Force of nature!

Wild fire is no respecter of class or wealth.

“In southern California, fires tore through Malibu mansions and working-class suburban homes. State officials put the number of people forced from their homes statewide at more than 200,000. Evacuations included the city of Malibu, home to some of Hollywood’s biggest stars.”

One old man from a place called Paradise, a place where he lived for more than 80 years, went back to see what was left of his home. Basically nothing but a bit of twisted metal.

Imagine living in a place called Paradise and seeing it turn into a living hell.

 “We knew Paradise was a prime target for forest fire over the years,” he said. “We’ve had ‘em come right up to the city limits, oh yeah, but nothing like this.”

And we, human beings, have always done this. We build homes in places we know might be vulnerable to fire or flood, even earthquake and volcanic eruption. And we trust to fate and to whatever gods we believe on to keep us safe. Sometimes we erect flood defences and make firebreaks, hoping our science will help us.

And I suppose it does, to a certain extent. But at present it seems that everything is going to extremes.

What will happen, I wonder, to all those people whose homes have been destroyed. And not just their homes, but the possessions and keepsakes that had to be left behind, the vehicles they tried to flee in, and for some of them, members of their family who could not get out in time.

Will it make them more sympathetic to refugees trying to escape from disasters of one kind or another?

Will it change the mind of climate-change deniers?

That remains to be seen.