Most people here will have seen or heard about the fire devastation currently being inflicted on the leafy suburbs north of Los Angeles on the news. The causes, while not unusual at other times of the year, certainly are in mid-winter in that neck of the woods, High pressure builds up to the north, low pressure to the south; dry air leaks south west from the former to the latter comes up against the twin barriers of the Sierra Nevada and the cap, or temperature inversion associated with the high pressure, and is diverted south, and then further channelled and squeezed through the gaps along the mountain range to the north of LA. This greatly accelerated air flow descends down the south facing slopes which accommodate the suburbs, further drying out and rising by temperature, by virtue of compression, as it reaches LA.
What differs from usual in this year's outbreak is tinder-dry vegetation, following almost two months of drought and unseasonably high temperatures. Double irony lies in the fact that the most affected so far are the largely the uber-wealthy districts inhabited by a US establishment electorally predisposed to climate change denial and the famous with whom they mix, along with its shortly to be installed President. The symmetry between event and scepticism is surely noteworthy. Whether this tragic experience will prove the wake-up call or crazy confirmation of whatever conspiracy scenarios are perpetrated explanations by the usual suspects, in high places, believed in the collective mindset of too many American citizens, remains to be seen, as this once-great country and exemplar witnesses its own precious possessions sacrificed to the flames, along with the unlearned lessons of history.
What differs from usual in this year's outbreak is tinder-dry vegetation, following almost two months of drought and unseasonably high temperatures. Double irony lies in the fact that the most affected so far are the largely the uber-wealthy districts inhabited by a US establishment electorally predisposed to climate change denial and the famous with whom they mix, along with its shortly to be installed President. The symmetry between event and scepticism is surely noteworthy. Whether this tragic experience will prove the wake-up call or crazy confirmation of whatever conspiracy scenarios are perpetrated explanations by the usual suspects, in high places, believed in the collective mindset of too many American citizens, remains to be seen, as this once-great country and exemplar witnesses its own precious possessions sacrificed to the flames, along with the unlearned lessons of history.
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