Last weekend, I knew things were going to go wrong for folks in between Los Angeles and San Diego when I saw projected wind advisories for gusts exceeding 100 miles an hour.
It wasn’t just the fact that property and tree damage was likely to happen with such winds. It’s that the Santa Ana Winds could take a single spark — from a cigarette, a stone hitting a piece of metal, a discarded match — and turn it into a conflagration.
In the Los Angeles area, at least five major blazes have been roaring out of control. Making things worse are not only the winds, but problems getting water to the site of the fires, as well as certain native trees which are feeding the fire. Eucalyptus trees, with flammable oil in their leaves, have become instant conflagrations.
Back in 2008, when this site visited San Diego to cover the first weekend of the Serra Invitational, we witnessed the ravages of wildfires. We saw one entire neighborhood that looked like a moonscape. The countryside had no trees, and every few hundred yards you saw lots occupied by worksites and trailers with workers looking to rebuild what had been taken away by the Harris and the Witch Creek fires. One particular property had a wonderfully ornate marble staircase and entrance leading off of a driveway. All it needed was the house.
At that time half a million homes in San Diego County were evacuated.
The current wildfire crisis appears to be much worse. These wildfires have already caused an estimate $50 billion (yep, that’s “billion” with a “b”) in damage. Though there have been limited evacuations, I don’t hold much hope that there aren’t going to be more losses of property as well as lives.
A number of organizations, including news outlets and USA Field Hockey, have been publishing websites, phone numbers, and other resources through which you can help.
I urge as many of you that can render assistance to please do so. This looks really bad.