California's on fire
The Southland is burning.
The first big fire started in Malibu this morning. The strong Santa Ana winds blowing from the deserts have brought dry air and low humidity. Add sparks from downed power lines and thousands of acres of arid brush and you have a massive firestorm.
Later, fires started in Agua Dulce (I have no clue where that’s at) and Castiac and soon began to burn out of control. Until this evening, everything had been limited to Los Angeles County, but, as I began my run tonight, I noticed towers of gray smoke coming from Saddleback Mountain. Another firestorm had begun in Santiago Canyon on the eastern edge of Orange County. And to the south, fires are raging and San Diego County.
Currently, there are 12 major fires burning in the area. Well over 30,000 acres have burned, and today is only the beginning of a week of Santa Ana conditions.
Fires are a big deal in the west, especially in California. All day the local network affiliates have been broadcasting live coverage. I woke up this morning and turned on the TV expecting NFL pregame shows, and instead saw images of burning buildings and mountains. The foothills of the Southland are peppered with homes and small communities (mostly very affluent), and thousands of people live in housing tracts built at the edges of canyons and steep hills. A drought has dehydrated the entire region, leaving the grassland and brush of open areas to dry into explosive kindling. All it takes is a spark for entire neighborhoods to burn.
According to KCAL, another fire has started in Ontario.
Even though I’m relatively safe in Huntington Beach, the situation is a little scary. The entire sky is filled with smoke, and the wind hasn’t stopped all day. It reminds me of the relentless winds that blow across empty farmland during bitter cold spells in Iowa. I can hear it sucking the air from the fan shaft in the bathroom. I’ve been trying to get online, to check my email, but I’m having no luck. I’m assuming it’s because the fiber optic lines are jammed with calls and other searches. I guess that’s to be expected when a megalopolis is threatened by nature.
The images on TV have been bizarre and gripping, especially for a Midwesterner like me, who is used to seeing footage of mangled trees and houses from tornados and severe storms. This morning I was glued to the boob tube, transfixed by the scenes of Malibu. The wind scatted burning embers and spot fires began to burn all over the area. Footage has shown small flames grow to raging infernos within seconds, helicopters dipping low to suck water from ponds, herds of horses running wild down trails away from the burning brush, fire planes flying so low they just nip the tops of evergreen trees to pinpoint their drops. Now, since it’s well into the night, live coverage shows long lines of orange along the hillsides and pockets of flames towering into the sky.
It feels and looks like the entire area is on fire. I keep waiting for the wind to die down, for the storm system to pass, but it will be persistent until at least Wednesday. I have never been a part of something so crazy and huge. The tornado in Iowa City was nerve racking (I will never forget that sound and watching pieces of insulation fall from the sky), but this is like nature gone mad, and nobody can do anything about it. That’s a crippling emotion — to be completely out of control. As I watch houses burn, listen to the reporters and anchors advise people to heed calls for volunteer evacuations, I wonder what would happen if the situation worsened to the point where my neighborhood was in danger.
The first big fire started in Malibu this morning. The strong Santa Ana winds blowing from the deserts have brought dry air and low humidity. Add sparks from downed power lines and thousands of acres of arid brush and you have a massive firestorm.
Later, fires started in Agua Dulce (I have no clue where that’s at) and Castiac and soon began to burn out of control. Until this evening, everything had been limited to Los Angeles County, but, as I began my run tonight, I noticed towers of gray smoke coming from Saddleback Mountain. Another firestorm had begun in Santiago Canyon on the eastern edge of Orange County. And to the south, fires are raging and San Diego County.
Currently, there are 12 major fires burning in the area. Well over 30,000 acres have burned, and today is only the beginning of a week of Santa Ana conditions.
Fires are a big deal in the west, especially in California. All day the local network affiliates have been broadcasting live coverage. I woke up this morning and turned on the TV expecting NFL pregame shows, and instead saw images of burning buildings and mountains. The foothills of the Southland are peppered with homes and small communities (mostly very affluent), and thousands of people live in housing tracts built at the edges of canyons and steep hills. A drought has dehydrated the entire region, leaving the grassland and brush of open areas to dry into explosive kindling. All it takes is a spark for entire neighborhoods to burn.
According to KCAL, another fire has started in Ontario.
Even though I’m relatively safe in Huntington Beach, the situation is a little scary. The entire sky is filled with smoke, and the wind hasn’t stopped all day. It reminds me of the relentless winds that blow across empty farmland during bitter cold spells in Iowa. I can hear it sucking the air from the fan shaft in the bathroom. I’ve been trying to get online, to check my email, but I’m having no luck. I’m assuming it’s because the fiber optic lines are jammed with calls and other searches. I guess that’s to be expected when a megalopolis is threatened by nature.
The images on TV have been bizarre and gripping, especially for a Midwesterner like me, who is used to seeing footage of mangled trees and houses from tornados and severe storms. This morning I was glued to the boob tube, transfixed by the scenes of Malibu. The wind scatted burning embers and spot fires began to burn all over the area. Footage has shown small flames grow to raging infernos within seconds, helicopters dipping low to suck water from ponds, herds of horses running wild down trails away from the burning brush, fire planes flying so low they just nip the tops of evergreen trees to pinpoint their drops. Now, since it’s well into the night, live coverage shows long lines of orange along the hillsides and pockets of flames towering into the sky.
It feels and looks like the entire area is on fire. I keep waiting for the wind to die down, for the storm system to pass, but it will be persistent until at least Wednesday. I have never been a part of something so crazy and huge. The tornado in Iowa City was nerve racking (I will never forget that sound and watching pieces of insulation fall from the sky), but this is like nature gone mad, and nobody can do anything about it. That’s a crippling emotion — to be completely out of control. As I watch houses burn, listen to the reporters and anchors advise people to heed calls for volunteer evacuations, I wonder what would happen if the situation worsened to the point where my neighborhood was in danger.
Comments
Post a Comment