After the Sylmar Fires

Driving up toward the grapevine last Wednesday, there was clear before and after evidence of the havoc wrought by the recent wildfires in the Southern California foothills.

Above is how the hills looked before the fires. Lush, large green trees and foliage, some bare brown spots.

Home to all kinds of wildlife, coyotes, squirrels, bunny rabbits, lizards and so on and so forth.

A few weeks after the fires, there are construction crews working to make the local roads safe against the newly barren landscape.

And there are black burn scars all over the hills. I cannot help but think of how fast our creatures would have had tor un to escape those fierce blazes.

The day before Thanksgiving, the skies parted for some brief sunshine, not long before the sun set on the I-5 and everyone stuck upon it for countless hours on end.