The cup says..A Mother's Love can never be replaced.
A coffee cup is one of the few family mementos to survive a wildfire that destroyed Edward Schlinger's home in Meyers, California June 28, 2007. The four-day-old Angora Fire has consumed 3,100 acres (1,250 hectares) of bone-dry forest and destroyed 251 structures, including 176 homes, south of Lake Tahoe, one of the state's most scenic attractions and a popular recreation area. REUTERS/Max Whittaker (UNITED STATES)
Just don't tick Mother Nature off.
Best wishes to all those who lost so much this week.
CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES
No State Funds For Owners To Clear Lots
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/248139.html
It can cost at least $5,000 to thin trees and brush from a small residential lot at Lake Tahoe. Early evidence from the Angora fire, which has claimed 254 homes, shows that carving out defensive perimeters can help limit damage from wildland blazes. Nevada has dedicated $3.5 million over the past three years to help woodland property owners pay for the preventative measure.
Residents Return To Joy, Despair – Gird To Help Each Other Rebuild
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/06/29/MNGV7QO8MP1.DTL
The powerful gusts of wind that residents feared Thursday did not come, and a forecast of calm weather for today has firefighters hopeful they’ll soon control the Lake Tahoe blaze that has destroyed more than 250 homes. About 70 percent of the 3,100-acre fire was contained Thursday, and it was likely that by this morning officials will have lifted some mandatory evacuations affecting neighborhoods closest to the lake.
Fire Takes Toll On Wildlife
http://www.mercurynews.com/localnewsheadlines/ci_6259495
The female black bear descended the charred hillside. Her paws were badly blistered, the nails on two of them burned to nubs. She probably climbed a smoldering tree to escape the flames, then clung to it “like her momma told her,” and burned, said one local who saw her. She was found Thursday morning lying still and in pain in the shade of a redwood tree between houses on Gardner Street, where residents were returning home a day after fire officials lifted a mandatory evacuation.
Dry And Dangerous
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20070629-9999-1n29dry.html
The driest two-year period in San Diego in more than a century has created a volatile fire situation in the county’s mountains and foothills. And no relief is in sight. “All that dryness translates into dry fuel,” said Bill Metcalf, fire chief for the North County Fire Protection District. “Right now, we’ve got the worst possible, the worst imaginable fuel conditions. It’s as dry as it usually is at the height of the season (early fall), and it will only get worse.”