(Pic by Mel Melcon /Los Angeles Times)
It's the pact with the devil we make when building up Southern California: Countless days of rain-free, sunny skies. But on the flip side, that means the possibility of an occasional, destructive fire is always there.
Now, of the two fires, the one burning out of control near Porter Ranch is of particular concern to fire officials:
"This fire has the potential to move from where it is now . . . perhaps as far as Pacific Coast Highway," Los Angeles County Fire Chief Michael Freeman said Monday afternoon as he assessed what he called "a design for disaster." Freeman said winds of up to 60 mph were expected to push the fire down through canyons at least through this morning.
The winds were so strong that Freeman said embers were being blown as far as a quarter mile, and flames stretched up to 80 feet. Flames longer than 8 feet are considered virtually insurmountable, and Los Angeles County prohibits hand crews from approaching flames longer than 4 feet, according to Drew Smith, a county fire behaviorist.
Porter Ranch fire evacuees are being sent to Chatsworth High -- the same spot a few weeks ago where families were sent to reunite in the wake of the Metrolink train collision.
As the Times notes: "It is the rare Southern Californian who doesn't have a personal disaster story."
Any of you forced to relocate, or are you sticking around and breathing the thick smoke?
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