Jack & Ty -

Just a note to say hope all is well out on the left coast. Looks a little too close for comfort out there.

Good luck and be safe!

Yes, we've been thinking about you guys too close to the wildfires. Malibu and Thousand Oaks are not that far from you. We hope you are not endangered and that the people you know who are, make it through with minimal loss and injury.

Thanks for your concerns. The Woolsey fire started about 5 miles from our house and got within about 2 miles. But through a combination of luck (we're mostly side-wind to it) and geography (we're on the flat lands, those same 2 miles from the edge of the hills) we're going to be ok. Sadly not the same for those downwind - Calabasas, Hidden Hills, Agoura, Westlake, Thousand Oaks, Malibu. And especially not like the town of Paradise in Northern California.

Aside from the homes and human lives, the latest estimates are that it burned 83% of the National Park Area in our local Santa Monica Mountains (the main wildland/recreational area for a million or so people living in this area.) And with another 24 hours of very high winds to deal with, it's not over yet!

2 miles is certainly way too close. Glad so far you are on the OK side of it. Never realized how beneficial all that xeriscape would turn out!

Thousand Oaks is enduring its share of hardship, and Paradise unfortunately seems lost.