Fire diary....

Like tens (hundreds?) of thousands of Californians, I'm avoiding smoke and ash today by staying indoors. Work has been cancelled. It's dark outside, even though it's 10:40 in the morning. The light that makes it through the smoke is a sickening shade of yellow, casting a pallor on buildings, vehicles, and people. It’s hot, the air heavy and hard to breathe. Park a car or leave a bike or anything outdoors for a few minutes and it will be covered in a layer of burnt ash. The swimming pool in my apartment complex is black with soot and sunken ash.

So far, I’m in no immediate danger. The nearest fire is at least 15 minutes away by freeway—about 15 miles. That’s closer than I like, considering the fire covered twice that distance yesterday. But rather than the dry brush lands it mostly consumed in that period, dense city development lies between me and it. Maybe I’m naïve, but I don’t feel threatened.

I can't help but marvel that this immense destruction has been set in motion by a suspected 3 individuals. One, a lost hunter, started a signal fire that accidentally burst out of control into the so-called Cedar Fire, which has destroyed 260 homes, burned 115,000 acres and so far killed nine people. Two men, presumed arsonists, were seen fleeing from the scene of the so-called Center Valley Fire, which has burned 15,000 acres, destroyed 57 homes and killed two. The cause of the third local fire, the Mine Fire, which has burned 15,000 acres, destroyed no structures and killed no one so far, is undetermined.

It shows how vulnerable our society is. Three people, with matches, have shut down an entire county. And it's not over yet. Fire officials are worried the three fires might merge into one. (If that happens, I’ll most likely be evacuated.) The soonest they're predicting containment is Thursday. And that’s if the Santa Ana Winds, quiet this morning, do not strengthen.

I’ve always maintained that humans are vulnerable enough to nature’s forces—earthquakes, tsunamis, wildfires, hurricanes, tornadoes—that we should draw together and reinforce one another’s communities with kindness and generosity, rather than invading, bombing and deliberately destroying. This is certainly a case in point.