28 August 2009

Southern California Wildfires


Almost every year wildfires rage in my homeland of Southern California. It is always a reminder of the fragility of life everywhere, and the tenuousness of living in a desert made into an oasis.

One of the scariest aspects of the fires is when officials recommend that people with respiratory ilnesses and the elderly stay inside. I think this warning bothers me particularly because I have asthma--but also because it conjures up images of people huddling, frightened in their homes, afraid to go outside. Also, everyone likes to breathe, no?

Here in Iowa we have had way too much rain lately. There are droughts in California and Texas. Why can 't we send the rain to them? If we can ever figure anything out, it should be this: communication with the weather.

1 comment:

wendy said...

That's a scary picture. We had a fire here (northern CA) recently as well. We did stay in for a lot of the time, because the smoke was horrible. Our eyes were stinging and we coughed a lot. I hate to think of what is in that smoke. Much thanks to the firefighters.