I’ve been more than remiss in communication.
As you may know I had round #2 with cancer–breast cancer—which I got out of with a lumpectomy and no complications, but — radiation, etc. and as many as 8 doctor visits a month….which kind of takes the starch out of you. Just not enough energy to get to things….
And ‘things’ have sadly included WWAS….FB’s been a little easier, because there I just react.
But WWAS has been, well, — I haven’t had the energy to spare. I was going great guns on the next book until the second cancer round, and I’m ABOUT getting enough energy to take it up again—but—
Anyway, still love you all. It’s just been weird. I’ve always had energy to spare, and it’s hard to pace myself when I don’t.
Not for want of caring.
Best to all of you. Profound apologies for those who’ve tried to get onto this page that I haven’t had the strength to go through (literally: I’m not kidding: 14,000 emails (most from Russia and Albania) to try to sort out legitimate new members. I hate loose bots! Anyway, I’m doing all right, trying to bounce back from the second bout and the radiation, just not as much spring in the bounce as I used to have; and hoping that I won’t have a third. Genetics says I have a proclivity to this kind of problem—but I think I’ve had my statistical share now, if you please!
Love you all.
—CJ
via PNH on Bluesky:
Elizabeth Lynn
@aikilizzy.bsky.social
· 2h
I am concerned about C.J. Cherryh, who lives in Spokane WA. I am no longer on Facebook and do not have her personal contact information. Can anyone confirm that she and her partner are safe from the Old Trails Fire?
From the fire map on https://www.google.com/maps/@47.688623,-117.4477492,8099m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m2!21m1!1s%2Fg%2F11ntmy09m_!5m1!1e8?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDcyOS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D they are not inside the immediate fire area. But lots of smoke in the air.
My only source of information is that map, as I’m located in Germany.
As of last evenign:
Cat Kimbriel
@catkimbriel.bsky.social
#Spokane Report for #SFFH– As of four hours ago, CJ Cherryh & Jane Fancher were doing fine. From Pat Briggs 4:18AM her time–
“I called them this evening and they were good. Evacuations were about 10 blocks away but the wind favored them. Power was back on.” 1/
5:19 AM · Aug 2, 2026
“They have their cars packed and if they need a place to go they can come to my house–I am 2 and a half hours away. Their Internet is down or they would post this themselves.” 2/x
Thanks for diligently checking/updating. I’ve been refreshing this page several times since yesterday hoping for good news. I’m hoping the weather and wind become more favorable for all the people fighting the fires there so this can come to an end.
From CJ on Facebook around noon on Sunday, August 2nd re, the fires sweeping Spokane:
“We are ok and still at home. The nearest evacuation-must-go zone is 10 blocks north and about as much on 2 other sides. Our street was an evacuation route and a steady stream of traffic. Our cars are still packed and kitty-cages are piled in the sunroom, but the 50 mph winds have died down and the air is clear where we are. The active fire seems to be west of us. We are going to lose a lot of beautiful woods and even more unhappily, many, many homes, plus some parks and golf courses….the business sector is intact, and the historic north hill houses are intact. Nature when she renews can be a pita, but we are alertly-ok and in our house, which I hope will become possible for many of those that have taken refuge in the public shelter—but many, many families have lost homes with precious little time to do more than run for it; a 50 mph gale driving a fire like that leaves no time even for packing in many instances.
Please share this letter freely; our means of communication are somewhat limited by the situation, and we gratefully acknowledge the many inquiries and wishes for our safety. We are as of this morning safe and the situation seems to be coming under control, with thanks to the organizations and individuals who are still working on this situation, and the firefighters, police and National Guard who have worked through the night to see others safe.”
And more positive news from CJ on FaceBook from noon today (Monday, August 3rd_:
“I think we are close to being able to unpack the cars and put things-disarranged back where they ordinarily belong. It’s curious when you stand in your house and have to answer that ageold question—‘what would I save and what can I leave?’—in real life. It’s not the dollar-value. It’s immediate-practicality, portability, and sentimentality. And results in some real strange choices to an outside viewer.”
… And from an hour before the above Facebook post, I just spotted another CJ One:
“Light haze here, only looks smoky-hazy at the end of the block. I don’t smell the smoke at this density, but we’re still a square bloc of 10 streets surrounded on 3 sides by must-leave evacuation orders. Our favorite pub is in the evacuation zone, but not in danger, and we’re just staying put and not putting any additional weight on facilities or movement corridors. We’re fine, just in the haze-zone, and in no danger of the fires at all. There are 3 fire zones, on all but one sides of us: we’re sandwiched in, with some active fire still left near the origins of one, but far from us, and under fire department control. The whole event moved so fast people in the path of it had no time to waste getting out. 65,000 people had to evacuate: our total population is about half a million—and as far as we know, no major injuries, none dead: people up here understand wildfire and don’t temporize with it, and take care of their neighbors. The state moved, the feds moved, assets moved, and agencies are in the area, on the job. We don’t know when the last of the fire may be put out and when the evacuation orders will lift—right now the main emphasis of the evacuation is staying out of the way of crews dealing with this: no lookie-lou’s, no intrusion into those areas where crews are working. We have the news cameras, we have periodic updates, and people who desperately want to know the condition of their homes just have to look at the exclusion zones and trust those same emergency crews to do what they need to do to settle any active pockets of fire and protect property from further damage.”
