Most of us here have no use for California political ideas. But we are heartbroken to see this devastation. We are more than happy to argue ideas, but nobody wants to see real people suffer such a tragedy.
There are conservatives in that area too they just can’t beat down the idiot progressive voices. They moved up to the central coast too and are suppressing our voices. We are fighting back as hard as we can. God protect the entire LA area that different fires are affecting. Not everyone there is rich.
Agree with you completely. Unfortunately many on the “other side of the aisle” don’t agree - James Woods posted on social media as he watched the fire come for his own home; the comments were dominated by people cheering that “karma” was visiting someone with the wrong political views. Sickening shells of humans.
Disgusting. What will it take for these self-proclaimed paragons of virtue to see what they have sunk to?
I notice that our lefty commenters, who spill gallons of ink here about the shortcomings of conservatives, have gone radio silent about this. No words of sympathy from that quarter. I hope they are OK.
I will NEVER let state government off the hook here due to their stupid and DANGEROUS worship of Gaia that has, in part, caused these tragedies.
The fire triangle is oxygen, fuel, heat. The fuel load has been purposely UNMANAGED by blue state governments for decades in the name of Gaia. This causes the fuel load to be so large that a fire in these areas cannot be managed in any way by use of water or firebreak. The fires are so hot they burn plant seeds in the ground...
The water load in Cali has been purposely diverted to the ocean in the name of Gaia and her Delta Smelt.
Heat. Hmmm. As in Lohaina, the most valuable property in the area is being destroyed. Hmmm. I am sure natural lightning started the fire…
I saw footage of lazer hits in 3 spots & instant fire, just like Maui. DEW/HARRP/DOPPLER all working overtime, just like Maui, no water in fire hydrants, $18 million cut from the firefighters dept, fire equipment & $$ sent to Ukraine & gruesome destroyed the dams, all part of their agenda… it’s disgusting how nobody calls those facts out. 340,000 people w/o power & 5 dead, not sure on how many homes but ranging from $7 million to $70 million last heard.😭
This is heartbreaking for all impacted. It’s also a well documented risk of living in closely packed communities among dry brush. The University of California did a study published in 1999 that looked at the charcoal record in the LA basin over the past 560 years (back to 1425). The charcoal record showed no less than 20 major fires in the region. These big fires resulting from fuel of Santa Ana winds (aka ‘Devils Winds’) also often marked the start of a drought period.
I too, lived in the area until two years ago. When I was a broke student (on scholarship) at Pepperdine back in the day, The Reel Inn was a big night out. I eventually settled in Agoura Hills and was there until the last big fire in 2021. Moved to Florida in 2022 because I couldn't take the tyranny of the lockdowns. That part of California was my home...until it wasn't anymore. I am a fish out of water on the east coast, and feel so lost. All because of the pure evil of those "in charge." I want so badly to go back home, but it doesn't exist anymore. Not for me, or those who aren't the elite. I am sorry for anyone who experiences this kind of loss, but truly, many of the people affected by these policies now are the ones who allowed it to happen.
There is a Substack writer, the pseudonymous Max Remington, whose installment today your comment reminded me of.
Today, he has written about the Europeans who have given up hope that they can ever reclaim Europe, and about residents of New York City who are quickly losing hope that there could ever be an answer to the wild upsurge in subway murders.
These two things, and your comment, all have in common that they are about displacement of rightful residents. You and people like you, and New Yorkers, must be beginning to feel as though you have overstayed a visa in your own homes.
Me too! I also lived in Colorado in 2004. What a gorgeous place. Like California, the policies are too far left for me to return. Some part of me believes I'll be able to go back, and I have to keep it alive... that time (late 80's/90's) was golden. Driving down PCH listening to Tears for Fears, on my way to my shift at The Sandcastle (now Paradise Cove)... such sweet memories.
