Observers of Ferocious Hand of Fire

The all consuming fires that hit Los Angeles were flung far and wide by the 60-100 mph winds we had for 2 solid days. The Santa Ana winds we are used to, were late this year; later than I can ever recall them being.

As well as unprecedentedly dry “rainy season” for a winter in Los Angeles. Though there were misty, almost foggy days.

These winds that rolled through were so strong they were physically pushing me backwards as I tried to take out the trash. And flinging 18 wheelers on their sides off the 10- & 60- east freeways.

Winds that left so much rubbish from dried plants & leaves littered all up and down the sides of the streets & side walks.

Well, the total result was utterly catastrophic. And beyond any comprehension level we were prepared for.

The result was an audience mostly looking on, even in the midst of a 4-10 mile radius thinking the 10 acres on fire had little to do with them.

They would be ok. The fire was a normal occurrence and that those affected were well off enough to recover from it.

Flames with a Quick Fierceness

And within an hour, a whole neighborhood was evacuated – albeit, some took their time, not seeing an imminent danger. The fire growing from 10 acres to 100 acres.

And by the next meal, the fire hit the adjourning neighborhood. Covering over 300 acres. The town’s shopping center under fire.

And by that night the fire was over 1000 acres. Surging through our nature preserve’s & parks as well as local residencies & other neighborhoods.

I was ever observant. Looking at the LA 911 incident reports every so often to check in.

And all through the day, a half dozen other fires going off & growing around other neighborhoods in the city and also on the other side of the county.

One. Another. Small fires. Structure fires. Evacuations. Warnings. Red Flags. Knockdowns. Updates.

Back and forth and around again. The phone high frequency alarming a dozen times a day.

Visiting the LA Fire Department webpage & Twitter — no, not Twitter, X.com — account

Tracking power outages after hearing about others without power for over 24 hours and remembering it could be a possible LAFD tactic to prevent a worse fire. So adjusting how to prepare for such a situation at home.

Packing a go bag. Talking to family. Managing stress of all those around me & neighbors. Constantly confident that it’s still something we could bounce back from and would be contained.

And a whole lot of Reiki. Which I actually felt confident about.

I was by no means in the thick of the worst of it, but very much brushing up alongside the devastating fire as it smoldered, blazed & consumed west LA north of Sunset Blvd to Malibu while I stayed in my little corner of Brentwood, Los Angeles.

On Friday, I was in the clear surrounded by warnings
Then my little corner was completely under evacuation, so we packed up
The iPhone doesn’t capture the terrifying reality of an ORANGE waxing moon

I was comfortable staying home up, until the actual evacuation. The sky raining ash and soot all over my apartment parking lot, while the dark purple night, bloomed a beautiful orange, violet, fushia was quite a scene. But couple that scene with the waxing half to full moon turning a bright orange; the color of gochuchang chili oil riding the inner side of a soup bowl.