Actually, with the lack of rain the past couple years, fire season is pretty much year round these days, even without any Santa Ana winds and the accompanying very low humidity to contend with.

One of the dozen fires to have sprung us since yesterday is really, really close to where I used to live earlier this year. I never really considered that neighborhood to be in any particular danger from wildfires, so this spate of fires has been personally sobering. I called my friend who still lives there and she says the smoke is quite heavy at times, although there are no evacuation orders for her area. She can't see any flames from her house even though the fire is pretty close. I don't know which is worse, being able to see the flames, or knowing that the fire is close but not being to see it.