California fires

As a resident of the Sierra Nevada foothills I can say I have been very lucky to have no direct contact with wildfires. However, I can't say I have completely escaped the devastation of fires.  Every summer in California we go into a "fire season" and the last few years have been doozies.  With extreme drought for at least the last four years, our fire season has become more and more severe. I remember the summer sky being dark for at least a month last year, and each morning the sun would be blood red as it rose above the horizon. Several people died last year in the fires that were burning across the state. The story I remember most vividly came out of the Butte fire, which was taking place in Amador and Calaveras Counties where my friends and I like to go wine tasting. A man in his sixties refused to evacuate and was eventually taken by the fire. He was a former reporter for the San Jose Mercury News, so he knew the dangers of these fires and how important it was to follow evacuation orders because he was part of the media. While all of the deaths were tragic, his struck me as the most preventable and sad. I also recall the generosity of our community for the victims that were displaced by the fires. People took items from their own bathrooms and kitchens to donate, and every school and nearly every business had a drop off place for the everyday items that we tend to take for granted like toothbrushes and blankets.

NOAA.gov

thepinetree.net