Speaking of the wildfires...
...check out the six most recent pix that I just added to my favorites list on Flikr...
Wow! Amazing stuff! The fires are creating their own weather, essentially, and the sun through the smoke is otherworldly.
But stop for a minute to think about perspective. I wondered how the evacuations around San Diego compared to the evacuation of New Orleans during Katrina, so I looked it up on Google and found the Wikipedia page on Katrina...
So.... put this into perspective. When Katrina was approaching New Orleans, there was enough time to get over 1 million people evacuated from Louisiana, including New Orleans. Only the poorest and most stubborn people were left to fend for themselves in the areas near New Orleans that were below sea level. 25,000 people ended up at the Superdome, which became a disaster area in itself. We all saw the pictures, we all watched horrified as the media broadcast live pictures from outside the dome, while the government and military were unable to get a convoy down there to help.
Now think about southern California. With almost no advance notice, 250,000 people were asked to evacuate, and thousands were taken to
Qualcomm Stadium as a temporary shelter. I understand that FEMA is sending cots.
Yes, cots. I hope they don't contain formaldehyde like the FEMA trailers they gave to people in Louisiana as "temporary" housing (some people are still there).
Today's headlines say that 1 million people are now about to be evacuated, which places this on the same scale as hurricane Katrina!
Bye for now. Stay SAFE out there!
Chris Mastrangelo
Washington DC USA
"Inside the Beltway"
