We didn't hear about these hellish fires until late this morning when we were driving back from Joshua Tree and made a phone call to a friend back in Ventura. "Fires?" was our ignorant response to their panic. "What fires?" Well, I have CNN on right now and am sick at heart watching not only thousands of people lose their homes and all their belongings but am also trying to block out the hideous mental image of all the flora and fauna being incinerated. (I do hope drastic measures have been taken to protect the Wild Animal Park!) 100,000 acres already scorched in San Diego County!? 250,000 evacuated!? The Malibu Castle used in the Rockford Files destroyed!?

Returning on the 10 freeway, we drove through a thick fog of brown smoke and dust kicked up by the Santa Ana winds (and saw several big rig trucks blown over on their side!). We felt those fabled "Santa Anas" in the desert over the weekend. Scary as those winds were, at times it did put us in the mood for Halloween. (All that dust created a foggy ambiance on the deserted country roads that reminded me of an old horror film. Specifically, the truly distrubing Motel Hell. ) Even if those intense winds kept us up at night, at least they weren't carrying deadly embers! It was so hot and dry last week that one couldn't help but think, "what horribly perfect weather for fire." And now, tragically, here we are again. Makes you remember that everything we accumulate will one way or another be returned to dust. And that it's time to make a detailed inventory of everything we've got and upgrade that home insurance policy!

Photo from the L.A. Times