Getting Through The Firey Night

I stepped outdoors at 10 p.m. last night to sweet air, no breeze and a starry sky -- and it was hard to imagine than just five or six miles away, firefighters were battling towering flames to save homes.

The OC Register maintained ongoing on-line coverage throughout the night, detailing how the wind directed the fire first towards the new neighborhoods of Foothill Ranch and Portola Hills, then back towards the funky old canyon settlements of Modjeska and Silverado.

There's a superlative photo and video gallery to go along with the coverage, showing how the oldline media shine when disaster strikes. Here are two samples from the Register's photo coverage:

Don't pass off this photo by Mindy Schauer as uninteresting; it is terribly, frighteningly compelling. The silver sheet in the foreground had sheltered eight fire fighters shortly before this photo was taken, a tiny wall between them and a rage of flames that otherwise would have brought certain death. It did its job; if it hadn't, this would be the most famous hillside in America today.

It makes you think about the heroic nature of fire fighters, and their willingness to put their lives on the line to protect others. God bless 'em.

There were several photos in the gallery of citizens pitching in to help the fire fighters, like this one by Michael Goulding showing Foothill Ranch resident Rick Taylor pitching in to help save his neighbor's condo.

Today looks like another tough day on the fire lines. Please keep the fire fighters, their commanders and the folks who's homes are lost or at risk in your thoughts and prayers.