Surrounded by Black, Barren Land

Posted on October 24, 2007 in Photos Santiago Fire

Brian Kane gave me a link and said that I am writing “from the center of the Inferno.” That’s not a bad description. The fire has burned two thirds to three quarters of the way around Portola Hills. Right now, I can see four plumes of smoke: three appear to be in Modjeska/Santiago Canyon and the fourth is clearly burning north of Live Oak Canyon. I might create a topo map later so you can get a rough idea of what has been happening. But for now, more photographs.

The focus of the neighborhood parties has shifted from the overlooks back to Concourse Park where fire crews are servicing a helicopter doing water drops:

UPDATE: An LA Times report on the backfires in Live Oak Canyon.

UPDATE: Feinstein suggests we stop building in fire areas, that we use zoning laws to keep people out. She’s got a point. A large chunk of the homes lost in the San Diego fire were in areas burned out by the 2003 fire. You can talk all you want about planes and fancy stuff, but what are we doing letting people eat up the public dollar by putting themselves at risk, repeatedly?

UPDATE: There’s the strange, beige light all around (see first photograph) that signals smoke in the sky. It’s a good sign because clear skies on the day of a fire mean that the winds are kicking up.