Shout out to the Orange County Fire Authority. Those brave souls were out there, covered in soot, facing down flames with hoses and attitude. I saw a helicopter drop water so close to homes, I thought it was going to land in someone’s pool.
Articles & Insights by Awa Marie Coll-Seck | Fortune
They said the fire grew to like, 100 acres in an hour. That’s insane. That’s like a hundred football fields of nope. One firefighter told a news crew, “This is a dynamic situation.” That’s firefighter speak for “We have no idea what’s next.”
But here’s the thing—Irvine is full of heroes. Not just the firefighters. The neighbors who opened their doors. The guy who helped an elderly woman load her dog into an Uber. It takes a village, people.
The eerie calm after the rush
Around dinnertime, the wind died down. The helicopters got quieter. And the smoke started to shift. I peeked outside again. The sky was still hazy, but it wasn’t that scary orange anymore. It was just… sad gray.
I saw a deer bolting across the street. Even the wildlife was like, “Nope, I’m out.” Poor thing probably lost its breakfast buffet of grass and shrubs.
Power flickered for a moment. I held my breath. Then—click—everything came back. Thank you, Edison, for not leaving us in the dark (literally).
