The California Wildfires

So much destruction and so much heartache from the forces of nature.

SAN DIEGO -- Faced with unrelenting winds whipping wildfires into a frenzy across Southern California, firefighters conceded defeat on many fronts Tuesday to an unstoppable force that has chased more than 500,000 people away.

Unless the shrieking Santa Ana winds subside, and that's not expected for at least another day, fire crews say they can do little more than try to wait it out and react — tamping out spot fires and chasing ribbons of airborne embers to keep new fires from flaring.

"If it's this big and blowing with as much wind as it's got, it'll go all the way to the ocean before it stops," said San Diego Fire Capt. Kirk Humphries. "We can save some stuff but we can't stop it."

Tentacles of unpredictable, shifting flame have burned across nearly 640 square miles, killing one person, destroying more than 1,300 homes and prompting the biggest evacuation in California history, from north of Los Angeles, through San Diego to the Mexican border.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said the flames were threatening 68,000 more homes.

"We have had an unfortunate situation that we've had three things come together: very dry areas, very hot weather and then a lot of wind," Schwarzenegger said. "And so this makes the perfect storm for a fire."

In Rancho Santa Fe, a suburb north of San Diego, houses burned just yards from where fire crews fought to contain flames engulfing other properties. In the mountain community of Lake Arrowhead, cabins and vacation homes went up in flames with no fire crews in sight.

"These winds are so strong, we're not trying to fight this fire," said firefighter Jim Gelrud, an engineer from Vista, Calif. "We're just trying to save the buildings."

This is a massive disaster.

My heart goes out to all those forced from their homes.

Some reports say that as many as a million people have been evacuated.

In spite of the enormity of the evacuation, this doesn't seem to be shaping up as another Katrina.

That's pretty amazing when you think about it.

With Katrina, there was warning. There was time for residents to leave, time for local, state, and federal officials to prepare and to move people out.

With these fires, there's nearly no warning. The Santa Ana winds whip and fire breaks out, the winds carrying burning embers miles away to ignite all that dried brush. It's such an unpredictable situation.

Yet even without days of warning and time to prepare, as in the case of Katrina, hundreds of thousands of people have left their homes and are managing.

From the Post-Bulletin:

"It's organized chaos," said state fire spokesman Daniel Berlant, describing the movement of firefighters into the burn areas as evacuees moved out.

In San Diego County alone, officials estimate that 513,000 people have been ordered to leave their homes.

"It's a mass migration here as we try to get people out of harm's way and into shelters or safe areas," said county spokesman Luis Monteagudo.

The state Office of Emergency Services agency reported Tuesday afternoon that more than 6,000 firefighters are on the lines, fighting fires in seven California counties that have burned more than 300,000 acres and destroyed more than 1,000 homes.

Hampered by high winds Tuesday, firefighters struggled to hold ground into the evening, but officials said they have fingers crossed for better luck Wednesday.

"I'd say we made some marginal progress today, considering the lack of cooperation from the weather," state emergency services spokesman Jay Alan said. "We got a few more helicopters and planes in the sky than we were able to yesterday. We have to hope the weather breaks some tomorrow like the weather service says."

If winds ease off enough, "we can then surround and attack the fires," he said.

Preliminary estimates of the public cost of the crisis will exceed $75 million, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said in a letter requesting federal aid from President Bush.

The president plans to visit the ravaged areas Thursday. Responding to Schwarzenegger's request, he has signed an emergency declaration that provides additional federal aid to the beleaguered counties.

The region's devilish Santa Ana winds have spread the fires since Sunday, while tinder-dry brush fed the flames. Firefighters were forced to deal with wind gusts of 70 miles per hour in mountain canyons Tuesday, grounding firefighting aircraft at numerous times throughout the day.

The prognosis for Wednesday is better but still should make for tough firefighting weather, National Weather Service meteorologist Johnnie Powell said. Temperatures will hit the low 90s in fire areas, and winds are expected to gust to 30 miles per hour.

"It's still a bad situation," Powell said. "Those are still strong winds for a fire."

...Qualcomm Stadium has been housing on average 10,000 evacuees a day. Mayoral spokesman Fred Sainz said the football stadium has become a small city, with meals, medical services, masseurs, musicians, a commissary, and even fenced, and separated, areas for cats and dogs.

...Tom and Carole Richard, 51 and 55 respectively, live in an apartment in Ramona in the Mount Woodson community on a hill where they have a panoramic view. They said they watched as a long procession of cars started evacuating Sunday night.

At 4 a.m. Monday, their landlord told them to go. They figured Wal-Mart would be a good place to stay.

"Safety in numbers," Carole Richard said. "It's like: where can you go for all your basic needs? Wal-Mart!"

With their 13-year-old cat hiding in the backseat, the Richards slept in the car and used the restroom at a nearby gas station.

"The hardest thing is doing nothing," Carole said. "Just sitting here waiting." A few minutes later, she added, "You just feel kind of helpless. We're not hopeless. We sit here and pray. We know the Lord's on our side. It's just the waiting."

I really admire the bravery and strength of the firefighters.

I really admire the faith of the evacuees.

It must be so difficult to leave your home and not know if it will be there when you return. Feelings of powerlessness and uncertainty are so horrible.

The randomness of the fires must be so stressful. Imagine having your home and your future riding on which way the wind blows.

God be with those people displaced by the fires. May God watch over the men and women fighting the flames.