[nostatic]

Since everyone in the house fell asleep by 10pm, I went out for a drive on Mulholland up above the San Fernando valley. A little ways west of the 405 there is a dirt road that leads up to one of the peaks...I drove a bit up that and parked to get out and take in the view.

It is normally pretty impressive or depressing at night from this vantage point, depending on how your feel about city lights (there are a lot of them). The Santa Ana winds were whipping up dirt, swirling and snarling, blowing fairly warm out of the NE (at 11pm).

Glance east, and there is the Santa Clarita fire line...the entire ride one long thin line of orange flame. Turn west, and you notice a glow out towards the hills, behind which lie Simi Valley and a some other communities. But tonight the glow is not from the city lights, but from another advancing fire...orange and omnious.

I'm reminded of living in Pasadena when there were major fires (I think it was '93 or thereabouts). I remember waking early to go into the lab to prep a sample, and even though the sun was up, it was dark, the sky was brown, and ashes choked the air. At night you could look up to the foothills and see multiple fire lines working their way up and down the hills. Awe inspiring, and terrifying for those within harms way. With the winds, that can be on the order of miles, as during those fires there were houses that caught on fire that were not near the actual blaze...blowing embers ignited roofs.

It was also interesting to see the footage of destroyed homes and have my 6 year old comment that it must be sad to lose your house, and if there were kids that lived there, they wouldn't have any toys left.

Empathy...part of the hope for the next generation.