Laura_Evans's Blog

Watching these fires plaguing Southern California brings back many memories for me.  I grew up in the Golden state where wildfires are a fact of life.  Then... for more than 5 years as a news reporter,  I covered wildfires in the Southland...  from Santa Barbara to Ventura and Los Angeles County.   I've been up close to the flames,  reporting with a bandana covering my nose and mouth, watching people lose their homes... but never have I seen anything like this--  such a large area affected all at one time.  

It's purely exhausting, backbreaking work for the firecrews ... and it's heartbreaking chaos for the victims.  One of the most difficult tasks for firefighters is the evacuation process-- getting people out of harm's way.  Those crews are often put in danger themselves when homeowners refuse to pack up and go..  it happens more often than you might think.  Homeowners pull out the garden hose in a futile effort to save everything they own ... a battle they're almost guaranteed to lose.  When you're dealing with the erratic Santa Ana winds, no one has any idea which way they're going to blow next.. no idea which direction fierce flames will go next. 

A photographer of mine learned that the hard way in a recent fire in Malibu.  He drove his live van up a canyon in Malibu to get closer to the flames.  He had the permission of firefighters to be where he was, but then the Santa Anas did their thing and blew the flames right on top of his truck.  He was forced to abandon the truck and run for his life.

As of  Wednesday night, 1/2 million acres are charred, a million people evacuated. and about 1500 homes scorched.   It's devestating watching the flames lapping at and ultimately devouring these homes in California's hillsides.  This emergency isn't close to over.  For now..firefighters and victims are at the mercy of mother nature.