (I have a small, crusted and burnt oak leaf sitting atop my monitor right now as a reminder of that phase of the fires around here).

On a more personal note, I found out today that my brother in law and his family, who live in some of the off-base Naval housing in San Diego county, were evacuated on Saturday due to the Cedar fire. They were able to return home late Sunday to their home... but not everyone in that region was as lucky, seeing as that a few houses on the off-base housing were burned. I don't know how many, or I'd post it. Family is fine, though. This was a bright spot in my day. (They live north of Qualcomm Stadium, although I'm not sure of the exact location, having only been there two or three times.)

The sun has set; a little breeze picked up, but nothing above... oh, say 2mph. Let's hope that it continues to be mild weather...

Scuttlebutt from San DIego,..Some of those military being evacuated from base housing were also being told by the housing folks they would have to pay for their temporary lodging up front before they received a key,...not a good way to boost moral upon returning from Iraq.

glad to hear your family is safe...