Flaming SoCal

Satellite view of Southern California. The red indicates wildfires and the smoke. Photo credit: NASA

370,000+ acres burned
Over 500,000 people evacuated from their homes
Relentless fire battles between man and nature

It sounds like a made-for-television movie, but it’s real life for an affected 1 million plus people living in the path of the current firestorm, raging in Southern California. This is day four for the Southern California fires, stretching between Los Angeles and southward beyond San Diego.

I talked to my brother on Monday night. He had a challenging week, seeing his beloved baseball team, the Cleveland Indians, first take the lead of the American League Champion Series, only to be defeated in the end, by the Boston Red Sox. He takes his baseball seriously. He was bummed out.

Then, Sunday evening, wildfires began to consume the drought-stricken Southern California landscape, with unprecedented damage on San Diego County. Fanning the flames is the unpredictability of the Santa Ana winds. When you bring these various elements of dry heat, dry land, and high winds together, they form a blazing cocktail, and you literally have a formula for disaster. There are comparisons to Hurricane Katrina, yet this has affected a larger, and more densely populated area.

My brother’s priorities shifted on Monday night.

My brother usually keeps some windows cracked open for some fresh air, especially when he sleeps. Monday morning, October 22, he woke up to find his kitchen counters dusted with a light coat of soot. He said the whole area smelled like a fireplace, and the smoke was getting worse. The metal tower that holds his satellite dish in place was created to withstand 50 mile an hour winds, and it toppled to the floor of his patio on Monday. He told me he had a bag packed of a few essentials, in case he was called to evacuate. Police and fire rescue were closing roads all around San Diego County, due to the fires, and travel was unpredictable and not suggested, unless evacuation was necessary. Many of the closest evacuation shelters were already full to capacity.

I didn’t talk with my brother yesterday, and I sent out an email to him early in the morning. He doesn’t have a cell phone, and vows he never will (he’s not a big talker anyway). He was evacuated on Tuesday, alerted by a telephone call via the reverse 911 system, but was able to return to his home Wednesday. I talked to him a little while ago, and he’s ready to go, in case he’s asked to leave again.

Unless you have been in a dire situation, I don’t think you can imagine bunking with 11,000 strangers in a shelter set up for a disaster. It sounds as though people’s basic needs are being met, in regards to food and shelter. Even though the unthinkable has happened, there was planning and it paid off.

Thousands of rescue and fire personnel have flooded the area, working in conditions that they have never experienced. They are the heroes of this tragedy, and many have worked over 24 hours, battling the flames, some without eating, most without sleeping.

It’s going to take a lot of money and effort to rebuild SoCal. Then there’s the impact on people’s health. Most businesses are closed, so people’s paychecks will be smaller. The estimated impact on the San Diego area is about 2 billion dollars. I'm guessing that's a low ballpark figure.

I believe in the power of prayer. I also believe in taking action. Please consider a donation to the San Diego/Imperial Counties Red Cross. Click Here to Donate.