Fire In Thar Hills!

No posts in an entire month? Militant, what's wrong with you?!?

The Militant spent his Monday evening taking in a Dodger game at the Stadium. As any Dodger fan has known for the past 47 years, the Stadium offers breathtaking views of the San Gabriel Mountains, beyond the confines of its outfield walls. On Monday night, the Stadium also offered a vantage view of the notorious Station Fire currently engulfing the said mountain range.

Fortunately, at least for most of us city-dwellers, the winds have been blowing towards the north, keeping much of that smoke away from us. Surely the game would have been called off in the event the winds and smoke blew in a southerly direction, causing a health hazard for players and spectators alike.

Though unspoken, many a fan did turn their eyes and binoculars towards left field, where flames could be seen racing up the mountains near Sunland-Tujunga, almost resembling molten lava down a volcano as night fell. It was a bizarre event, watching both the Boys in Blue fight against the Arizona Diamondbacks below, and firefighters fight against the mountainous inferno up there.
The game itself produced three solo home runs, by new Dodger Ronald Bellisario Ronnie Belliard in the 2nd inning, and two back-to-back bombs by Manny and Matt Kemp, respectively, in the 6th. Ultimately, the Dodgers lost 3-5 in the 10th (James McDonald pitching in the 10th? Really now??).

But a the loss of a game is small potatoes compared to other kinds of loss, especially when the fires hit close to home for the Dodgers in a literal sense, at least for shortstop Rafael Furcal, who left the Colorado road trip early to evacuate his La Cañada-Flintridge home with his family from the Station Fire. He was given a break from starting the game today. Fortunately, Furcal's home, which the player described as a base's distance from the fire, was spared; the real local team heroes this week provided the relief and the save.