This would be day four or maybe five of Dante's Inferno So-Cal style.

I'm a number of miles away from the closest one and surrounded entirely by water and concrete, neither of which is particularly known for being flammable. But still I haven't seen a clear sky in days. It looks sort of like the low cloud/fog mixture that makes up our usual morning marine layer except this time it's ashy and vaguely brown and not bringing any of the normal cooling effects of clouds because it is, of course, smoke. It's leaving a nasty layer of gook on my car and making it difficult to run any real distance outside, not that that compares to the traumas impacting those who live in fire prone areas.

There's been some public debate about this, the question of just how badly we should all feel for people who choose to live in areas that routinely and predictably catch on fire. There are people who have lost multiple houses to one fire after another and continue to rebuild or to move to other equally dangerous areas. Even firefighters have made some veiled and not-so-veiled public comments about having to protect homes that are un-protectable.

Mostly, I think we shouldn't kick people while they're down. Half a million people are in shelters, which from reports are all being efficiently run and are well stocked with food, water and volunteers. Apparently, Red Bull, Starbucks coffee and humus are available among other things, including massages and acupuncture. (Fire or not, it's still L.A.) But it's pretty darn difficult to shake your finger at someone, even someone drinking a free Red Bull, who's sleeping on the floor of a gymnasium with their children and a thousand of their closest friends, having just lost nearly all their earthly possessions. In a place where a middle-class home can easily run over a million dollars, getting back to where you'd been - insurance or not - seems impossible.

I do think the city planning committees in these effected areas have been incredibly irresponsible in allowing development where Mother Nature has stated time and time and time again she will not tolerate it. I think fire retardant building materials of all kinds, not just roofs, should be mandatory as should desert-like landscaping near all structures.

Unfortunately, this isn't the end of it. Soon the rainy season will come. It will rain on a relatively predictable basis for several months...which will soak the newly scorched earth...which is mostly in hilly or mountainous areas...which will become unstable...which will slide, taking houses and streets with it.

Such is the circle of life in Southern California.