Southern California Ablaze… October 21, 2007
Posted by John C in Uncategorized.add a comment
Other than earthquakes, there’s probably nothing more that we as Southern Californians fear more than forest fires. As I went to bed last night, one of the local news stations made mention that the so-called Santa Ana winds would be making their way into our area today. Sure enough, a little after 1 a.m. this morning a gust of wind woke me from my sleep… this would happen several times during the night. As I got up around 7:30 a.m. this morning, the winds continued. I knew more than likely that forest fires were soon to follow. A call just before 8 a.m. this morning from my sister confirmed my worst fears… A fire had been ignited by downed power lines three hours earlier in the nearby community of Malibu.
With that, my normal Sunday plans would be changed. The strong winds (gusting in excess of 80 MPH in many areas) made highway travel very dangerous. Instead of taking the 25 minute drive by freeway to my church in Simi Valley, I decided to spend the day with my family, taking the much less dangerous streets and canyon roads 15 minutes away… Though I tried to tune in the football games, auto races and other sporting events today, my main focus was on the news of the fires. As the day progressed, fire after fire broke out. One in Castaic, another in nearby Santa Rosa, then one in Agua Dulce. Smoke and soot from the Castaic fire actually blew more than 20 miles toward my local area for several hours in the late afternoon, turning day to near-night and making it next to impossible to breathe outside.
By 9 p.m. THIRTEEN separate fires had broken out in Southern California’s mountains. Many of the fires are very near to homes - the worst one appeared to be the fire which had started in Agua Dulce. That particular fire moved approximately 10-15 miles in just four hours and was now bearing down on the Canyon Country community, threatening over 3,800 homes! As of this writing, 25 homes had already been destroyed in Canyon Country. Sadly, I’m afraid that this figure could reach triple digits by morning.
With winds expected to stay strong in the area through Tuesday and with temperatures expected to rise, things could actually get a lot worse before they get better. Please keep your thoughts and prayers with all of the people here in Southern California, particularly those that have already lost their homes…
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Red Sox Advance To World Series! October 21, 2007
Posted by John C in 2007 World Series, Baseball, Red Sox.add a comment
Was I worried? Maybe a little. Did I think they would do it so convincingly? Probably not. Am I happy about it? You bet!
Daisuke Matsuzaka pitched a strong five innings, allowing only two runs, while Hideki Okajima and Jonathan Papelbon each went a scoreless two frames as the Red Sox made it to their second World Series in four seasons with an 11-2 win over the Cleveland Indians tonight at Fenway Park in Boston. The game was a much closer one than the end result though.
The Red Sox had Indians starter Jake Westbrook in trouble seemingly with every pitch in the early going. Westbrook allowed nine hits in the first four innings, but only allowed three runs thanks to his defense bailing him out with three double plays. He then pitched perfect ball in the fifth and sixth innings to keep the Indians in the game - the outcome was still very much in doubt as the Red Sox only led by a 3-2 score after six.
In the bottom of the 7th, Jacoby Ellsbury reached second base on Indian thirdbaseman Casey Blake’s fielding error to open the inning off of the usually reliable Rafael Betancourt. Julio Lugo then sacrificed Ellsbury to third. Dustin Pedroia then took a Betancourt fastball and deposited over the Green Monster in left for a two run homer, giving the Red Sox a 5-2 lead. The Indians threatened in the top of the eighth as the first two batters reached base off of Okajima. Papelbon was then summoned and retired the next three batters in order to end the threat. The Sox would erupt for six more runs in the bottom of the frame to put the game away at 11-2. The final out was recorded on a Casey Blake flyout deep to center that Boston outfielder CoCo Crisp made a spectacular catch on - running hard into the center field wall with his left leg as he came down with the ball.
The World Series is now all set. Game one will pit Jeff Francis of the Rockies against ALCS MVP Josh Beckett. You can catch all of the action on your local Fox station beginning at 8:07 ET/5:07 PT this Wednesday night.
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