Sadly, another one

It’s sad to see the utter devastation of Pacific Palisades burning to the ground. I was last there back in 2023, meeting up with some car people at the local Gelson’s. We then took a spirited cruise on Malibu canyon roads. All of that beauty is gone, in a flash of monstrous 100 mile-an-hour winds.

At least folks in California aren’t stupid enough to blame President Biden for controlling the weather.

Indeed, can municipalities even prepare for sustained dry winds in the triple digits? I’ve never seen anything like it. There’s really no one to blame here but the act of god. A god who isn’t completely benevolent when he is wont to inflict such ruin on a community (shoutout to The Brothers Karamazov). Losing a home is a horrific ordeal, no matter your income circumstances. It’s disgusting to see the worst of social media relishing the destruction, because Malibu and the Hollywoods hills happen to be high net worth zip codes.

Envy is a disease.

Climate change seems to be throwing at us weather emergencies the size and frequency of which we can’t prepare for. Florida got hit by two seismic hurricanes within the span of a week just last year. There’s nothing one can do other than not be there when the disaster happens. Emergency rations aren’t going to do shit against fires capable of leveling towns. (Well, you absolutely should make sure to have insurance for the most valuable things. If you even can get insurance for it.)

A hearty best of luck and a speedy recovery to those suffering from the fires in Southern California.

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When it was bright and beautiful.

Southern California burns

It was only a month ago that much of Napa Valley was on fire for an entire week, grinding normal business in the Bay Area to a halt for the better parts of a week. Therefore it is extremely eerie to watch the wildfires happening now in Southern California. The State simply cannot catch a break. 

Do a search on Twitter for people's videos of their morning commute: it looks like a hell-scape. 

Are these spectacular wildfires going to be a constant in our near future? Some are saying so. California had a proper rainy season in 2016, but before that it was five consecutive years of unprecedented drought - one wet season isn't going to completely solve the problem. It appears this year we have returned to dry conditions: we've only had a week of solid rain thus far and we're halfway into December already. 

I can certainly feel the intense dryness here in supposedly humid San Francisco. In these windy and parched conditions, one false move with a match or electric wire and that's it: tens of thousands of acres will burn. I sure pray another one doesn't start up here as well, that would be devastating. 

God speed to everyone down south, and god bless the fire-fighters doing the work.