Wildfire Season Again

The wind abruptly switched on and changed directions yesterday evening. The dewpoint plumeted. Look at this nearby (uncalibrated) personal weather station.

Today, the dewpoint dropped even lower; it is currently at -4 °C.

Is it any wonder that Malibu is on fire again? Actually, all of southern California appears to be on fire. See this map of current SoCal fires. When I went out today, my eyes stung from all the smoke. The LA Times has an informative flash animation showing that Fire is a river that runs uphill.

I noticed with dismay that there are a bunch of fires in the vicinity of Cindy Rinne's home. Four years ago, her family lost almost everything in a wildfire that took out hundreds of homes. She grabbed her art quilts and her husband grabbed her Bernina. Her entire stash was wiped out. Yet, life goes on and she is continuing to create.

There are also a bunch of fires near Victorville. I hope they are contained before the DARPA Urban Challenge semifinals next week. We are going to cheer The Golem Group on. Their vehicle is a souped up Prius. How can we not cheer for them?