Hello All, A little OT, but still about the fires
We just got back from taking a bunch of high school kids on a youth group trip to six flags magic mountain, in Valencia, CA. We left Friday around 6 PM from AZ. Around 11 PM we stared seeing smoke near southern california. After some bus breaking down complications we started entering the Sylmar(spelling?) fire area around 4:30 AM. The flames were literally next to the freeway. It was frightening as an adult and many kids were scared as well. If we had gone through even 10 minutes later, I'm sure we would have been stopped and turned around.
Then on Saturday, Magic Mountain was only open until 12 because many workers could not get there because of freeway closures. Our kids had a pretty good attitude considering all the things that went wrong (check out my TR on the california boards for more details).
At our hotel we stayed at there where families that had been evacuated. The kids were really reminded of what is really important in life and it was a great way for them to understand that even though we weren't able to go to the park, at least we will have a home to go to. If anything, they really learned about compassion.
Last night we also had to pack up everything because there we were possibly going to be evacuated from the hotel because of the Newhall Fire. Luckily that was not the case and we stayed and got some sleep.
On our way home today we passed the mobile home park

. It was very sad and my hearts went out to anyone who lost their home, and the families of those people as well. Yes, our trip couldn't have been worse, but we all came back healthy (for the most part) and safe. We pray for those families who are still in waiting and for those who already know. What a devastating thing to see on TV, but so much more real and sad to see up close. (For those interested, we took the 210 to the 10 home and only saw smoke, no visible flames.)
So here is my

to all of you out there who are near the fires or know someone who is. I sincerely hope and pray the best for you.