EMERGENCY!! A Note from the Fire Frontline October 23, 2007

Let’s face it, no matter where you live fire is a scary thing. But about every four years or so here in sunny Southern California we get these massive Armageddon-like super fires. Drought induced dry brush combines with fierce, strong winds to create fire mania. I have seen it happen many times here since my youth, but the fact that this is just nature being nature is rarely any consolation. Once again the sky is an eerie ashy orange, the air smells of constant burning, and there is an odd and lingering feeling of impending doom. Of course part of this is just human nature. Afterall, it is the fall–a time of burning away the old to make way for the new, and for whatever reason we are wholly resistant to change. In a sense, the irony of Malibu (the land of movie stars and moguls) up in flames has a certain satisfaction to it. But let’s face it, no matter where you live fire is no fun. I just want to go back to my ordinary life and not hear endless laments of the horrors this fire is reeking on everyone. I want to stop worrying about the proverbial roll of the dice and where that fire is going to hit next. Is an ember going to land on my house? If I have to evacuate during work, how do I get my son from day care? At this point, these possibilities are remote. While the fires surround us, they do not seem to be heading into our neck of the woods. But what about next time? And next time? Oh the joys of living! Uncertainty and calamity, mixed with worry and anxiety. The joys of modern life…

—David F.