I was surrounded by fires, but once the Santa Ana winds died down, they spread slower. I was shocked that 6000 acres of the Naval Weapons Storage wasn't immediately put out. It's the largest weapons stash in the West. I think they store all the baddies underground, though. I believe they did move some aircraft from both bases til the fires died down.
Since I'm so close to the beach, the wind always blows from the west until the evening, then there's just a gentle breeze that grows from the east. We don't have a "fire harzard season" anymore. They say that b/c of our drought, we are a fire hazard 365 days a year now.
I lived in Southern Cali from '74 to '76. It was a different place back then. I lived in Oxnard, 80 miles north of L.A., on the beach. My place was maybe a block or two from the beach. But it was an oyster shell beach, so it was hard for me to enjoy it. I like a sandy beach. I worked on NAS Point Mugu in the Navy, and there was a nice, but small, stretch of beach there. But Southern Cali has changed so much since then. Sorry this drought has changed even the fire hazard times for you.

Here's to the Fire Fighters!
