The ability to control fire is one of humankind's great achievements. Fire making to generate heat and light made it possible for our ancestors to ward off wild animals, to migrate to colder climates and also enabled them to cook their food, an important step in the fight against diseases. The discovery of how to make fire is considered one of our most important advances, yet sometimes it can also be our demise.
In October 2003 more than 250,000 people had to leave their homes in southern California. Twelve wildfires burned more than 100 000 acres from Santa Barbara to San Diego near the Mexican border. This was considered the State's worst wildfires, and they caused at least one death.
The day the fires started was the last day of the Chorus' retreat in Palm Springs and we could not make it back home as the freeways were closed. We spent the night at Randy's parents trying not to worry. When we finally were able to make it back to San Diego, fires were burning in several locations and as we drove south on highway 15 we could see the flames on the eastern side of the road. Fire came really close to Matthew's work but far enough to were we live.
It is amazing that almost to the day the same thing would happen again 4 years later. I was driving back home from the Palm Springs' Retreat with Alberto and Lyle. Our drive had been uneventful until we reached San Diego County. Lyle noticed in the distance what at first looked like the marine layer that comes in from the ocean. It looked a little odd though. Driving a little more, we then got a glimpse of a mountain top and we could see that what we thought was fog was actually a column of smoke rising to the sky. We turned the radio on and learned the awful news.
The past few days have been challenging for the population and the firefighters. Thousands of residents had to be evacuated and relocated, as the fires got closer to populated areas. Weather conditions, (high temperatures and strong winds) made it difficult to fight and control the fires as they spread faster and farther. Freeways were shut down causing havoc. The freeway that I take to go to work to Los Angeles (the highway 5) was closed for several hours last Wednesday as the fire in Camp Pendleton jumped all 8 lanes and started on the other side. The fire was somewhat contained and the road reopened but when I drove up on Friday morning, I could still see the flames within the perimeter of the military base.
As of now all the fires (about 20) have destroyed over 1,700 homes and burned almost 500,000 acres since erupting October 21. Some fires have been contained, some are still burning and are not expected to be out until November 4 or 5.
The latest sad news is that some of the fires are blamed on arsons. Even sadder is the death toll: 10. 4 people who died directly by the fire and 6 who died during or after the evacuation.
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