Up In Smoke 10/15/08

So the Santa Anas blew and the official fire season got under way this week, tragically with lives and homes lost across Los Angeles and Ventura Counties.
It's my third year in California and when I lived in the UK, I had only a dim appreciation of what fire season was all about. As a travel journalist working out of my London office, it tended to be a concern only if it impacted on the British holidaymaker.
Having now experienced fires on a regular basis, seen the mass evacuations, the devastation caused by the losses to both people and wildlife, not to mention the incredible bravery and dedication of the fire fighters, I have a whole new take on the subject.
Californians now live with fire risk year round, drought conditions producing tinder dry materials ready to burn at the drop of a hat. When the Santa Anas come in October, we get doubly nervous.
We clear the brush from around our homes, have our evacuation plans down pat and when we get that first whiff of smoke in the air, we know the sound of sirens will be ongoing for days, if not weeks.
It's something that binds Californians together and it's the price we pay for living in nature's back yard.
California has some of the best fire fighters in the world and we're grateful to them.
Well meaning friends emailed me this week, having little idea of the geography of the region as to most Brits, Los Angeles means Hollywood and Disneyland.
It won't make much sense to them to say "Well, they closed the 210 so traffic was hell coming back from Burbank," but it makes a lot of sense if you live here.
I got my permanent resident status this summer and although I can't vote in the upcoming elections, I feel at least a little more like a real Californian. As I watch the valley burn this week, it touches me in a way I never could have imagined when I lived on the other side of the pond.
I'm part of the land and the land is part of me.