I'll ignore the implied snark there, but I didn't. I actually worked on the campaign to get rid of Newsom. I knew after they "lost" 100,000 signatures that it was done. I kept trying until I almost lost my practice and moved.
It’s so hard to see that something you loved is physically there, but what you loved is gone. I hope you can find a new life, or better yet that CA can go back to what you loved.
Perhaps there has never in our lifetimes been a better illustration of, “you can’t go home again”. (Thomas Wolfe). Coming to terms with that is a necessary loss and a painful part of growing into wisdom and maturity. “Home” has changed. And so have I. An old lady now, I’m a native Texan and love my flawed home state. But nothing will be as it once was. “America” is not, nor will it ever be, the country where I grew up. But there is nowhere better on earth. We must thoughtfully and consciously “bring forth a new nation” for those who come after us. And that, I believe, is what we are now called to do. I do hope you find your true home, someplace where you feel you most “fit”.
This fire is cataclysmic and will bring CA to its knees. It should make absolutely no difference whether the victims are rich or poor, to have lost literally everything you own, and barely escape with your own life cuts across all lines.
There aren’t words sufficient enough to commend the firefighters, police and all the responders fighting in the midst of this nightmare scenario, trying to protect whatever life and property is possible.
May God have mercy on CA and all those whose lives are now changed forever.
Lost my home to CA wildfire in 2020. It's a surreal, brutal, and life-changing experience. Prayed a rosary today for all the LA residents. May they find peace and be safe.
The hot takes are well underway. Be cautious, read critically, keep skeptical, and don’t leap to any conclusions. But we do know that, despite the perilous weather conditions, LA’s Mayor Karen Bass was away on vacation in Ghana, which I was not aware had a holiday venue. There are credible rumors that due to Mayor Bass’s budget cuts, the county’s fire reservoirs were not refilled and so hydrants were dry (but still, rumors).
image 8.png
Luckily, LA’s fire chief Kristin Crowley has been lauded as both the first woman and the first lesbian fire chief in LA’s history. And she is on video saying her top priority for the fire department was even more diversity. Many people are looking closely for signs of DEI incompetence.
Contrary to the federal government’s response to the hurricane disaster in Western North Carolina, in LA County, even while the disaster rages, FEMA has already responded. Governor Newsom says that he’s already received two federal relief packages and has spoken several times with President Biden.
We’ll all be paying very close attention to the similarities and contrasts with the federal government’s response to the disaster in North Carolina.
Check Substack for photos. One is remarkable, shows the interior of a neat and tidy home with flowers on the table, flames outside. Eerie and scary, and sorta beautiful if it weren’t real, and who the hell wouldn’t be running away instead of taking a photo?
Mother Nature doesn’t look at status. We are all susceptible to her wrath. Doesn’t matter how much money you have she can’t be bribed. Praying for all. Stay safe.
I, too, was born and grew up in southern California, in 1956. It was Orange County, but we had our share of Santa Ana winds and fires. I haven't lived in Cali since 1983, and it breaks my heart to see what it's become, but it also breaks my heart to see it burn like this.
Question: Have they actually been doing anything to mitigate the danger – controlled burns to remove excessive undergrowth, etc. or are they simply going to chalk this up to ‘climate change’?
Controlled fires are seen as bad for the environment. And tiny fires are immediately put out. So the brush / fuel builds up till you get out of control fires.
Improving power lines is not a good use of capital, such as burying. Power companies need to follow the whims, I mean priorities of government. Meaning green energy.
Using defoliants near power lines is bad for the environment.
The new head of the la city fire department’s #1 focus is diversity, and is the first women in that position. Pacific palisades is part of La city.
La city has huge issues with their water infrastructure, with many water main breaks. Unfortunately it’s not a focus to fix, except band aids when a break happens. Source ex dwp worker.
Rumor is Reservoirs used for fires may be low due to budget cuts.
My gut feeling is the pacific palisades fire was started by homeless.
Because politicians can blame it on climate change, and use that “fact” to justify more money for connected green business’s (that donate) and more regulations.
