As the various fires in Southern California devour whole neighborhoods, we find here and there a single house that survives, untouched save perhaps some smoke damage. Luck, a fortuitous roll of the cosmic dice -- or the results of preparation on the part of the homeowner ( Read more... )

There are disturbing reports that the Kenneth Fire was deliberately set -- and when the alleged culprit was captured with a blowtorch in his possession, the LAPD said there wasn't probable cause to arrest him for arson ( Read more... )

The hills around Los Angeles are going up in flames, and everything seems to be going wrong in efforts to fight the fires. Low or nonexistent water pressure in many of the hydrants, a mayor off to a distant country to attend the inauguration of a foreign leader, and roads jammed with people trying to evacuate making it difficult for firefighters to ( Read more... )

IV fluid is something we tend to take for granted. After a family member was in the hospital twice this year, I became very familiar with the sight of a bag of IV fluid on its stand at the bedside -- and learned how to communicate to the nurses' station so they'd understand when the line was clogged again ( Read more... )

After any major wind event, there is going to be extensive cleanup. All told, we came off lightly, since the tree limb that came down on our roof was a softwood (an arbor vita, a kind of conifer with soft, scale-like needles) and thus bent rather than crashing through the roof. Dealing with it was just a matter of pulling it off the roof and ( Read more... )

We mourn for the six road workers who lost their lives while making sure the bridge was cleared of ordinary civilian traffic in the moments before the ship struck it ( Read more... )

Bad news from Japan: a stone believed to hold the spirit of a malicious nine-tailed fox has split open.

According to local folklore, this kitsune took the form of a beautiful woman in order to kill the emperor of the time and assume the throne. However, she was killed by a samurai and her spirit imprisoned in this hollow stone. The volcanic ( Read more... )

Various experts have their estimates of how much air the missing Titan submersible may have left -- but everyone agrees it's not going to be long before there simply is no longer any hope that the passengers will be found alive. It would be a sad irony if the banging sound that's being heard out there is actually them -- but it was discovered too ( Read more... )

Disasters seem to come out of nowhere, but when we look more closely, it often turns out that a string of seemingly small decisions made a salvageable situation fall apart. Small problems put off, concerns raised only to be brushed off, whatever -- the pattern repeats again and again in slightly different arrangements.

Lucy Easthope is a ( Read more... )

Horrific images coming in of the destruction from Ian in Florida.

Hoping our friends and customers down there are safe, and their property losses will be minimal.

Hoping the best for everyone in Florida.