On Wednesday, January 8th I flew back to California after visiting my mom in Houston. I've been on vacation for about a week and been following devastating fires in Southern California. They certainly seemed surreal from half a country away. It was hard to even fathom hurricane-force wind gusts and a dry landscape being joined by flames. Honestly, it was a concern I had as a forecaster when I left. We could see these Santa Ana winds setting up, and they looked strong. I dread such events before significant rains fall.
I noticed that flights were still going into and coming out of Los Angeles so I wasn't particularly worried that my flight wouldn't make it however I was concerned about what I would see when I got back home.
Between a couple of jobs here in California, I've lived in the area almost 30 years and I've seen plenty of fires but I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like what I saw this last week. Sure, there have been larger fires but in terms of the destruction of structures and lives these fires are almost impossible to put into proper perspective.
The perspective I got was from thousands of feet above the fire and miles away. In this video clip you get to see what I saw from my airplane seat coming back home.
Like many, I'm saddened by the devastation and hope that soon we’ll get these fires under control and start the process of recovery.
