Now they're saying some kid set at least one of the blazes that destroyed property but thankfully didn't take any lives. I guess the question is, Where the hell were the parents?
Kids play with matches all the time; I very nearly blew up a shed when I was eight but we had the wisdom enough to douse the small fire before it got out of control. It was part of a regimen, I guess. We used to light our plastic soldiers on fire to morph their appearance, therefore create bad guys that our other toys could battle. Our little experiments with fire never lasted. It was over before it became it could become interesting (in a child's eye).
But, I mean, the areas that burned are relatively remote; any yokel driving by in a pickup (or a sedan for that matter) who tosses their butt out the window could've started the wildfires. Pundits are now perhaps misquoting firefighters who've chorused, "Ain't seen nothing like it." They were referring to the size of the blazes, the coverage. And it's true: the acreage that burned in SoCal is akin to burning all of NYC.
Well, be that as it may, I suppose what's disheartening is that all the elements were there for a natural disaster: low humidity, high temperatures, housing developments, drought, Santa Ana winds. It could only go one way, and it did.
The fires are now all but extinguished. The smoke has cleared, and it was strange to note that having seen an actual blue sky for the first time in more than a week was rather shocking. It was so amazingly blue that I was reminded that this was California. Life continues for the West Coast Hearts...
