Standby and Devastation

What people in southern California are enduring during Inferno 2007 is heart-breaking, yet the behavior of most of them is profoundly inspiring. People all around the area are pitching in to help one another and so many of those who have lost their homes are managing somehow to hold their heads high and look to the future. Jim is on standby to help evacuate horses for a fellow who is a cousin of a friend. (That fellow and his property appear to be safe now. Still, like many in our part of the world, his trailer remains packed and headed out in case he has to load animals and get out in a hurry.) Monday evening, that friend of ours left dinner with us a little early to evacuate cats for a work colleague. (In that case it was only a precaution, thank goodness) On the other hand, a woman who is a key figure in the southern California endurance racing world (she and her daughter run a couple of rides) lost everything Monday evening except their eleven horses and what tack they could throw in the trailer. When I heard about a fire in the Temecula region, my heart stopped for a second. We have a friend down there with forty-fifty horses on her place. I can’t reach her, but after scanning the internet for fire updates I feel somewhat relieved. It appears the fire is far enough from her to make her anxious, but not require evacuation. San Diego’s Qualcomm Stadium and Del Mar Race Track are packed with refugee humans and horses. Let’s hope the weather predictions are accurate and we get some changes fairly soon.