Descent Into Hell

This picture doesn't do the scene justice. To see giant flames against a black sky is something to behold.

For those of you who aren't from around these parts, I hope I do justice to the situation going on in my neck of the woods. Currently, there are over 700 firemen from our county and two others fighting horrendous fires that you can see miles and miles away.

On my way to teach my class tonight, I thought I was driving into hell. The smoke was orange as the sun set, its eerie light dispersed in the ash. I could not see the flames on my way to teach. When I left, however, the fire seemed much  more intense and much more vast. I was driving at least 2 miles from the canyon that is engulfed, and I could not believe how high the flames were.

The fire outlines the San Gabriel mountains surrounding Chatsworth, Simi Valley, that head into Moorpark and Ventura County. My best friend's mom has had to evacuate her home because they can see the flames when they step outside their house. I pray that their home is spared. They've been through enough.

When the winds picked up last night our power went out momentarily, only to then completely go out for goodness knows how long because I went to bed. Los Angeles natives know that when the Santa Ana winds blow, we aren't far from having hellish fires on our hands. Two years ago was the worst we'd ever seen, with firemen from all over California needed to contain the wild fires. And they are that.

I pray these don't reach anywhere near the severity of the 2003 fires. God protect our neighbor's homes.