the fire of all fires

THE FIRE OF ALL FIRES

npr
this photo from npr shows the active fire in the los angeles fires we all have been reading about

i was thinking about fires i have been around like this
growing up in rural arkansas
i dont remember fires

later when we moved to the country n in central texas our main exposure was during a severe drought about 10 years ago 
during a high wind event the fires started popping up 
the worse was the bastrop fire southeast of austin that seemed to burn forever

during that time i remember one weekend when a fire started near the military base bout 40 miles away
the smoke plume looked like it was like a mile away

i felt like we needed to evacuate but we didnt ever have to

reading the history of several small towns near where the country n was mentioned that most of them that disappeared were because of fires that destroyed the towns
they never were rebuilt
one a mile away burned to the ground and never was rebuilt
the only thing left now is an old church

once a neighbor was bushhogging his pasture when a spark ignited a fire
it was windy and the fire grew rapidly
lucky the volunteer fire department got there in time to shut it down
a day or two later it reignited when another wind event happened

when you read old history fire would go across the plains and countryside
it was part of natures work it did
for good some say
that was before we took over the lands
now it burns us our houses our pastures our animals or towns or schools

not long after we moved here to santa barbara the thomas fire hit southern california
it burned for weeks it seemed
at that time it was the largest fire ever out here

note in most of these fires most of the land burned is federal land
usually

i remember the day we had to evacuate santa barbara because of the fires

i went to the garden that sunday morning early not long after the sun started to rise
in the parking lot 
our community garden sits at the back of a large church parking lot
in that lot were lots of fire trucks parked overnight 
strategically placed

it was clear the sky was that morning blue with the sun just peaking over the trees just as i arrived
i did my garden thing
as i was finishing up my morning garden routine i looked up in the distance back towards where the thomas fire was burning miles away
well it looked like an atomic bomb had gone off 
there was this plume of smoke up into the air
as i got to my car the wind had started to blow
the firemen were all standing outside some on their phones looking at that plume of smoke

i headed home which is 2 miles away
those winds like they are having in los angeles started up
stuff was blowing parallel to the ground as i drove
it started to get darker and darker even though the sun was just arising up in the sky
it reminded me of texas when the sky would be clear and blue and sunny and all of a sudden the wind would blow and the sky would get dark with thunderstorms

when i arrived to our condo
i knew 
i told my wife she
grab our stuff we need to go
so 
its interesting what you grab
we didnt prepack since we hadnt felt threatened until that moment
off to los angeles we went for several day until that edge of the fire was under control

thats the only exposures i have had to fires
those folks in the los angeles fires especially the palisades and malibu they had less time
the wind and smoke and fires was probably 10 times what we experienced here a few years ago

when they tried to escape they had nowhere to go
its amazing more werent killed

how terrifying that must have been

we left and came back to our condo all intact with with the fire getting only about 20 miles away

when i use to go to ucla to get my monthly infusions we would sometimes leave ucla then to santa monica then to malibu then all the way up the pacific highway back to the 101 in ventura

what a beautiful drive through malibu all along the coast

It was a relaxing beautiful almost zen like trip
ok i commonly would fall asleep eventually since it relaxed me so 

the beach houses went for miles 

now its all gone
the landscape towards the mountains is all burned like a bomb went off
the beautiful old camping park along the pacific highway where we stayed a couple of days
an iconic one
it completely burned a couple of years ago
last year another section on the edge of the palisades burned
a warning not headed by those who live there and those who protected that area

last winter we got a lot of rain like 40 inches
it made things grow like crazy around here
brush trees grasses
our last rain that was measurable was last april

folks
its dry as a bone here
this whole area is a powder keg just waiting to be lit
well
it got lit last week
and
lead to the worst and most expensive fire ever here in calfornia
its not over yet

as i sit here this morning in santa barbara
i can hear the wind blowing
the trees rubbing buildings
its dry as a bone here
it ripe
it just takes a crazy person a cigarette a lawnmower hitting a rock an electric line sparking in the trees
boom
it could happen here
easily

lucky for us the worse winds are between here and los angeles
unlucky for those folks 

then finally
can we leave politics out of this
it doesnt matter who is or was in control 
this fire would have happened and would have been bad like it is

the government the state local and the federal ones need to step up and do whats right
quit pointing fingers
maybe all of them on both sides need to turn the fingers back on themselves
and 
say 
we all are to blame
just fix it repair it 
do whats right

so
fingers crossed here
it dont happen here

as i look at the terrain here and all the trees and houses and grasses i am surprised it hasnt happened here where we live

we need rain
lots of rain

there is none in our future 

our hearts go out to all of those affected by the fires in the los angeles area

the organicgreen doctor