Los Angeles, California Wildfire

Sources say the blaze started Friday night in northern Los Angeles and has burned more than 2,600 acres. The fire was driven by high winds, causing it to spread. Thousands of residents fled in the dark. I can only imagine how scary this is.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in Los Angeles County.

These are photos taken by Dan Steinberg. As you can see, flames burn on both sides of Interstate 5, the main freeway linking Los Angeles to the north. Click here to view the slideshow.

Here's an excerpt from the Yahoo News Article:

"You could see absolutely nothing," said Jackie Burns, 77, who, along with her husband, Len, fled their mobile home at 3 a.m. as the fire raged through the neighborhood. "It was like looking into a black hole. It looked like the end of the world to me."

Scary. I honestly haven't seen a wildfire as huge as this one, but I guess I haven't seen a single wildfire in my life... yet. hehe

Wikipedia cited, many states in the United States, Canadian provinces and many countries around the world use Fire lookouts as a means of early detection of forest fires. Did they see this coming? Daniel Berlant, a spokesman at the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said, "the dry conditions make it perfect for more fires".

A wildfire is a natural condition - a natural part of ecosystems in many, but not all forest types. It is sometimes essential for forest regeneration, but when lives are at risk, then we have to do something to prevent huge, destructive ones from happening. Like maybe, find ways to improve the wildland fire suppression techniques? And it's always safer to live far away from wildfire prone areas, in the first place. Still, any kind of fire can happen anywhere, right? Even in big cities... But there are places with high risk, and there are places with low risk - you take your pick. If you're destined to die by fire, would you like to be burned by a forest fire, or fire caused by faulty electrical lines, or fire started by a candle in a lowly shack in the mountains, etc... hehe Sorry, just kidding. :)

165 homes were burned on Saturday. It's a sad and serious matter. I hope they'll find a nice, cozy home before Christmas.

Read the full article at Yahoo News.