Palisades

The sun has no mercy

and the wind is grim.

All it takes is a spark to

light up the hillside.

Birds explode from trees

as fire crowns the ridge.

Like a child doing cartwheels

it bounds across the land.

Firefighters climb

with heavy gear

yet flames consume the other side

to shut down the highway.

Santa Ana carries embers

to new tinder.

Columns of smoke rise.

Angry dragon clouds form

breathing more fire.

Louder than a furious freight train 

it approaches. 

Packing to evacuate

is a game of Tetris.

How do you jam your whole life

into a car?

Survival is an apocalyptic movie

flames flank the race out of town.

In less than thirty minutes

history erased

lives displaced

businesses, homes

childhoods

up in smoke.

Scattered bricks

mangled metal and soot

are all that remain.

But through the ash

friends and strangers 

anonymous heroes reach out

to make sure others

don't have to experience

this crisis alone.

It's unthinkable catastrophes

that bring out the best

in humanity.