Here’s a normal mid-afternoon day in my neighborhood

It’s pleasant. Fair sunny San Diego weather.

But then on October 22, 2007, it looked like this

Something seemed to be wrong.

Where you would expect the sun, there was just this sad orange moon

Indeed something was wrong.

As I was driving out of my neighborhood, I couldn’t help but to think that if the coast looked like this

then the rest of the city must be in flames.

Initially, I had invited friends to stay at my house since I figured it would be one of the safest places being so close to the ocean. I was wrong. The winds were blowing the fire directly towards the coast. I needed to evacuate. The air was dangerous to breath as I was right in the path of the smoke.

Fortunately, my house was safe when I returned home a few days later. There was ash and debris but otherwise everything was fine. Many people were far less fortunate.

Despite the tragedy of the situation I couldn’t help but to marvel at this moment; the dramatic beauty of the reddened sky juxtaposed with my expectations of a serene blue. And my intuitive response to help others quickly turned to needing to call on others for help. How quickly life changes… a miracle in every moment.