Drought, dense brush, Santa Ana winds -- the formula for terrible brush fires.
Thousands have been forced to evacuate from their homes in the North Valley where more than 7,000 acres have burned, three freeways were closed and two lives were lost.
Smoke from the fires has clouded the Valley since Sunday morning.
Authorities have long warned that conditions were ripe for disaster and the situation likely will become more dangerous in the weeks ahead with long-term forecasts predicting an extremely dry winter.
Thousands have been forced to evacuate from their homes in the North Valley where more than 7,000 acres have burned, three freeways were closed and two lives were lost.
Smoke from the fires has clouded the Valley since Sunday morning.
Authorities have long warned that conditions were ripe for disaster and the situation likely will become more dangerous in the weeks ahead with long-term forecasts predicting an extremely dry winter.
Ron Kaye is the former editor of the Los Angeles Daily News where he spent 23 years helping to make the newspaper the voice of the San Fernando Valley and fighting for a city government that serves the people and not special interests.
Twice in recent years, Los Angeles Magazine listed Kaye among the city’s most influential people, specifically in the area of politics. Kaye has been variously described in the media as the “accidental anarchist,” “the Patrick Henry of the San Fernando Valley” and a “passionate populist.” He is now committed to
carrying on his crusade for a greater Los Angeles as an ordinary citizen. Previously, Ron worked at the Los Angeles Herald Examiner,
Associated Press, Cleveland Plain Dealer and The Australian as well as papers
in Fairbanks, Alaska and Yakima, Wash. He also wrote for Newsweek magazine, The Guardian in London and the National Enquirer.
I blame George Bush!