Day: July 23, 2008

Smokey, smokey, and smokey …

**NOTE** Inciweb seems to be up and working with very accurate, thorough information under the new IC. MCSO’s Oakley’s name had not been on this am’s report, but is added, along with Boone on this evening’s report.

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The psyche, I am discovering, has an interesting way of copping with events of great magnitude. Eventually, one gets numb. I woke this morning to the sights and smells of unusual amounts of smoke. Nothing. No concern, no curiosity, no cares. I already knew some significant back burning operations were continuing, and I did check all my usual internet sources, just to be sure. I am not concerned that I do not seem alarmed, or nervous, or even curious. My emotional barometer decided to take the day off. OMMMM … perhaps I can get back in balance, today. The rest of me is following suit. No phone, no visitors, no interruptions. Now, if I can just get the dogs to stop barking at the wind!
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In case you haven’t noticed, I created a new page of misc. fire photos. See page link on right.
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Here is today’s comment from xasauantoday: (for the maps, click on their link in my blogroll)

“10:00AM July 23 Update:

Overnight thermal imaging indicates that the backfire moving into Miller Canyon has really flared up. We hope the structures there were adequately protected. We didn’t think there could be anything left to burn near the MIRA observatory, but it appears they have been backfiring from there as well, with some of the fire spilling into the Piney Creek headwaters. The marine layer has burned off very quickly this morning, so this fire will probably continue to be active for as long as there is fuel for it to burn[.]”

Midnight thoughts … internet responsibilities

I actually got to connect with some friends (and readers) by phone tonight, and what a joyous occasion that was. We talked about many things, the fire, the community, the support, and the bull shit. Ah, yes, the bull shit. That’s the price of going public, I guess. I get a lot of that in this past few weeks. Some from friends, and some from strangers. Bull shit can be “good” or “bad” depending on the intentions of the person propagating same.

We agreed — Cachagua Store is a great website for no-nonsense reporting. We love the way Mike Jones writes, and the stories he tells. We agree, people can really come together in an emergency like this. We agree that the internet has allowed freedom of expression like never before and communication, in all its facets, unheard of only ten years ago. But, we also agree that with such widespread communication comes responsibilities. We need to be as accurate as possible, and that is where xasauantoday.wordpress.com comes into play and kusp.org and surcoast.com. All of these sites strive for accuracy, and achieve it the vast majority of the time. We are all fallible. We all make mistakes.

In the old days, it was notifying one’s neighbors by banging on old, empty propane tanks to warn of the onset of fire. In the old days, it was notification by CB (and all those wonderful handles — mine used to be Ridge Rover.) In the old days, it used to be personal drive-by notifications. Now we have the internet.

The internet is a great means of communication, but we still need to get personal, sometimes. And we still need to remember that the internet can spread the “rumors” which used to take days, in a matter of seconds.

I had a number of conversations today which centered upon rumors and inuendoes. It is still gossip, no mater how it is cast.

Two reminders: One community based, and one personally based. The community based one is to remember that rumors are self-perpetuating, and need to be confirmed. The second, personally based, is that this movie is getting tiring, and I am going next door to watch the comedy. Want to join me?