When I lived in Southern California in the early part of the 1990s, I saw earthquakes, wild fires, droughts, floods and the worst civil riots in recent American history. Not necessarily for those reasons exclusively, I found it hard to nurture much affection for the Golden State, but I still do have good reasons to remain sympathetic to the plights of its citizens — not the least of which is because my mother, sister and nephew all still live there.

And, from fiscal crises to horrific lapses in Democratic judgment, I always feel at least a little bit saddened by the unfortunate events that always seem to beset the world’s fifth largest economy. The recent wild fire raging throughout Southern California is another of these instances. I just got off the phone with a colleague in the Southland, and he’s tense with worry that he may lose his home to this monstrous natural disaster. I took a look at the satellite photos at NASA, too, and I found myself humbled and frightened by the immensity of the smoke. My heart goes out to everyone facing this elemental beast.