Well we finally have a bit of weather to talk about here in SoCal!! The Winds have been incredible this morning.. Unfortuately quite a few fires have broken out.. Hoping and praying they don't happen in our area.. It was VERY unpleasant last year!

Ditto, bloody awful last year. I WILL NOT BE OPENING THE WINDOWS AND LETTING THE LOVELY BREEZE IN THIS YEAR (what a dumbo!!!) Its bin day our way and needless to say they are blowing down the road spilling rubbish all over the place. I didnt bother with mine - although i suppose thats one way to get rid of the stuff!

I'm definately NOT opening any windows... the black soot last year was horrendous!! Oh god the thoughts of cleaning those bloody venetian blinds again... I think i'll just move and leave em to the new tenants!!!! It was our bin day today too... luckily the rubbish didn;t spill.. but when they were emptied, the bins were flying everywhere!!!!!

Stay safe. I cringe when I hear the words "Santa Ana" on the news and I've never lived in CA. I can't imagine living through that threat practically every year.

its unpleasant thats for sure, and at times, for some downright dangerous. however, i would put up with this rather than have the threat of tornados - now they must be SCARY!

or earthquakes or hurricanes

Yup!

Hey Samba and Cyber are you guys still ok? (my CA geography isn't very good..not sure where you are in relation to the fires on the news this morning) stay safe.

Hey Lisa, yeah i'm fine... the main ones on the news are way north of us. Newport Beach area was on fire yesterday afternoon.. but they have now sorted then one.. although we could see the smoke from here.. just looked like a thick black horizon! We have Canyons behind us - they were on fire last year, so there the ones we're keeping an eye on!!

Phew...glad you're ok.

Except in California the fires kill more and do more damage in most years then quakes do.

I spent 25 years in San Diego and we never had a big quake, they still haven't.

The fires do appear to be getting worse, or it could just be from growth and having more homes in the fire areas now then in years past.

The last major quake to hit California and do major damage was in 1994.

I don't deny the sirens going off send chills down my spine, even after 30 year of it. However, I suppose it all comes down to what one gets used to. I would never live near enough to coast to get hit by a hurricane. It seems practically everyone in path of hurricane has massive damage. Yet, statistically, the odds are against you getting damage from a tornado because they only cause damage in relatively small sections.

That being said, I'll take a tornado, or fire or maybe even a hurricane, anyday, over an earthquake. At least I can see one coming, (usually) have adequate notice to take cover or get the hell out of Dodge. You have no warning with a 'quake, and there's nowhere to run.

Stay safe, people! Remember, you are more important than 'things'!

The Santa Ana's have been awful the past couple of days. I hope they manage to get those fires under control without too much further loss.

Totally. Last night was kind of still. I'm just waiting for a direction change, so those of us who aren't directly impacted by the fires get nosefulls of ash.

I hope everyone in the danger zones are okay. I remember last year in October, I could see the fires burning just on the other side of the 5 Freeway from my office.

Oy!

Orange County is not anywhere near the fires. Curiously, where I live [eastern Hollywood Hills] in not downwind from the fires. So although we are a lot closer, we don't get the smell.

That said, the we had to evacuate in May 2007 during the Griffith Park fire. Thank the people who outlawed new and replacement cedar shingle roofs three decades ago.