Wildfire!

As is the common malady in LA during the fall, the whole state is up in flames. The weather here has been miserably hot, and California is on its billionth year of drought so it's a bad combination.

On Saturday I had planned to travel up to central California. When choosing my route, I avoided the coast because I knew that a fire was burning in Santa Barbara, a coastal town. I thought I would be safe taking I-5 which stays pretty far inland. However, as I'm scooting along in the freeway, I am suddenly directed to an off-ramp. The main freeway out of Los Angeles has been completely closed down!

I could see huge billows of smoke in the distance. Fire trucks with lights flashing were passing me. And at one point smoke was severely impacting visibility as I drove. I eventually found out that the coastal freeway was not closed so I did make it to my destination, but it was quite exciting being a part of the wildfire season of 2008!


Not a terrific picture. But here are some of the billows of smoke you could see from the highway...