San Diego Wildfires!

Hello All:
UPDATE: 10/24/2007 9:15AM PST
I was able to return to my home last night at 11:00PM and it was wonderful to see that it was there and the fires did not touch it. I know it is just an object, but it is nice to have a place to sleep.
I also found out that my business was spared as well.
I still feel and hope for the best for the other 350,000 people are still unable to go back to their homes as of now.
Thanks to everyones well wishes and support. I have never seen such an outpour of support from people who have never met me face to face.
I love this site!


Update: 10/22/2007 2:00PM PST
Well the dreaded call came in 5 minutes ago. I am now forced to evacuate my house. God, please don't take my home. To all of my friends- I will write more when I am in the safe zone.
Always-
Kevin
Update: 10/22/2007 1:19PM PST
The winds die down and then pick up again. The fire is not contained at all. The fire department say that they can not get a handle on it. It is a strange hopeless, helpless feeling I have.


The skies are purple and full of smoke and haze, the ash is covering cars like a thick blanket of snow! You look to the West and the sky is black from the soot and smoke. The air quality is poor and if every where you breath the air has a heavy smokey smell, as if someone is having a big barbeque.
I am affraid to walk outside without covering my eyes and mouth with a cloth because of the poor air quality. You sit inside your home or your car and you cough periodically. This is a strange feeling. The only thing that everyone is doing right now is sitting by their televisions and radios to see if they need the evacuate their homes.
I should be at work right now, but the fire is too close to my work and the power is out and the fire has jumped across the freeway, so there is no way to get there.
The emergency broadcast system has activated the "reverse 911" system which will call anyone who is in the path of the fires to evacuate immediately. I sit and I wait and I wait... What will happen to my house? What is going on with my friends and family? I guess I am lucky at this point that nothing has happened, but I worry and wonder just like everyone else.
I try to use my cell phone, but like everyone else, the cell phones are temporarily busy because of everyone else trying to call their loved ones. I am ok, so I will wait to use my cell phone until the lines have calmed down and people have an idea of how bad things are and what the status of their homes and loved ones are.

To all my friends and travel buddies, I leave you this:

Unfortunately there are several wildfires in the San Diego area that have burned hundreds of homes already. I am on HIGH alert to be evacuated out of my home. I am very scared for my friends and family right now and hope that all is ok with them. I also pray for the people who have lost their homes already. So, to everyone I know, I may be offline for a while. Please pray for all of us in San Diego, as we await our fate.
All my love to my fellow travel buddies-
Kevin