Sasha references the 1961 Bel Air fire which destroyed 480 homes and injured 200 firefighters. LA Fire Department produced a documentary after this big one 63 years ago called ‘Design For Disaster’ and essentially the narrator tossed up its hands calling the densely packed homes nestled on hillsides covered in dry brush "a serious problem in fire protection, even under the best of conditions."
Years before LA inferno, California’s fire and water management policies raised fears of catastrophe
A major problem that first responders have been facing amid these repeating wildfires is fire hydrants drying up, resulting in a lack of water to get fires under control.
I just watched a news cast on one of the alphabet MSM channels and climate change mentioned often, in fact, they had a whole segment, regarding these fires, on "how climate change is affecting these fires in CA".
Not a surprise that a major reason for this disaster is the Woke stupidity and incompetence of LA’s ruling class which considers equity more important than meritocracy in hiring. I saw a Joe Rogan video recently where he was talking to someone about these California fires. He said he used to live in LA and twice had to evacuate with his family due to fires which then changed direction and spared his home. He talked to some of the firefighters about this though and they told him if a major fire was heading for LA with the wind in back of it they would have no way to stop it. He then decided it was time to leave California.
Megyn Kelly on Horrifying Los Angeles Wildfires, Lack of Preparation by Mayor, and Focus on DEI. (12 min)
I don’t think it’s necessary to bring DEI into this. Once these fires start under these conditions (50-100 mph winds in all directions) there’s not much the fire department can do to stop them until the conditions let up.
“I don’t think it’s necessary to bring DEI into this.”
Watch what Megyn has to say about it or even some of the other comments here. Once the situation is this far gone there’s nothing they can do about it but DEI is a major reason why it is now so out of control.
"... these beautiful places will burn". For me, it's "these beautiful places have burned".
There used to be a large (and hilly) pine forest east of Austin. I reminded me of the Ardennes, from what I had seen in footage taken in WWII. It was burned, along with 1600 houses, in September of 2011. During the same period, there were numerous fires along the fringes of the E Texas forests: the forest line is being driven east. A few years later, a remnant pine forest just to the east burned.
Out west, many years ago I was told that 80% of the ponderosa pine forests in the Davis Mountains (which include the highest point n the Central Time Zone) had been burned. I remember a trail that used to be dense pine forest but is not grass and cactus. The area as a whole, including the Chisos to the S and the Guadalupes to the N, has been in severe drought for most of the years since then, including this year, when it has the worst drought in America. At this point, the Davis Mountains may have almost no pines. In the Chisos, the bears a few years ago became dangerous due to starvation due to drought. In the Guadalupes, "the bowl" and associated areas have lost at least half of their trees, which are now mostly dead on the ground.
In the East, the forests are clearly under stress, enough so that last spring a forest ranger told me that the beeches might well be dead. If so, the magnolias, and cypresses, cannot be far behind.
If anyone is curious about what these places look like, or used to, for the Chisos Mountains there is a video whose title includes the string "Black Bears in the Chisos", and for the Guadalupes there is a video whose title includes the string "overnight McKittrick Canyon". The good stuff starts at about 2:30. For the Davis mountains, there must be images of "Mount Livermore" or "Davis Mountains Preserve".
I have been in or on 1) the Pacific Northwest, 2) the Redwoods, 3) Yosemite, 4) 2 of the 4 highest mountains in Colorado, 5) Taos, 6) the Southern Appalachians, and 7) various parts of wild Britain. But the prettiest sight I ever saw in my life was in Texas: McKittrick Canyon (with a slope that looks like 60%) full of maples that had just turned various shades of red, orange, and yellow. Almost all of the leaves were still on the trees. On the trail and to the right, maples. To the left, across the canyon, stony slopes so severe that nothing could grow on them. Too bad I did not have a camera.
