Fuel for fire

Pretty but dangerous

Eucalyptus trees were imported from Australia to California in the hopes that the fast growing trees would provide wood for the railroads. As it turned out, the wood is not suitable for that.These things have since spread over California. The only thing that stops them is frost. These trees are very rich in oil and have been known to explode during forest fires.

When my brother lived San Diego County, I would visit and go on bike rides throughout the county (a very large county). On one of my routes, I'd go through the Elfin forest towards Escondido. Last week, this dense stretch of eucalyptus was in difficult to put out flames along with parts of Carlsbad and San Marcos. The trees are found in Northern California too along the coast (frost free areas). This pair is across the street from my brother's. Their presence puts him in the highest level of fire danger even though his property is usually enveloped in coastal fog.

No fire danger here due to everything being completely saturated in the non stop rains although a hoarder was killed in Ann Arbor yesterday in a fire that could not be quickly put out due to all the crap she had stuffed the home full of. Neighbors had complained about the hoarding for years. She had used vehicles in front of the house as auxiliary storage along with the porch and the yard, quite a mess.What I didn't know was that her grandson lived there. It's one thing to put yourself in danger but another to endanger a minor. Fortunately he made it out alive. I am not a fan of hoarders. My parents' house was destroyed in part due to this hoarding squatter and I was responsible for his mess. And a few years back, a hoarder fire started in the condo complex that we own a condo(for Naomi to rent) endangering the other units and causing our HOA fees to go up. Thanks Hoarder.

But no rain this morning though it was a bit chilly. Nice for a bike ride. And then, a  visit from Ms Allie.