The Santa Ana Winds.

As of Janurary 8th. All of the entire National Forest is closed. At this time, the Lidia fire as of Thursday is now sixty percent contained which is to say, that yesterday this particular fire was forty percent contained. The Lidia fire encompasses three hundred and forty percent acres. The Los Angeles county fire department along side the Angelas National Forest Service have together established a unified command post to attack this fire as well as that of the Pacific Palisades fire and the Eaton fires.

There is also the Hurst Fire.Thus far the fires in Los Angeles have a death toll of five. My prayers are with everone and their families and the many pets left behind. The Hollywood Hills fire ,the Sunset hills fire are continuing to burn and the death toll is expected to rise.

In Southern California, in the fall and winter months, the Santa Ana winds typically and often, generate wind gust exceeding sixty mph. Sometimes these winds can exceed up to one hundred miles per hour.

As wind travels from the inlands they start to pick up enormous speed as they move towards the California coast lines.The Santa Ana winds are probably one of the most popular winds, as it is in fact associated with "California Wild Fires." What is most unique about these winds is that they are extremely dry and very strong therefore drying up the vegetation and along with that a great deal of soil erosion. This creates the ideal atmosphere for a wildfire to ignite and spread rapidly. I salute our first responders and our firemen whose courage and brevity and compassion goes without saying. The impact of these fires make it difficult for the

men and women to do their jobs because the Santa Ana winds are fiercely unpredictable. So here we are in this heartbreaking moment,experiencing the all to obvious consequences of climate change.

Stay focused.