Brought Together By Fire; Local Shooting; and Getting Wild In Vegas

Lots of tales to tell in Lamorinda this week and we got to most of them, though our keyboard was smoking by the end of the day. , a and brought two people together in an unsual way, and the colorful team of colorists and makeup artists at Clark Russell Salon in Lafayette are preparing to battle it out with 22 other top salons at the Battle of the Strands competition in Las Vegas.

And, yes, the local political scene is heating up as an array of candidates attempt to reach the public with their messages and hopes for Lamorinda in the years ahead. Look for the designator and profiles of the candidates on our home page now and in the days to come.

Also, Orinda mom and owner of upmarket kids clothiers Good Boy Friday Kellee Bachour was hunting for an appropriately sun-drenched place to photograph her upcoming line recently. She ranged as far afield as Napa looking for just the right spot but nothing was working for her until she spotted a just-right Lafayette farmhouse owned by Tom and Karen Mulvaney.

Kellee said it couldn't hurt to ask and, as it turned out, the Mulvaney's were willing and their house ended up serving as the backdrop for GBF's new line. Hen House proprietor and style guru Elizabeth Kirkpatrick filled the shoot with vintage accessories and the kid models cavorted and had a ball.

Things weren't quite so rosy at a home on Moraga Road Wednesday when a gentleman living at the residence inadvertently touched off an oxygen tank fire at the home, seriously burning himself in the process. A former Bentley School student, 22-year-old , was nearby, saw the smoke and raced to help, carrying the injured man to safety and delivering him to arriving firefighters.

The injured man asked Sarah her name and the two shared a brief moment amidst the calamity. "I'm a Falconer, too," the man said as sirens wailed and the cavalry came running up the driveway.

"Your name is Falconer?" Sarah asked.

"No, I train falcons. I'm a falconer..."

Just one of those things. They happen.