Yesterday, we noticed an orange glow streaming through our windows that was accompanied by a strong campfire smell. And I gotta say, campfire is not something you usually smell around these parts. I guess what most people do when they notice these things is turn on the radio, tv, or even the internet to find out what’s going on…Tim and I, however, just stepped outside, took some pictures, then came back in and tried to relax after a long week. Then, we decided we’d like to go to the beach. It wasn’t until we started toward the freeway that we actually turned on a radio to hear about what was going on. After all, the traffic was horrendous on the other side of the road, and it looked like we were driving straight for a great black pillar of smoke. We figured maybe we should figure out what was going on (duh)

.

It turns out the freeway we were headed for (the 57) was closed on the northbound side (good thing we were headed south, toward the beach, right?), so all of the cars were forced to exit onto the road we take to get to the freeway. Driving on the 57 was like driving through fog with a creepy-looking red sun casting an unnatural glow over everything. When we got to the beach, there was no wind, no campfire smell, and the skies were clearer than usual. We waited until dark to go home (hoping for clearer northbound freeways), and we could see the glow of the fire at certain points along the freeway.

Right now, the fire is about 5 miles away from our apartment, but we’re surrounded by lots of city- lots of concrete. Our friends who live up in the hills had to evacuate yesterday, and the fire has gotten closer to their house overnight. The homes near the outskirts of the city are in the most danger since they actually have some trees and grass out there by the mountains.

The fire area has already spread since we saved these pictures and started writing this post– You can keep up with the progress here: Updated Orange County Fire Map