A Rude Awakening

 I was about to leave the house for my morning appointment at the coffee shop when the power went off.  It didn't make sense because there was no storm.  I figured that maybe someone slid into a power pole on our icy roads.  But, as I coasted down Coburn toward downtown I was startled to find many blinking lights of fire trucks, ambulances, and PG&E trucks, yellow hoses all over the street, and orange cones blocking several side streets.  The Pizza Factory was in flames!  I managed to get around all this activity and check into the coffee shop to catch up on the news.  Phone calls kept coming in reporting on how far the fire had spread.  I'm afraid the rumors spread faster and further than the flames, which is good.  The top photo was taken this morning, the day after, from the Courthouse lawn facing East toward what was the Pizza Factory.

 The second photo was taken from Main Street in front of Pangaea looking Southwest toward the Courthouse.  The Clinch Building, still pretty much intact, is peeking in from the left.  Then, the destroyed buildings/businesses, from left to right, are the new location of Cornerstone (formerly Great Northern Hair Company), the new "vapors" shop (in the former Chamber of Commerce space), Quincy Thrift Shop, and the Pizza Factory, the latter two sharing a roof.  Four businesses, three under new ownership, devastated.  A significant part of the "character" of downtown Quincy seriously disrupted, if not destroyed. 

This view of the Clinch Building, looking Southeast, shows that the fire came right up to it.  The story in the street is that there was significant smoke and water damage to the several businesses contained therein including Jeannie's bakery, the Drunk Brush, and Main Street Artists.
Let's hope that with community support all these businesses will recover as soon as possible and that any new construction that takes place will retain the character of historic Quincy. 
As I reflected on this fire and the proximity of my home to the edge of the forest, I was reminded that a recent article in the S. F. Chronicle said that despite our months of worry, the summer of 2013 was a lighter than usual fire season.  I'm counting my blessings.