fire season

I’m beginning to learn more and more that no matter where you live, you will be affected by some kind of natural disaster. As evident by recent events, I grew up in an area of the country that is subjected to hurricanes and other tropical weather. Anyone moving to Southern California has to be prepared for the occasional earthquake. I even received a very informative booklet called Putting Down Roots in Earthquake Country when I arrived in Pasadena. While my apartment would most definitely fail as far as earthquake preparedness goes, it was a different kind of natural disaster that recently caught me off guard.

September 22nd marked the first day of fall for those of us in the northern hemisphere, but there is another season that has also recently begun, fire season. Fire season is the time of year when the beautiful mountains of Southern California take on a slightly more infernal quality. High temperatures, low humidity, and strong winds, what the National Weather Service calls Red Flag conditions, are a perfect combination for fires to start and quickly spread. Strong Santa Ana winds have helped kick up a few pretty large fires in the last couple of weeks. I could see the smoke from the closest fire, located in the Burbank area, while driving around last weekend. It is the smoke produced by these fires that has the most far reaching effects.

One thing Los Angeles is not known for is clean air. In fact, it consistently ranks among the worst counties in the country as far as air pollution. Add to this smoke and ash and you have a serious heath hazard. At the height of the fires, I could not even see the mountains through the polluted air. While I was out running errands, I first noticed that my lungs were slightly burning. The irritation next moved to my throat and eyes, and finally settled in as a dull headache. It was then that I was resigned to the fact that it would probably be a good weekend to just stay in and get my reading done.