In California. the season of wildfires has once again begun and has already brought disasterous results. There are currently uncontrolled fires in the suburban neighborhoods of San Diego and also in the hills of Malibu immediately north of Los Angeles. In both areas, homes, businesses and churches have been destroyed by the fires. Today, numerous other fires have erupted in various other parts of Southern California.
These fires can be inconvenient and possibly disruptive for visitors planning a vacation in California. Such fires frequently cause closure of roads, highways and even entire neighborhoods. Neighborhoods are sometimes quarantined to protect the curious onlookers from the fires. Roads are cleared for emergency vehicles, and highways are frequently blocked due to poor visibility from smoke.
The coastal hills of California are covered with grasses, low shrubbery and scattered stands of trees. Canyons and ravines that crease those hillsides are typically choked with thicker vegetation and more trees. During the late summer through early winter, dry weather usually turns that vegation into dry tinder. On rare occasions, the cool moist winds that normally flow off of the Pacific Ocean are replaced by hot dry winds coming from the Mojave Desert to the east. They are called "the Santa Ana Winds", and they can create extremely dangerous fire conditions. Southern California is currently experiencing Santa Ana Winds.
Those winds are likely to abate, and the moister air off of the Ocean will once again bring relief to California. When that occurs, the fires should be quickly subdued. Meanwhile, it would be wise to avoid Southern California for the next week or two.