Thank you for your update, Sasha. I am glad you are safe. I have a friend who lives in Brentwood and she was evacuated last night. I know many other people in SoCal, but mostly Orange County. I did not know about the huge fire in 1961. I was 4 yo in Oregon at the time and was not paying attention to the news. Plus, no internet. But these Santa Ana wind fires will always be horrific. Along with the flooding and mudslides, it is a big downside to life in SoCal. Prayers for everyone in danger!
Rich or poor, we all feel the effects of losing our homes . It is during these kinds of disasters that we should know no divisions in our country.
Prayers for all.
Thanks for taking the time to write this.
Most of us here have no use for California political ideas. But we are heartbroken to see this devastation. We are more than happy to argue ideas, but nobody wants to see real people suffer such a tragedy.
There are conservatives in that area too they just can’t beat down the idiot progressive voices. They moved up to the central coast too and are suppressing our voices. We are fighting back as hard as we can. God protect the entire LA area that different fires are affecting. Not everyone there is rich.
You just described my relatives in Altadena who lost everything. We watch and pray from Texas. Helpless to help.
Agree with you completely. Unfortunately many on the “other side of the aisle” don’t agree - James Woods posted on social media as he watched the fire come for his own home; the comments were dominated by people cheering that “karma” was visiting someone with the wrong political views. Sickening shells of humans.
Disgusting. What will it take for these self-proclaimed paragons of virtue to see what they have sunk to?
I notice that our lefty commenters, who spill gallons of ink here about the shortcomings of conservatives, have gone radio silent about this. No words of sympathy from that quarter. I hope they are OK.
Not hearing or seeing anything from our Hollywood “stars” either. For once.
Been praying for these folks since yesterday.
I will NEVER let state government off the hook here due to their stupid and DANGEROUS worship of Gaia that has, in part, caused these tragedies.
The fire triangle is oxygen, fuel, heat. The fuel load has been purposely UNMANAGED by blue state governments for decades in the name of Gaia. This causes the fuel load to be so large that a fire in these areas cannot be managed in any way by use of water or firebreak. The fires are so hot they burn plant seeds in the ground...
The water load in Cali has been purposely diverted to the ocean in the name of Gaia and her Delta Smelt.
Heat. Hmmm. As in Lohaina, the most valuable property in the area is being destroyed. Hmmm. I am sure natural lightning started the fire…
As someone who lives in a wilderness area – we’re currently waiting for them to do a controlled burn near us right now – we have similar concerns.
Hence, hacking my way down the mountain side to clear fire breaks and such. They might not do much, but it’s better than letting everything grow wild.
I saw footage of lazer hits in 3 spots & instant fire, just like Maui. DEW/HARRP/DOPPLER all working overtime, just like Maui, no water in fire hydrants, $18 million cut from the firefighters dept, fire equipment & $$ sent to Ukraine & gruesome destroyed the dams, all part of their agenda… it’s disgusting how nobody calls those facts out. 340,000 people w/o power & 5 dead, not sure on how many homes but ranging from $7 million to $70 million last heard.😭
This is heartbreaking for all impacted. It’s also a well documented risk of living in closely packed communities among dry brush. The University of California did a study published in 1999 that looked at the charcoal record in the LA basin over the past 560 years (back to 1425). The charcoal record showed no less than 20 major fires in the region. These big fires resulting from fuel of Santa Ana winds (aka ‘Devils Winds’) also often marked the start of a drought period.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0033589499920355
Who or what is Gaia??
The pagan goddess of the earth.
Google wil tell you!
I too, lived in the area until two years ago. When I was a broke student (on scholarship) at Pepperdine back in the day, The Reel Inn was a big night out. I eventually settled in Agoura Hills and was there until the last big fire in 2021. Moved to Florida in 2022 because I couldn't take the tyranny of the lockdowns. That part of California was my home...until it wasn't anymore. I am a fish out of water on the east coast, and feel so lost. All because of the pure evil of those "in charge." I want so badly to go back home, but it doesn't exist anymore. Not for me, or those who aren't the elite. I am sorry for anyone who experiences this kind of loss, but truly, many of the people affected by these policies now are the ones who allowed it to happen.
