Hot, hotter, hottest

Temps blazing, skies full of schmootz; it's ugly out there. Well, the red sunrises and sunsets are pretty, but the gray/brown sky that matches the brown golden hills is scary. The heat around here rose to 105 degrees yesterday afternoon and only cooled down to the upper 70s. The winds shifted from our lovely, clearing westerlies to ones bringing smoke from the fires along the central coast.

Here are some frightening statistics about California burning for the past two and a half weeks:

Statewide Fire Statistics

Total Fires at Peak: 1,781

Total Fires Contained: 1,451

Total Active Fires: 330

Total Acres Burned: 614,808

These numbers are total fires and acres that have occurred from state, local and federal firefighting agencies beginning June 20, 2008. Being only the beginning of fire season, these numbers are certain to grow in the coming weeks.

Last night Olivia and I had a fast run brisk walk leisurely stroll along the Iron Horse Trail in Danville. Pam was busy so it was just the two of us. At the start it was still over the magical 100 degree mark but we started along, talking and walking. We got to the 2 mile mark and realized we really should turn around since we had to walk back again. Parts of the trail were shaded and it was still toasty in the sunny parts, even though the sun was very low in the sky by then. By the time we finished our 4 miles the temp had dropped all the way down to -- 95 degrees. Uggg.

I'll bet that tonight's swim will be in a massively crowded pool. Hopefully moms will be smart and keep the kiddies inside their air conditioned house, instead of letting them out in the polluted air. I'm not counting on it though!