Forgive the parochial nature of this post (and the earlier one on the same subject).

When I am home in San Diego visiting family, I often visit for a respite the mountain town of Julian, which is much like Galena. So this, from today’s San Diego Union-Tribune, breaks my heart:

"Fire crews are waging a frantic battle to save Julian, carving battle lines around the central business district of the mountain community best known for antique shopping and apple pie….Julian was deserted last night. Streets were empty, shops closed. The only vehicles on Main Street were those of sheriff’s deputies."

This one fire has already burned a land area twice the size of the City of Chicago, and destroyed almost 1200 homes. Massive doesn’t even begin to describe it.