I looked outside, and the sky had turned a weird, apocalyptic orange. Not the cute sunset kind. The “run-for-your-life” kind. Seriously, it looked like someone lit a giant match over the Great Park.
The fire started near Irvine Regional Park, I think? Or maybe it was closer to the 133? Honestly, with all the sirens and helicopter noise, I couldn’t tell if I was in an action movie or my living room. Do I pack my cat, or just my laptop?
The wind was howling, which is never a good sign. Friends, wind plus fire equals a recipe for chaos. It’s like Mother Nature decided to play with a blowtorch.
The smell test
You know that campfire smell? The one that’s cozy when you’re roasting marshmallows? Yeah, this was not that. This was the “I think my sinuses are melting” kind of smoke. I shut every window in my house like a crazy person.
And my eyes? They watered like I was cutting onions. Except the onions were on fire. Makes you appreciate a good HVAC system, doesn’t it?
I checked the Irvine emergency alerts. They were popping up faster than pop-up ads. Mandatory evacuations here. Road closures there. The 241 was a parking lot of terrified Tesla drivers.
