Video of Southern California Fires: A Plea for Help

The video included in this report is a music slideshow of pictures from the California wildfires

Photo courtesy: YouTube

(SAN DIEGO) - Over a million California residents have been evacuated from their homes as wildfires rage from the mountains toward the sea, leaving at least a billion dollars in damage in San Diego County alone.

Many questions exist as to how and why so many fires developed, scorching the southwest region of the state from Santa Barbara County to the Mexican border. At least five people have died but dozens have received injuries. Phone lines are down in places and parts of San Diego County are without electricity.

One thing that seems to stand out in case after case is the unity people there have shown in dealing with this staggering disaster. Another question that people will likely soon begin asking, is how were so many fires able to do so much damage in so many different locations?

The origin of some of the fires is known; the Poomacha Fire on Highway 76 in the Pauma Valley of San Diego County, started October 23rd as a structure fire on the La Jolla Indian Reservation. The Sedgewick Fire on Figueroa Mountain in Santa Barbara County, now contained, was caused by power lines.

But what caused the rest of the more than 20 potentially deadly fires? To expect many answers now would be expecting far too much. Firefighters and emergency crews are driven to save lives and minimize property damage at this point, they certainly don't have time to track down the causes of the various fires.

One of the reasons may be the fact that firefighters in this nation are not funded to the highest standards. We all remember images of air tankers breaking up in mid-air during firefighting missions. Many of these planes that are still used today were manufactured during or shortly after WWII. The people who originally flew them are all in their 80's and 90's if they are alive at all, but the planes still fly.

It would be fair to think that with everything Americans have compromised in order to keep this nation safe from terrorists, that we would have more adequate resources to deal with fires in places that always burn.

As Californians band together to survive, the real heart of Americans is shown. The Marines and the Navy, both largely based in San Diego County, have opened their gates to evacuees and even just to pass through because of other roads being closed.

But it seems that all that national security we have embraced in recent years has flown right out the window in many respects. If people wanted to really hurt this country all they would need are books of matches and bad intentions. None of the agencies that I called today had any idea how the fires in their respective regions started. I hope that it was just a sad coincidence that so many raging fires have swept through California in such a close time frame.

The video included in this report is a slideshow of pictures from the California wildfires, and info on them is included. The creator said,"I am a resident of San Diego, so i am scared myself, I would like it if people could actually play a part in this and help out, because me and my family are scared to death."

You can visit the video producer's YouTube page at: wayneisagook