Woolsey Wildfire
The Woolsey wildfire started on November 8, 2018 and has burned over 98,000 acres of land, destroyed an estimated 1,100 structures and killed 3 people in Los Angeles and Ventura counties especially in the hard hit area of Malibu.
I had a chance to visit the area last Friday to witness the massive destruction. The first thing I came across was a bridge that spanned a creek over Mulholland Highway near Kanan Road. The steel beams had actually melted from the extreme heat and workers were pretty amazed at the sight as they attempted to formulate a plan to resurrect it.
As I drove over Mulholland Highway, Kanan Road and Point Dume, I was struck by the randomness of the destruction. Some areas seemed almost untouched by the fire, but then I would stumble upon a lone home that was burnt to the ground. Other areas were annihilated by the rapidly spreading flames except for an oasis of green that had been miraculously spared.
Fire engines, police cars and service vehicles were practically the only thing traveling along the highway, and workers were working as quickly as they could to restore power and fix the power lines that were dangerously lying along the side of the roads.
This looked like a fast moving fire, the upside being life under the earth may not have been as damaged as a slower and hotter fire that scorches the earth and leaves little life at all to regenerate.
So sad to see the home and think of the lives forever affected. Three lives lost, but three too many.