SoCal Burns

The Santa Ana winds finally have subsided, but not before making 1000s homeless and
making a record 1 million people flee their homes. In a region where the 3 of the top 5
millionaire counties in the country lie, the fire has already wrecked damage tothe tune of $1 bn. The 15 simultaneous fires in southern california have collectively been dubbed as the worst fire in the history of California causing an evacuation of epic proportions. There is no official count of the death toll, but some sources confirm that atleast 7 people have died, and more than 100 injured.

It is a really shuddering thought to think about people returning home to burnt embers and ashes. Years of good memories were washed away for many, in minutes, by the engulfing
flames. Some had time to salvage their precious items, whereas others probably lost years
worth of hard-work and sweat in seconds. Insurance might buy back some warmth, but for most the sorrow is insurmountable and I can only hope that time will be the best healer.

As evacuees poured in, Qualcomm stadium in San Diego, became a refuge for all the homeless. But before one could start drawing an eerie analogy with New Orleans stadium post-katrina, the donations and volunteers poured in and transformed it into something much more amenable. Infact, if you read this report, you would believe a carnival was happening in San Diego. Natural disasters often bring out the generosity and compassion in humankind, and this incident was no different.

Growing up in India, I had never heard about this form of nature's wrath. When I moved to
US, I ended up spending time in the east coast where the trees either stayed green or were
covered with snow. Under these circumstances fire was never a possibility. Only on moving
west of the Rockies, I saw a terrain ripe for the fires - extreme dryness, high winds through canyons and passes, and dry extensive grasslands. I did not realise how dry it can get in Southern California, till I started using moisturizer in peak summer, and I have definitely seen single digit relative humidity percentage in winter.

However, I always failed to understand how fires could be started spontaneously. I always
thought that fires were started due to live cigarrete stubs or careless embers flying into dry wilderness. But after a few searches on google, I finally convinced myself to the fact that nature can start a fire by itself without any human assisstance. Often times high wind gusts through narrow passages pack enough heat and when the conditions are extremely dry, they can ignite a brush and start a huge fire. This same sequence of event was responisble for starting atleast 12 out of the 15 simultaneous fires in Cal.

Traditionally, Southern California has always faced the threat of wildfires. Just like the Midwest suffers from tornadoes and snowstorms or the gulf coast suffers from different categories of hurricanes, this part of the country faces the fiery threat of the nature. But the effects of this threat has been amplified off late, courtesy the high costs of homes driving people further into the desert lands and mountain tops. But technology and money can only buy so much...in the end man has to always play second fiddle to Mother Nature.