Los Angeles is Burning

Yes, my friends, it's that time again when Los Angeles burns. Technically, none of the fires are within the city limits. But, there are several in the burbs to the north and in Malibu. San Diego is joining in the fun as well. The HB and I were camping west of Malibu (yes, I know that sounds weird directionally, but the coastline runs east-west there), but left before the fires started. The fires won't make it my house. If they did, it would make the great Chicago and San Francisco fires look like weenie roasts.

While LA itself is not hilly (with the exception of the Hollywood Hills and some ocean bluffs), there is a ring of mountains around it. This gives us spectacular views, some very cool places to live and traps the smog. LA is not a desert, but it is arid. So, a lot of brush grows in these hills/mountains and when there's a drought and the dry winds blow off of the desert instead of the ocean, the hills burn. Some of the areas in Malibu which are burning now have burned before and will burn again. However, unlike places in the midwest that flood a lot, people here have insurance to rebuild, instead of soaking other taxpayers for it.

I'm afraid that these fires are going to last a while. It's been too dry for too long and with so many to fight the resources (people, ground equipment and water dropping aircraft) are stretched very thin.