Fire

We’re on fire again in San Diego County. I won’t bother with the links, you can find them anywhere. We went through this in fall of 2003 with the Cedar fire, same thing really. In fall we get “Santa Ana” conditions where the winds whip up in the desert, roar west through the mountains and create hot and dry climate for a few days or a week. If we get a random campfire escape, tossed ciggie, sparks from a draggin’ muffler (really!) or powerline downing…conflagration.

It hits everything in the county, even those of us lucky enough to live coastal or otherwise out of the fire path. Friends and co-workers burned out. Many of our support staff co-workers live in the rural parts of the county and have to save their horses and other large livestock. Schools are down. Daycare out. Kids are nervous. We all have to open our doors to the quarter million people evacuated from their homes so far.

We’re a lot more prepared because of the 2003 fire. Doesn’t help much because this time the winds aren’t cooperating.

Dammit.

Update 10/23/07: The NIH “Delays in Grant Submission” Notice is up. “Paper and electronic applications that are submitted late because of the wildfires should include a cover letter noting the reasons for the delay. It is not necessary to get permission in advance for fire-related delays in grant application submissions.”

Also, I heard a very brief mention on the radio of “full containment maybe by Nov 4”. I’ll need to get some confirmation but if true this means you SfN Meeting attendees need to bring your asthma meds, extra contact lenses and eyedrops. IIRC from the Cedar fire, it is going to be a bit of nasty air around here for a long time.

Update 10/24/07: And of course the usual dipstick blowhards suspects from TheBorg have  seized the opportunity to excoriate those who would advance agenda through tragedy. By, um, advancing their agendas through our…er…tragedy.