So Ca Fires

[Dianna]

I hope everyone who lives out that way is okay. Erik, how are things over there?

[erik]

I don't live anywhere where the fires are, but they have been quite horrifying to watch on TV, not only because there are so many of them, but also because it is extremely early in the year for them to occur.

The biggest one is the so-called "Springs" fire, which erupted this past Thursday along the Ventura Freeway (US 101) near Camarillo Springs in Ventura County. The fire has burned, as I've seen many fires do, all the way to the Pacific, a twelve-mile run, and turned 29,000 acres of mountains and hillsides into what looks like a nuclear war zone. The problem is that, up until today, we have had extremely hot temperatures, near-zero humidity, and the infamous Santa Ana winds that have fueled these blazes. Smaller fires have also broken out in Glendale, Redlands (in San Bernardino County), Banning (in Riverside County), and Walnut (in eastern L.A. County), but they were contained under very difficult circumstances (one home was lost in the Banning fire). It has cooled down here today; and we may even see some actual rain early next week.

But I have the uneasy feeling that this will be an especially bad and active fire season, especially when we get the influx of hot, moist air from Mexico in August, which can create dry lightning.

And I can still remember the Station fire that we had in the late summer of 2009, which scorched an area the size of the city of Chicago, and which wasn't extinguished for two months.

[Dianna]

glad you're okay Erik.. yes, the fires are brutal out there and unfortunately because of drought, the fires are susceptible, even in off season. My family in OC in Corona are fine too. My brother works for LA County Fire so I was worried for him too. It's been very hot here too, which is very very unusual...

[erik]

The drought and the heat will pose problems for everyone living here in the West this year. I feel for the firefighters, local, state, or federal, because they will likely have a Herculean job on their hands if a huge wildfire breaks out anywhere.