The devil at your back door

[DesertRat]

These were taken during the recent Jesusita fire in Santa Barbara.

 

[stlboarder]

Man... that reminds me of last years fires when I was stationed at Camp Pendleton.

 

[g-smoke]

As a California native (currently living on the east coast) this makes my heart sick. I hope all the folks living in fire areas stay safe.

 

[Rebel Herfer]

Fortunately, I can say I've lived through one of those firestorms. I don't live out there anymore and I don't miss Fire-Season. My thoughts & prayers are with those families.

 

[DesertRat]

Fortunately, I can say I've lived through one of those firestorms. I don't live out there anymore and I don't miss Fire-Season. My thoughts & prayers are with those families.

I worked as a volunteer on a fire line in the 70's when a fire threatened our neighborhood in the hills above Los Angeles. Nothing compares to seeing huge oak trees explode into flame instantaneously when the main fire is still some distance away. The sheer heat in front of those walls of fire is unbelievable and the speed a fire can travel is amazing.

It seems we no longer have a fire "season" here anymore. Pretty much all year is now fire season. I hope I'm wrong but I have a feeling this year is gonna be a bad one for fires. Three years of continued drought is not helping the situation.

 

[Petthefish]

wow I had friends that lived in the Oakland hills fires. They lost everything. Fires like this scared the crap out of me whne I lived in Forest Falls above Redlands. rp

 

[saltypete]

That's truly frightening. The bushfires we had here in Febuary were really destructive. They killed many people, but fortunately in Oz we have a small population and most people live in cities, not the bush. California on the other hand probably has tens or hundreds of thousands of people at risk of losing their property or even worse. My prayers and thoughts are with those who are threatened and the brave men and women who are fighting the fires.

Pete