Posted by Carrie, in Laurie's absence.

Dawn points, and another day
Prepares for heat and silence.

It’s summer on the Left Coast and we are burning up with triple digit temperatures (Fahrenheit, of course) and over 300 active fires around the state, making for unusual sunsets and serious air quality problems. We learn new phrases such as Haines Index, Containment Line, Plume Development, Fuel Break and Dozer Lines. We bookmark the Cal Fire notice page and keep in touch with friends who live in the path of a fire.

This is no Venetian summer. It’s dry heat that keeps us burning out here on the Pacific Rim. Keeps us on our toes.

We joke about our dormant volcanoes and yet we camp on their peaks. We know to never turn our back on the ocean but lose several people every year to sleeper waves and rip tides. We go hiking knowing we could encounter rattle snakes and mountain lions. We build houses on hillsides that slide down in the winter rains. We tell family stories in earthquake years.

And yes, we give our fires names.