California Wildfires

I just returned from two days in southern California. I arrived on Tuesday night and I got to my hotel in Santa Monica just as the sun was setting. It was the most fiery red sunset I have ever in my life seen and was evidently an atmospheric affect caused by smoke. Beyond the sunset (which I really wish I had photographed) there wasn't any other major indication of a problem. I went for an evening run and though it was a bit hotter than usual, it was hard to detect anything out of the ordinary.

That all changed on Wednesday, when I went to visit a client located about 10-15 miles from the Camp Pendleton fire (which is relatively minor compared to some of the others). As we got closer to our meeting, visibility dropped significantly and by the time we arrived, it resembled near white out conditions. It was the first time I've exeperienced anything quite like this and it was disconcerting, to say the least.

And the real spooky part was that we still were nowhere near a true danger zone.

During our meeting, Governor Arnold's helicopter zoomed right by our meeting. My client had a TV on in her office, and it was bizarre to see the Governor buzz by our office, and two minutes later walk on to a podium for a press conference. Evidently, his command center is located a few short miles from our clients office. On the way home, we saw his motorcade on the other side of the highway.

Another one of our clients, Sony Electronics, is located in Rancho Bernardo, which is at the heart of the action. Their offices have been shut down but fortunately are not damaged. Most of their employees have been temporarily displaced and one of our direct contacts has been evacuated from her house, though I believe she has since returned.

I'll say that though I wasn't anywhere near the fires themselves, it's one thing watching all this on television and another thing quasi-experiencing it as it unfolds.

The other reminder here is the incredible power of Mother Nature. Much like the New Orleans situation, She truly is an awesome force unlike no other. And when She unreleases her power, there's not much one can really do but wait it out, pray and hope for the best.

I obviously hope and pray that things temper down over the next few days. Godspeed to all who have been affected, and to all the heroic firefighters, many of who have been working upwards of 96 consecutive hours.