There is a Substack writer, the pseudonymous Max Remington, whose installment today your comment reminded me of.
Today, he has written about the Europeans who have given up hope that they can ever reclaim Europe, and about residents of New York City who are quickly losing hope that there could ever be an answer to the wild upsurge in subway murders.
These two things, and your comment, all have in common that they are about displacement of rightful residents. You and people like you, and New Yorkers, must be beginning to feel as though you have overstayed a visa in your own homes.
Boy!!!
Your comment really hit home with me.
68 years old. Born and raised in Los Angeles. Grew up in the San Fernando Valley. Worked in Los Angeles my whole life.
Left four years ago for Southern Colorado. Love this area.
Me too! I also lived in Colorado in 2004. What a gorgeous place. Like California, the policies are too far left for me to return. Some part of me believes I'll be able to go back, and I have to keep it alive... that time (late 80's/90's) was golden. Driving down PCH listening to Tears for Fears, on my way to my shift at The Sandcastle (now Paradise Cove)... such sweet memories.
Yeah, Miss, the late 80s-early 90s were part of the Good Old Days in S. CA. We were lucky to have experienced it.
They were part of the good old days for me as well in NYC…..
Hate to ask, but ... how many Dims did you vote for?
I'll ignore the implied snark there, but I didn't. I actually worked on the campaign to get rid of Newsom. I knew after they "lost" 100,000 signatures that it was done. I kept trying until I almost lost my practice and moved.
It’s so hard to see that something you loved is physically there, but what you loved is gone. I hope you can find a new life, or better yet that CA can go back to what you loved.
My relatives who lost Everything in Altadena 48 hours ago were right with you in that same effort.
I sympathize…SoCal and Florida are poles apart.
Perhaps there has never in our lifetimes been a better illustration of, “you can’t go home again”. (Thomas Wolfe). Coming to terms with that is a necessary loss and a painful part of growing into wisdom and maturity. “Home” has changed. And so have I. An old lady now, I’m a native Texan and love my flawed home state. But nothing will be as it once was. “America” is not, nor will it ever be, the country where I grew up. But there is nowhere better on earth. We must thoughtfully and consciously “bring forth a new nation” for those who come after us. And that, I believe, is what we are now called to do. I do hope you find your true home, someplace where you feel you most “fit”.
I was going to like your comment until reading the last sentence. No need to make this political.
This fire is cataclysmic and will bring CA to its knees. It should make absolutely no difference whether the victims are rich or poor, to have lost literally everything you own, and barely escape with your own life cuts across all lines.
There aren’t words sufficient enough to commend the firefighters, police and all the responders fighting in the midst of this nightmare scenario, trying to protect whatever life and property is possible.
May God have mercy on CA and all those whose lives are now changed forever.
Lost my home to CA wildfire in 2020. It's a surreal, brutal, and life-changing experience. Prayed a rosary today for all the LA residents. May they find peace and be safe.
Amen!!
Glad to hear you’re safe Sasha, continue being vigilant, and thanks for writing to let us know
This was in C&C today…
We pray for the people of Los Angeles.
The hot takes are well underway. Be cautious, read critically, keep skeptical, and don’t leap to any conclusions. But we do know that, despite the perilous weather conditions, LA’s Mayor Karen Bass was away on vacation in Ghana, which I was not aware had a holiday venue. There are credible rumors that due to Mayor Bass’s budget cuts, the county’s fire reservoirs were not refilled and so hydrants were dry (but still, rumors).
image 8.png
Luckily, LA’s fire chief Kristin Crowley has been lauded as both the first woman and the first lesbian fire chief in LA’s history. And she is on video saying her top priority for the fire department was even more diversity. Many people are looking closely for signs of DEI incompetence.
