"When the hills of Los Angeles are burning/ Palm trees are candles in the murder winds/ So many lives are on the breeze/ Even the stars are ill at ease/ And Los Angeles is burning."-Bad Religion
"...California, where the sun is warm, where the winds called Santa Ana make you feel like you belong..." -Debbie Boone
After a week of captivity from the raging fires I was happy to return to work. It was interesting to talk to my friends and colleagues about their fire experiences. Many people expressed to me how they had developed a general sense of unease, loneliness, guilt, and claustrophobia. Indeed we were all thrown for a loop and out of our element with this fire, and with these winds. Although I was never personally in any danger from the fires I think I am still psychically recovering from the crisis perpetuated by the unrelenting wind know as the Santa Ana.
Not being from California the Santa Ana winds are rather new to me, but they have a long mythologized history. I found the quotes above on Wikipedia. I thought it was interesting that the Santa Ana winds were described as both "murder winds" and winds that "make you feel like you belong." After experiencing this fire crisis I can say that the winds that fueled the fires also revealed some beautiful and unmentioned San Diego secrets, for instance, that there is community deeply rooted in this place, and it is made of all colors, nationalities, and all socio-economic backgrounds; and people in this community care for each other. In this sense the warm winds have made me feel like I belong---have rooted me more completely to this place---however the method is mad. The winds and fires have caused so much destruction and made us all feel so sad.
Let us hope for a quick recovery.
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