Barbara Wilder
As of now, the end of June, the wildfires have ceased to threaten the SaddleBrooke community. It has progressed to the other side of the mountain, and this morning it is covering 107,000 acres and only 45 % contained. I am a member of the SaddleBrooke Photography Club and have seen many great pictures from others in the club with many different viewpoints.
Added to the many stresses in our lives now, this event was the worst for a while. Thanks to the more than 1,000 firefighters and support crew, helicopters, and planes, we came through this without any structure damage or loss of life. I was close to packing up some bags and planning our evacuation for several days.
As part of my “Daily Coronavirus Picture Diary” self-assignment, I made sure to take pictures every day and evening. My back patio has a panoramic view of the Catalina Mountains, so I didn’t have to go far to get some exciting pictures. Other viewpoints around SaddleBrooke gave me some variety. Since our Photo Club hasn’t been able to meet since March, we keep in touch through our Facebook page where many members have posted their best shots. Other members who are out of town for the summer have followed our page closely to see what’s happening.
Hopefully, never in my lifetime will I again get to see a wildfire up so close, but the views were beautiful and terrifying.