Contrary to the federal government’s response to the hurricane disaster in Western North Carolina, in LA County, even while the disaster rages, FEMA has already responded. Governor Newsom says that he’s already received two federal relief packages and has spoken several times with President Biden.
We’ll all be paying very close attention to the similarities and contrasts with the federal government’s response to the disaster in North Carolina.
Check Substack for photos. One is remarkable, shows the interior of a neat and tidy home with flowers on the table, flames outside. Eerie and scary, and sorta beautiful if it weren’t real, and who the hell wouldn’t be running away instead of taking a photo?
Mother Nature doesn’t look at status. We are all susceptible to her wrath. Doesn’t matter how much money you have she can’t be bribed. Praying for all. Stay safe.
I, too, was born and grew up in southern California, in 1956. It was Orange County, but we had our share of Santa Ana winds and fires. I haven't lived in Cali since 1983, and it breaks my heart to see what it's become, but it also breaks my heart to see it burn like this.
So sad for those who are reeling under the weight of this disaster, so happy that you are safe.
Question: Have they actually been doing anything to mitigate the danger – controlled burns to remove excessive undergrowth, etc. or are they simply going to chalk this up to ‘climate change’?
Climate change obviously!
My understanding…
Controlled fires are seen as bad for the environment. And tiny fires are immediately put out. So the brush / fuel builds up till you get out of control fires.
Improving power lines is not a good use of capital, such as burying. Power companies need to follow the whims, I mean priorities of government. Meaning green energy.
Using defoliants near power lines is bad for the environment.
The new head of the la city fire department’s #1 focus is diversity, and is the first women in that position. Pacific palisades is part of La city.
La city has huge issues with their water infrastructure, with many water main breaks. Unfortunately it’s not a focus to fix, except band aids when a break happens. Source ex dwp worker.
Rumor is Reservoirs used for fires may be low due to budget cuts.
My gut feeling is the pacific palisades fire was started by homeless.
Then you ask, how is what is happening now good for the environment?
Because politicians can blame it on climate change, and use that “fact” to justify more money for connected green business’s (that donate) and more regulations.
Hopefully, fewer people are believing that BS.
Around the world, people are turning against the commie fascist far left.
Sasha references the 1961 Bel Air fire which destroyed 480 homes and injured 200 firefighters. LA Fire Department produced a documentary after this big one 63 years ago called ‘Design For Disaster’ and essentially the narrator tossed up its hands calling the densely packed homes nestled on hillsides covered in dry brush "a serious problem in fire protection, even under the best of conditions."
You're kidding, right?
I always get a kick outta online folks asking a question online rather than searching the answer themselves. If you bothered to search, say "what does california do to mitigate wild fires", up pops https://resources.ca.gov/Initiatives/Community-Wildfire-Prevention-and-Mitigation#:~:text=Project%20examples%20include%20removal%20of,safer%20ingress%20and%20egress%20corridors.
Try this on for size:
https://twitter.com/AGHamilton29/status/1877204414127104454
Brutal video.
Anchor: “Despite what you have heard from Caruso, no firefighters have told us that they are running out of water”
*cut to reporter on the ground*
Reporter: “Firefighters have told me… they have no water to put on this fire”
Years before LA inferno, California’s fire and water management policies raised fears of catastrophe
A major problem that first responders have been facing amid these repeating wildfires is fire hydrants drying up, resulting in a lack of water to get fires under control.
https://justthenews.com/nation/states/californias-water-policies-mismanagement-are-blame-los-angeles-fires-audits-show
Isn’t it interesting how you make a big show of it and post a link that doesn’t deal with the issue.
Maybe you can explain why there is no water to fight the fires?
Greasy Gavin shows up for his fire pictures, not mentioning why there's no water
https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2025/01/greasy_gavin_shows_up_for_his_fire_pictures_not_mentioning_why_there_s_no_water.html
I just watched a news cast on one of the alphabet MSM channels and climate change mentioned often, in fact, they had a whole segment, regarding these fires, on "how climate change is affecting these fires in CA".
