Hindsight

Driving back to San Diego was an invitation into the worst air quality I have ever experienced. Obviously because of the fires.

The San Diego news broadcast above was not comforting. If you look at the center of the image where “Mira Mesa” then you’re looking at my current homestay. The fires were occuring all around. Around noontime this is what the view looked like from Mike’s balcony:

The air quality was horrible. The smell of smoke. Burnt and suffocating. By the time I was done with the workday (I work night shifts for now, around 4 to midnight), my eyes were red and stinging. Even from inside our building.

The drive home was nice. But the air was still thick; I could tell from the streetlamps that smoke was still heavy.

The word yesterday was that weather might be better today. Something about a marine layer or what not. In any case, I woke up today and was finally able to open the sliding door to smell the air. From the apartment, it seems fine.

It’s unbelievable. The damage the fires have caused is unsettling. Over 1,000 homes destroyed in San Diego county.

It was interesting yesterday - the news ran stories where people who lost their homes blatantly lashed-out at the media. I don’t recall seeing any new stories in L.A. broadcasts where reporters would actually say “They are mad at us for not reporting things better”. I could be mistaken or uninformed, but that was a bit surprising, in a good way.