So I was scanning the websites, as I’ve been doing for the last three days, looking for new information about the fires in our area, and what do I find in the 1:30 PM update of the La Cañada-Flintridge page? There’s a mandatory evacuation of our area…again. OK. I go looking for verification; I don’t see anything. I call the City of Glendale’s emergency info center, since we’re only three blocks out of the city limits; nope, they can’t tell me. They give me the phone number of the County Sheriff. I call them. They say, “We were just talking about that. Call this number.” I call it; it’s the Forest Service. I ask, “Is there really a mandatory evacuation?” Yes, they say. Shoot.

So we packed up the kids and the very few things that we’d taken out of the cars and headed off into the wild blue yonder. At present we’re holed up at a motel about ten miles down the hill.

Dunno why they declared a mandatory evacuation for us; and I don’t really think our house is in danger. But prayers are extremely welcome, for us and everyone else involved, especially the fire fighters.

It really bugs me not to be able to do any direct visual surveillance of the fire.

But maybe I’ll get to sleep the night through tonight.