I am experiencing hecka ptsd right now, because I grew up in the So Cal High Desert, a couple hours southeast of LA.
I really do feel their pain. It breaks my heart, with great sympathy for everyone.
I'm also super pissed at Gavin Newsom. I've been furious at him for years now, letting all that water run to the ocean, not filling the reservoirs, exacerbating any drought. It's BS. And now with the fire hydrants being dry in the cities. What a nightmare.
They used to do yearly clearing of brush and controlled burns, but now they don't do that so much. They use the environment as an excuse. But the truth is that it is bad for the environment, and it's a tinderbox just waiting for someone to discard a beer bottle, and have that act like a magnifying glass from the sun on dry brush.
I've been through multiple wildfires. Every few years as a kid, there'd be fire racing down the mountain. I've lost 2 homes. I am hypervigillant and humble to the power of wildfire. It is not something to dance with. Prevent as well as one can, and be prepared!
There are very few photos of me as a young person, because everything has burned.
It happens in an instant. Entire mountainsides, homes, everything, gone as soon as an ember drops. I still keep important files in a little folder, in a quick accessible spot so I can run out the door at a second's notice.
I can't believe they let it get this bad. And yes I totally blame California's leadership, and the Dept of Forestry.
