Every night for a week we have made a fire to keep warm in Izu. Growing up, the only fires I ever had in California were on camping trips or at the beach, which is now illegal. (With only sand and water around, why are fires illegal at the beach?)
Anyway, my home state of California seems to have a serious fire problem this year. My brother in Napa lost his second house to fire, my friend’s neighbor lost his house in San Diego, and thousands of homes have burned. Last night on the news, they showed a satellite view of the fire, and the smoke covered an area the size of northern Honshu. Wow!
The experts say we should get used to it. That is the way it is going to be in the future: more and bigger fires; stronger hurricanes and typhoons; shorter, warmer winters; longer, hotter summers; rising sea levels; more frequent, extreme floods. It is getting harder to enjoy a simple fire for warmth in winter.
John