Holy frijoles! I had no idea there was a fire bearing down on CJ and Jane! Good to hear that the are apparently safe and well, although some of their neighbors aren’t so lucky. 🙁
My mom is in town, and we’ve had a couple of minor scares from hurricanes (Fausto in particular; for several days it looked to be coming straight at us), but we are currently in the clear. We are approaching the third anniversary of the fires that burned Lahaina, so all sympathy here! Thank you for continuing to update here on the Facebook posts many of us can’t see.
And… CJ on Facebook around 4:00pm today (Tuesday, 8/4/26):
“We are, well, not clear, but the haze is lighter, and our area, the Old Trails fire, is now controlled enough to take surrounding blocks from level 3 (evacuate) to level 2 (be alert for level 3 orders: pack). We are fine. The city is not. Over 600 structures (read, prominent in the list of 600, HOMES and BUSINESSES) have burned to the ground, thanks to one bastard’s deliberate act. It was arson.
My annual checkup was today. I sat in the waiting area at the hospital listening to two families from the worst-hit area compare notes—they gathered their pets and ran, and have nothing left but the critters that rely on them… and their humanity.”
I’ll keep on checking her Facebook.
I hope they catch the so-and-so, and throw the book at them!
They arrested him, and he’s told them he’d planned it for weeks, including waiting for a “good” day (hot, dry, windy) to do it.
How awful! I can’t imagine that sort of anti-social and anti-environmental thinking… and to have planned it out!
They should reinvent the concept of an ‘oubliette’ for horrible comic book level villains like this.
And what hopefully is the end of the fire threat in Spokane, if not the smoke threat—this comment from CJ around noon today (Wednesday the 5th): “The air is clearing, finally. Smoke has given both Jane and me a nagging cough—not often, unless we’re trying to eat. I have an ionizer running. But you can see less haze on distant prospects.
We’re just staying tucked down to relieve the pressure on streets and facilities: WE have a kitchen and ample food in storage, where some don’t have that luxury and won’t for a while. The manager of our favorite pub lost his whole house.
Had my regular checkup with the doc—all good news. I’m doing fine, bloodwork and all. I’ve dieted off weight: she approves.
We’re still cleaning up from the sort we did when we hauled out emergency stuff—reorganization is in order.
Outside is still not pleasant, but getting there. The heavy smoke has blocked sunlight, so at least we do get cooler temperatures —at least that has been a relief. Otherwise we’d be in the mid-90’s. ”
That last bit echoes what we experienced a few weeks ago in the big, July heat wave: the Canadian wild fire smoke was so heavy over Boston and New England that the sky was pea-soup green-brown (ok, lentil soup) throughout one day (really eerie) but the the temperature was perhaps 10 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than the mid-90s predicted. The smoke wasn’t nice but we too were grateful for the temp reprieve.
Friday here on the rainy side. Through midweek we were living under a gray sky, wan, orange (Class K) sun. The air was unhealthy, but smelled sweet of the sugars that make cellulose.
But this morning zonal flow began pushing things east, the sky was blue, white light, but it’s still hot, 94F at 1630. We expect moderation tomorrow. Now these conditions will make it over to the dry side pushing fire east, but the flip side is people on the western edges will find fire growth their way impeded. It is expected to last for a few days, and when the offshore winds return they will push the fire into already burnedover areas.
A further update from CJ (on FaceBook) posted mid afternoon today (Sat, 8/8):
“Update on us: we’re ok. We’re midway in a 10 block square that might have come under evacuation order, but didn’t, for which we are grateful—with full sympathy to those who are still under those orders…
Things are getting better re the fires: the smoke is still very bad, and worse toxic from the plastics and insulation that have also been cinderized. I went out to the store on a brief six-block errand and though I have an N95 mask I keep (since Covid) in my purse, I became achy and too disoriented while there to think of it. I got back to my air-filtered car and home again, cursing my stupidity—and THEN we got the word about toxic elements in the smoke….but I’m fine. The effects left once in proper air, in the house. I won’t let the cats go out in the garden now—to their frustration.
We were warned of another windstorm, but it hasn’t really materialized: this is helpful. The firefighting crews have gained back control—-they’ve got most of it 40% contained, meaning the fire has no new fuel on 40% of its border, and is consequently dying in 40% of the direction terrain and the wind want to move it, as I understand ‘contained’ to mean. This is where the smarts of the fire crews exceed anything undirected citizens could bring to bear: they direct their efforts to ‘contain’ the fire, which consequently starves out.
Today the air is clearer—I judge by how hazy a distant neighbor’s evergreens appear—“
I track my local conditions online with a neighbors “WeatherUndergtound” station ~150 yards away. But it’s possible to widen and move the window. So not to be a stalker, but because there is some concern here, this afternoon it occurred to me to do so and check the winds, I believe, somewhat near her house. I chose this site: https://www.wunderground.com/dashboard/pws/KWASPOKA837
There are many others in her neighborhood.
Now, actual location of the sensor, buildings, trees, windbreaks of any type, will affect any particular site. Check several and average them.
That weather, even with smoke, looks wonderful.
(We’ve had three straight days of 100-104. Cool isn’t happening. Maybe *this* week…)