Its not one fire. Its numerous fires. An entire small mountain town in San Diego is gone. Off the map. The Mountain communities of Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear, where 10's of thousands of homes are, may be lost.
We just got through a hot summer and a hot 4th of July were numerous fires broke out due to fireworks. All these fires were easily and quickly contained. The first major fires this past week began before the Santa Anas. The most deadly ones were set as the Santa Anas were beginning to enter the area.
Yeah, I know :-( The fire that wiped out Laguna Beach was actually multiple fires. I'm hoping Julian will be ok (three firefighters have been hurt already while fighting that fire). It's looking very serious that way. I'm watching the fire approaching the 5 over in Santa Clariat (on tv). A firechief said he thought if Lake Arrowhead began to go, it could possibly be the worst fire California ever experienced because of all the dead trees. This is all so sad. The lost town starts with a C but I'm not familiar with it.
The Santa Anas have exacerbated the situation. That's what usually happens and why the fires at this time of year are more of a threat than the ones you refer to in the summer.