The Hills of Los Angeles are Burning

Most people think of fall and they think beautiful shades of orange, red and yellow appearing on all of the normally green trees. Not me. It probably has everything to do with growing up in a climate that has. . . unusual seasons; hot, windy, fire and earthquake. Now granted the earthquake season isn't really one of the seasons and a wet el nino season occasionally comes between fire and hot (unfortunately a wet year makes the following fire season ten times worse). Well now that you know what the seasons I am used to are, can you guess which one trumps the reds and yellows of fall? Well I guess I lied... we do get reds and yellows and oranges.... the color of flames. Every year about this time the Santa Ana winds start to blow warm air from the desserts into the coastal valleys and with those winds come devastating fires. I can't remember one year growing up that lacked at least one fire that you could see the smoke from miles and miles away. The worst fires are the ones that are miles and miles away and you find yourself brushing not snow off of your car, but ash. Well this afternoon I discovered that there is one of the AMAZING fall events taking place less than five miles (as the crow, or fire, flies) away from my childhood home and threatening many of my friend's homes. So I guess it's official, Fall is here.

This is the Little Tujunga Canyon Fire.