Total acres burned in the wildfires this year has now topped 4,000,000, and the August Complex fire burning in the coast range west of Chico has topped 1,000,000 acres. The are still 23 significant fires burning statewide, several of them still less than half contained. The fire in Butte County has reached 86% containment though, and as no significant wind is expected soon, it could be going into mop-up mode in just a week or so. The air hasn't been too bad for the last few days, and I hope it stays that way.
High temperatures are expected to reach only into the seventies by Thursday, and a 40% chance of showers is still being predicted for Saturday. Highs in the seventies are normal here for this time of year, so this is a big surprise. 2020 must be losing its mojo. (I should probably not say that, as it is surely tempting fate.) The prospect of being even marginally less miserable for a few days has me almost giddy. Should it actually come to pass, I might even celebrate by cooking something in the actual oven. It's been quite a while since I've had anything freshly baked.
I did get to hear a mockingbird singing Monday morning before I went back to sleep, and surprisingly the bird turned up again near dusk after I woke up. It felt for a while almost as though the world were not insane. That bird is a magician.