Day 100: Sacramento Fire

Wildfires are rather common in California, primarily in the southern parts of the state.  Most years, there are also some smaller fires to the northeast of Sacramento, and we often feel the effects of the smoke here in the central city.  Typically, however, we don't experience fires within the city limits.

When we were on our way back from Chicago, I noticed that the screen by our gate showing weather conditions in Sacramento indicated "smoke," which I'd never seen before.  I figured it was due to a fir in the usual northeastern counties that border Sacramento County, until I heard someone at the gym this morning mentioning that he had been planning to go to the Sacramento Republic soccer game on July 4th until it was cancelled due to the fire.

I still didn't know quite what had happened, but when I got to work and started chatting with some of my co-workers about the holiday weekend, I discovered that there had been a large grass fire near Cal Expo:

This map shows the relative proximity of Cal Expo to our townhouse in downtown Sac, about 5 miles away:

Scary!  I'm glad we missed this particular holiday happening...