Not a surprise that a major reason for this disaster is the Woke stupidity and incompetence of LA’s ruling class which considers equity more important than meritocracy in hiring. I saw a Joe Rogan video recently where he was talking to someone about these California fires. He said he used to live in LA and twice had to evacuate with his family due to fires which then changed direction and spared his home. He talked to some of the firefighters about this though and they told him if a major fire was heading for LA with the wind in back of it they would have no way to stop it. He then decided it was time to leave California.
Megyn Kelly on Horrifying Los Angeles Wildfires, Lack of Preparation by Mayor, and Focus on DEI. (12 min)
Megyn Kelly. Jan 8, 2025
https://youtu.be/D31MNyo1awo?si=ZRACgSb97Vk-tOuW
I don’t think it’s necessary to bring DEI into this. Once these fires start under these conditions (50-100 mph winds in all directions) there’s not much the fire department can do to stop them until the conditions let up.
“I don’t think it’s necessary to bring DEI into this.”
Watch what Megyn has to say about it or even some of the other comments here. Once the situation is this far gone there’s nothing they can do about it but DEI is a major reason why it is now so out of control.
"... these beautiful places will burn". For me, it's "these beautiful places have burned".
There used to be a large (and hilly) pine forest east of Austin. I reminded me of the Ardennes, from what I had seen in footage taken in WWII. It was burned, along with 1600 houses, in September of 2011. During the same period, there were numerous fires along the fringes of the E Texas forests: the forest line is being driven east. A few years later, a remnant pine forest just to the east burned.
Out west, many years ago I was told that 80% of the ponderosa pine forests in the Davis Mountains (which include the highest point n the Central Time Zone) had been burned. I remember a trail that used to be dense pine forest but is not grass and cactus. The area as a whole, including the Chisos to the S and the Guadalupes to the N, has been in severe drought for most of the years since then, including this year, when it has the worst drought in America. At this point, the Davis Mountains may have almost no pines. In the Chisos, the bears a few years ago became dangerous due to starvation due to drought. In the Guadalupes, "the bowl" and associated areas have lost at least half of their trees, which are now mostly dead on the ground.
In the East, the forests are clearly under stress, enough so that last spring a forest ranger told me that the beeches might well be dead. If so, the magnolias, and cypresses, cannot be far behind.
If anyone is curious about what these places look like, or used to, for the Chisos Mountains there is a video whose title includes the string "Black Bears in the Chisos", and for the Guadalupes there is a video whose title includes the string "overnight McKittrick Canyon". The good stuff starts at about 2:30. For the Davis mountains, there must be images of "Mount Livermore" or "Davis Mountains Preserve".
I have been in or on 1) the Pacific Northwest, 2) the Redwoods, 3) Yosemite, 4) 2 of the 4 highest mountains in Colorado, 5) Taos, 6) the Southern Appalachians, and 7) various parts of wild Britain. But the prettiest sight I ever saw in my life was in Texas: McKittrick Canyon (with a slope that looks like 60%) full of maples that had just turned various shades of red, orange, and yellow. Almost all of the leaves were still on the trees. On the trail and to the right, maples. To the left, across the canyon, stony slopes so severe that nothing could grow on them. Too bad I did not have a camera.
"has happened in my lifetime."
You mean, has never happened in my lifetime?? Please reread.
I think you are correct.
Thank you for your update, Sasha. I am glad you are safe. I have a friend who lives in Brentwood and she was evacuated last night. I know many other people in SoCal, but mostly Orange County. I did not know about the huge fire in 1961. I was 4 yo in Oregon at the time and was not paying attention to the news. Plus, no internet. But these Santa Ana wind fires will always be horrific. Along with the flooding and mudslides, it is a big downside to life in SoCal. Prayers for everyone in danger!