A State In Flames

HOW A COMBUSTIBLE MIX OF DROUGHT, DEVELOPMENT AND FIERCE DESERT WINDS SPARKED ONE OF CALIFORNIA'S WORST NATURAL DISASTERS

In the small Southern California community of Valley Center, 35 miles north of San Diego, a 20-year-old woman was horribly burned when she paused to rescue a cat. In Lake View Hills Estates, 25 miles to the south, a couple and their grown son perished as they raced in their car for the safety of a nearby reservoir. The body of one of their neighbors was found inside his charred RV, along with the remains of his four Irish wolfhounds. In Wynola, 40 miles northeast of San Diego, a fire fighter trying to save a house died when a freak turn...

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