Fire -- or a Buddhist lesson in impermanence

Update 10/10. Soda Canyon Road, which leads to my friends' home in Napa.

After a week or two of being under the weather, I'm happy to say that Cipro has done it's job and today my energy is back in force. Seems I had a bladder infection, which is something I managed to live almost 75 years without experiencing. Could have gone another 75. Could have been worse. A mild case, from tales I've heard.

Turned on the computer at 4am and saw 'napafires' trending on twitter. I was mesmerized and heartbroken over the next 4 hours as I reached out to friends (all safe) and watched the devastation. People, this is home to me, regardless of where I was born or where I live now. Given the money to make it possible, this is where I'd choose to live. Eugene's a pretty good second choice, but it ain't Napa/Sonoma Counties.



Napa got it first, but Santa Rosa is actually taking the brunt of it, with whole neighborhoods wiped out. Hospitals being evacuated at 4am. KMart, hotels, motels, various unknown businesses, wineries, eateries, all burned. Fire departments in Napa and Sonoma counties considered the fires unstoppable, and have focused on getting people evacuated and safe.

At this writing, 3:30pm, at least 1500 structures and over 70,000 acres burned, zero percent contained.



Happy my friends are all safe, though.