The smoke from the LA and Ensenada fires has been thick in the air- becoming part of the heavy "marine layer" that's hangs over the coast in the morning. The LA fire smells like a nice wood fire- the Mexican fire smells like burning trash. Both have made for some pretty dramatic sunsets the past few days. Thuosands of firemen are fighting the CA wildfires- no one fights the rural fires in Mexico- they just let them burn out on their own.We don't get much "weather" here in Baja norte- so anything besides 70 degrees and sunny is a welcomed change. It rained a quarter inch all last year. Yup, ALL year. My rain guage is filled with dust. All that will change the next few days as Hurricane Jimena works its way up the baja peninsula from Los Cabos to here starting tonight.
We don't expect any more than 30 MPH winds and some light rain up here from Hurrican Jimena. Nothing we can't handle in stride. The rain is our biggest concern- more out of public health than safety. There are no storm drains here and all the storm run off goes right down the streets to the ocean- a whole years worth of road oil, dirt, trash and small dead animals.We live in the lowest area of Rosarito- so all the water comes here and then out to sea. The runoff water will pool on the beach and make for a caustic mix of chemicals for a few days until it all flushes out with the tides. Emilio and his Friends will need to stay out of the water for a few days- standard procedure after any rainfall in southern California too.
It will be much worse closer to Los Cabos and thousands of poor Mexicans will be homeless or worse. Mexico is still a third world country and no one dares leave any possessions behind because someone will likely steal them. There is an evacutation order for the 10,000 who live in the most flimsy of housing- but they are all staying put in their cardboard, plastic and blanket "houses" and just hope for the best. No one evacuates- it's a sign of weakness and they really don't have any place to go or the car or money to get there with anyways- the bravado is their cover. The foot plus of rain that is expected will literally wash them away- but at least they won't be crime victims. In 1973 hundreds of Mexicans were swept out to sea by hurricane Lisa and were eaten by sharks. Mainland Mexico has already sent 300 electricians over to baja to restore the power that will likely go out tonight.
