Wild fires...

I got a phone call from Ben last night asking me what was going on with California? I didn't know what he was talking about. He said he was wondering why the air is so dry, the wind is blowing like crazy, and all of Southern California is ablaze. I had heard that there were some fires, but I hadn't been watching the news, so I had no idea that so many more serious fires had started.

Anyway, I'd say around 10pm I started coughing much harder than I have been. I finally fell asleep around 5:30 this morning. I got up at 8am. I still had no idea how many fires were actually burning. I got a text from Meredith asking me how I'm doing since she knows that I am ridiculously sensitive to air quality issues. I hadn't realized that there were any fires close enough to HB to be the source of my problems. It became abundantly clear to me on the way to work as I listened to the radio, and my eyes started burning that the problem was much worse, and much closer than I had realized. These are the two photos that I endangered myself by taking with my cell phone while navigating the 405 on my way in:

I have no idea which fire that smoke was coming from. It really wasn't too bad around the office when I first got here. Within an hour the entire office started smelling like a campfire. I received this email from HR around 11am:

"The Management Office is aware of the smell of smoke in each building, we too are experiencing it. Please know that the Air Conditioning systems are filtering the air at the highest capacity possible. Unfortunately due to the outside ambient air conditions, the engineers are unable to improve the air quality on the interior of the buildings. Thank you for your understanding of the situation as the air quality in all of Orange County will be poor for the next few days."

Steve and I are still here, but almost everybody else has gone home complaining about burning eyes, respiratory issues, and sinus problems. I stepped outside to see how things were looking out there and everything was very hazy with ash falling down. Around noon I received this e-mail from HR:

"We realize the air quality may be problematic right now for some people and have purchased a few masks for those who may have asthma or respiratory issues. If you would like one they are on my desk. We have a very limited supply so if you don't feel like you need one please leave them for those in need."

Steve got back from lunch about 45 minutes ago. He says things have cleared up a little out there. In the meantime the legal secretary came by my desk to tell me that if I haven't been to see a doctor about this lingering cold she recommends I head in asap because I sound just like she did when she was hospitalized with walking pneumonia. Although she reassured me that the hospitals are so full right now that they probably wouldn't admit me. My mom also called and lectured me about going to see the doctor today(thank you Meredith for ratting me out). I called the doctor's office but they just told me that they are completely backed up, and that they will not be able to see me anytime before 2pm tomorrow. I kind of expected that.

My biggest concern with these fires is that BYU is scheduled to play SDSU this weekend at Qualcomm. However the last report I heard was that there are already approximately 10K evacuees taking shelter at the stadium. Furthermore, all reports indicate that the air quality down there is much worse than here, and some companies have closed and sent people home. I know that the schools are not holding classes because of air quality. So it seems entirely unlikely to me that the game this weekend will not be rescheduled. :( I've been looking forward to it all season, so I'm not pleased with this little turn of events. I guess we'll just have to wait and see how this works out.