Ring of Fire

Welcome to autumn in Southern California. On Sunday, we were planning to go to the golf course we like to hit some golfballs at the driving range. When Hubby went out to get the newspaper early in the morning, he turned to the east to see a huge plume of smoke in the hills right near the golf course. That was the end of our practice plans.

Then yesterday I took Mom to the YMCA Arthritis Aquatics class we go to once a week. While in the pool, we all turned to the plate-glass windows to see big plumes of black smoke floating westward. Soon people were coming in to the pool area letting us know there was a second fire in the hills just north of the "Y." Since most of the members live in the area affected by this new fire, there was a fast exit from the pool.

Thankfully, we live in the flats a fair distance from any of the current fires. Still, it's unnerving to see friends frantically getting dressed in the locker room in hopes of finding their homes still standing when they get there.

Our notorious Santa Ana winds, with their accompanying high temperatures and low humidity, kick up each year at this time and wreck havoc on our lives. Three years ago, a fire which started fairly close to the current one marched many, many miles to the southwest and was stopped only blocks from my sister's home. I still remember hurriedly driving over there just in case they had to pack up and evacuate. Her house and the neighborhood were spared thanks to the heroic efforts of firefighters from across Southern California.

What really scares us is this is only the very beginning of "red flag season." We still have many more months of high winds and low humidity to deal with. Hopefully these events are not the beginning of a very long and active season.