Too Close for Comfort

What a day! Little Apex made national news, but not in the way it wanted to. (See the CNN article.)

Late last night, a chemical plant caught fire and exploded in downtown Apex. 17,000 people were evacuated from their homes. We were one of the lucky ones. Our house was a mile away from the border of the evacuation zone. In fact, the first we heard about the situation was when my Dad called us at 6:30am. Otherwise, we were completely oblivious.

After hearing the stories from my co-workers, sleeping through it was probably a good thing. People reported seeing the explosions and watching the news all night to see if they would be evacuated.

I think the emergency management teams in Wake County did a decent job of responding. (Apparently emergency personnel went door-to-door in the impacted areas and placed reverse 911 calls -- which I didn't even know existed today). But I still wonder what would happen if there was a situation where more people had to be evacuated. Hopefully, the response teams will learn something from this experience and put it to good use.

The best thing about today was all the phone calls and e-mails we received from friends and family around the country. We were so touched! It is wonderful to know so many caring people. We feel so fortunate to know all of you. :-)