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Is It Over?

Posted on October 27, 2007 in Santiago Fire

square396Though a light rain fell earlier this evening, the roads leading into the Orange County backcountry remain closed. About 20 yards south of our infamous biker bar, Cook’s Corner, a coterie of cops redirects anyone to the left into Portola Hills.

Tonight, the sheriffs had a fellow in a torn t-shirt leaning against their squad cars, not with his hands on the paint, but his butt. A rip showed a large slab of his muscle on his right side and didn’t seem fazed by Orange County’s finest. My imagination played games with me. For example, was this the arsonist? Or was he an off-duty fireman? I could only amuse myself. The right to walk up and ask “What is happening here?” did not belong to me.


The C-130s circled overhead after the storm. I scanned the horizon. The cloud cover may be too thick for me to see any last wisps of smoke: I saw no signs of the fire. Is it over? Or is Silverado burning?


UPDATE: They are saying that the fire could be extinguished by Tuesday. Last look I took outside revealed nothing — no glow outlining the hills. The smell of smoke filling the air like a heavy hickory wood box was the only betrayal of its presence. If it comes back our way, it will die.

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