Thanks for asking. I've checked on our relatives and friends a few times. I have people near every fire except Orange county! San Diego,Riverside,Santa Clarita fires are within 30-60 miles of folks we care about. Scary as all get out but they all understand how fires work. Evacuation is the key or you'll be unable to get out. Wildfire moves at the speed wind takes it. 65mph winds are common in a lot of those areas. In the top areas with the pine trees the wall of fire can get 200 feet tall. Mile a minute,200 feet tall,and the heat will blow a house apart before it burns. Most folks don't have to be told twice to leave. PJ

Have an unconfirmed report, that a flute friend lost his house. May be others affected as well. That area between LA and San Diego, has some top notch flute makers and dealers, as well as players.

Guess I will be finding out more as they get more of the fires out and the damage toll is fully assessed. So far, report is ten people have died in the fires.

Some of those folks died in transport or from accidents related from being away from a familiar environment(elderly/sick).I also read a couple perished trying to save their house. How sad.
I'm sorry for your friend too. How horrible it has to be to have your house burn to the ground. So much more than a place to live would be lost. PJ

Just need to be reminded that stuff happens, and there's often very little you can do about it.

When there's so many people, that they actually want to live in the desert, well......that's too many people, I reckon, but then, I like green, myself.

I love both desert and woods. San Diego is technically a desert but growing stuff there takes less irrigation than here. San Diego also has wetlands.The mild SD temps make up for a LOT. LA is pretty much the same way. Santa Clarita does get dry/drought but it's not brown. It looks much the same as woodlands here in DFW but it's cooler and at higher elevations. Higher in the hills above Santa Clarita are ski resorts with HUGE pine trees. Malibu and PCH are green most of the time. Riverside/San Bernadino are wet enough to grow stuff to support a fire but it is brown quite a bit. The area I grew up in is so dry fires burn themselves out. There is so little to burn at any rate. PJ

Well, I spent time in the Mojave, and it was mostly barren.

Sand, rocks, and lots of sidewinders. Not too much growing there.

From El Paso, to the Mojave, the only real green spot, only because of irrigation, was Yuma.

I like NM, but if I lived there, it would be in the highest mountain area, in the trees and meadows, with the elk.

In Californey, I like the northern part of the state, the best. I don't mind some seasons. Kinda prefer it, myself.

My sister is in Reno, Nevada in the Sierras(?)a good way up the hill . Colder than I would want to consider but also a lovely mountain area.
Ojai is the pinnacle of pretty to me. I'd live there in a second. It's between the Mojave Desert and San Fran. Underdeveloped(for how popular it is and they keep it that way) and it's hard to get real estate there. If you want to find Hollywood's rich forget Beverly Hills look in Ojai. There are more artisans squeezed in that lil area than I think anywhere else in CA. PJ

I lied Ojai is off the 126 in Ventura. Musta got confused going the back way. It seemed like we were headed up north. Go figure. PJ

Well, I think we should all be praying for a good rain to come along to help those firefighters put out all those fires out there. I really do think it was a person that started them and not lightening or some other natural event.

A power pole falling over started the malibu fire I'm not sure about the rest yet. PJ

PJ, I think you were confusing Ojai with Truckee. (smile) Truckee is a good place.

Rick

I never even heard of Truckee,CA. There must be a gazillion little towns in CA.It does look lovely from the internet pics. Truckee looks a mite cold for me in the winter tho. PJ

Is Truckee near the Yuba river by chance? That's where my GFIL dredges for gold. My DH spent time on the Yuba as a kid but I've never been there either. PJ

Nope. that is farther north. Truckee River flows through Truckee and feeds into Lake Tahoe.

I think I've been to Lake Tahoe maybe once when I was a kid...and I'm not sure about that. Maybe I should've looked around a bit more while I lived there! PJ

Ya probably just spent too much time in the desert sun. (smile)

About that fire caused by "a downed electrical pole"........turns out, was a kid, playing with matches, after all.

Most fires are the result of human activity, of one kind or another.

That is awful! I was always on the boys about playing with fire. Imagine being that kid and his family!!! PJ