California Seasons: Fire, Mudslide, Earthquake, Heat
by chris cunningham
Parents evacuated out of Fallbrook. Homes destroyed. Choking smoke. Red polluted sunsets. Hey, just another day in paradise! The sun through the clouds and on the water was so saturated my camera just gave up and put flourescent orange in.
While I was sitting inside playing the Wii to avoid the nasty air, I was also sorting through old video tapes and found my footage of the Laguna fires from 1993. I was at work when someone pointed out that a hill nearby was on fire. So I went out to check and noticed Laguna was a huge smoke cloud. That’s more than just a hill! I left work right then because I couldn’t quite tell what it was burning towards. That night the flames came over the hill towards Laguna Hills but stalled there. Laguna and Malibu burned to the ground that year. Anyway, these are the first hours of the massive fire that roared through Laguna for 10 days. Just awful.
Wow, does that bring back memories! I remember watching the fire from the upstairs bedroom – an awful sight! I feel for the folks who lost homes this time and seeing the photos of LB and knowing how it has risen from the ashes gives hope to those facing the same thing. We are fortunate and soooo happy to be home! Remembering Laguna makes me even more grateful..thanks!
luv, mom
Scarey and very very sad, but beautiful photos.