We had some wildfires a while back which were pretty horrific. In fact people were getting trapped and getting killed in different parts of California, especially in the northern part of the state.
I've heard that fires can actually cause rain, but I don't that it causes rain for such a long time after the fires have been extinguished. It has rained here almost every day for many weeks!
Everything looks pretty gross around here after it rains. It's usually so dusty and smoggy that when everything gets wet, the whole place ends up looking like a nasty mess.
Those skies are becoming a common look around here.
It's a funny thing, but I actually had to put a rag in the gutter on my balcony to absorb the sound of raindrops hitting the thin metal. At night, it is so loud that it echoes throughout the house. When I went out and realized that the noise was just water, I almost couldn't believe it!
For most people this really doesn't seem like much of a big deal, but for Southern California, it is really odd. I've lived here for almost 14 years and have never seen so much rain. In a lot of ways, it is a good thing! Yesterday while driving on the 110N highway I was able to see the snow-capped mountains very clearly off in the distance.
Sometimes you forget that there even are mountains around LA because the smog cloud obscures them most of the time. Even if you can see them, they are generally just silhouettes. But they have been crystal clear, which is an amazing sight for a local.
I am appreciative of the rain, but if this keeps up, we will have to change our slogan from "Sunny California" to something else!
