Well, it's more Topanga (not Tujunga) and Malibu that have fires with such regularity (and then complain when they can't get fire insurance for their multi-million dollar homes and want taxpayer financed insurance), but yes, fires are an annual problem in any foothill community in Southern California.

If you own your own place, you can clear vegetation, cultivate fire-resistant landscaping, and "fire proof" your dwelling by various means (enclosed eaves, covered vents, fire resistant roofing, etc), but for those of us who are apartment dwellers, there's not much we can do but be prepared to bug out.

My "A" list is important papers and my BOB.
My "B" list is photos and computer.
My "C" list is other memorabilia, favorite gear, clothes, etc.

When the "Santa Ana" (originally called the "Satana" winds by the early Spanish settlers who associated the hot dry winds with the Devil) blow around here and things start to burn, there's not much one can do but pray that the winds die down. While the winds are blowing, no fires get actually put out; the FD just tries to do damage control and structure protection until the winds die down. It's a "fun" (ha, ha) annual ritual: life in the blacksmith's bellows.

Some have hurricanes, others tornadoes, still others ice and snow. Here, we have fire storms and the occasional "region buster" (if you thought Katrina's damage was wide-spread, just wait for an 8 pointer quake in a populated area) quake. Be it ever so vulnerable, there's no place like home.

HJ

Malibu,Tujunga and Topanga are all California indian words. Malibu means ' expensive village on beach that is home to ceremonial performers with to much dentalium shells.'
Topanga translates ' canyon full of strange people' and Tujunga " We moved here to avoid the spanish with de Anza'
The correct word for Simi is Shi'mi-a ' quiet valey for tribal law enforcers to live in.'

Chris:
We have one going down here in San Diego County also it's on the border of Oceanside and the Marine Base.

I am not up for deployment in the near future, and I am actually thankful. While I would go in a second to help, I hate fighting fire in California for a number of reason... You listed the primary reason; predictably, unpredictable fire behavior due to super dry, fast winds that very few windows to get ahead of the flames.

California is built to burn... I don't know if there will ever be a complete solution.

Anyway, good luck and be Safe!

Well, some things are looking better -- at least for Tujunga, crazy sounding name or not. The winds have abated some, and the Marek fire is 75% contained. Of course, "containment" is a relative thing. A shift of the wind, and all "containment" is off, but the fire officials are "cautiously optimistic." Several evacuation orders have been lifted. I've finally opened my windows. It still smells something like a giant campfire, but the prevailing winds are blowing away from where I live.

It was pretty freaky, driving home last night, to see people pulled up alongside the road watching the fires burn. The fires look something like a a National Geographic volcanoes special. It's an odd feeling looking up at what are normally a hulking dark mass above Los Angeles and instead seeing a red glow outlined against the night sky.

Those downwind of the Sesnon fire may not be so lucky. The winds are still strong there. The fire may be headed to the sea down the "Malibu corridor" which seems to get a major fire every year almost without fail. The topography is such that the fires get funnelled into deep, narrow canyons. The high pressure (which is what causes Santa Ana winds), drops throush these deep narrow canyons straight to the low pressure area over the sea. The deep narrow canyons channelize and concentrate the winds. Add to that the fact that fires create their own wind drafts, and you get a resulting firestorm that marches to the sea in a manner somewhat reminiscent of Sherman's march during the Civil War: unstoppable with not much left standing in its wake.

Let's pray that the winds die down -- or at least everyone gets out OK. We lost an entire engine company in 2006 when a firestorm overtook them so quickly that they didn't even have time to deploy their fire protective shelters. The sight of a blackened and melted fire truck with coroner's tarps covering bodies all around it is not something one forgets easily.

"California is built to burn... I don't know if there will ever be a complete solution."

It will be all right when they finish paving it.

"It's an odd feeling looking up at what are normally a hulking dark mass above Los Angeles and instead seeing a red glow outlined against the night sky."

Grew up there, saw that. Don't miss it one little bit.

You can do all the fireproofing around your home that anyone has ever thought of, and it isn't going to make one bit of difference when those winds are shoving a big wall of fire ahead of it at 100 mph. If you live in that kind of area, you'd best be ready to run, and don't dawdle about it.

Sue

Hey, philip… I don’t know what that image actually is, but it is bringing up a username and password prompt when I look at this thread. Could you try taking the image and loading it to ImageShack, Photobucket, TinyPic, or some other image hosting site that does not mind being hotlinked to?