Good Morning!!!! 45F @ 3:30AM here in Chico, CA. Periods of rain. High 53F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 100%. Rainfall near a half an inch. Localized flooding in recent burn areas.
A head cold is keeping me up this morning, not surprising with all the evacuees living out in the weather and frequenting all the same stores I've been visiting. I guess you can only wash your hands so many times a day, and it isn't enough.
I was brought up right handed, but I'm left eye dominant and probably should have been taught to write with my left hand. Not quite ambidextrous, but I don't have any trouble handling tools and doing delicate things with my left hand, either. I've been a ten finger typist since junior high school as well.
Stocked the truck with 10 gallons of E0, 10 gallons of propane, a weeks worth of freeze dried dinners, and a set of L4-30 connectors for the generator yesterday. Also went down to Oroville to pick up the mail, but had to make two trips through the line because the first clerk didn't find a package from Canada. It was the pulse frequency changer for the Vanagon speedometer/cutout problem, and I'm hoping to get a shot at that by the weekend. I'll make a pass through a grocery store for fresh food and ice for the cooler on the way out of town once the evac orders are lifted. Already started a list of things that will need taken care of when I get home, but the list isn't that long.
I'm pretty sure the power won't be back on when I get back up there, and that may be the case for several weeks. The PG&E outage map isn't making any predictions. With no power, cell service will be even more spotty than usual, so if I stop posting it just means I haven't got the satellite dish back on line yet. Even when it gets going again, I'll only have power for a few hours a day to conserve gasoline, but I'll still try to post daily.
More evacuation zones were opened yesterday, and the fire only grew by 1,000 acres. Two more dead found in Paradise, though, something I think will slow down after the rains mix the ashes of the homes so badly the bodies disappear. Gruesome work, for sure.
We're due for about an inch of rain each day over the next three days, and one of the storms will bring strong winds and rain heavy enough to cause debris flows. I'm guessing that officials won't open any more evacuation zones until after the storms pass on Saturday, but I'm hoping I'm wrong. I'd really like to get home and move the half used pallet of wood I left uncovered all summer back into the garage, but I've got plenty more under a tarp and enough for a few days at least already inside.
Happy Hump Day, folks.
