It’s amazing how many forest fires occur without ever being reported. Fire fighters are truly amazing, and horribly under appreciated people.
Los Angeles is a gigantic slab of concrete, but to the West, North, and East, there are large forests just awaiting the adventurous souls who make their way out into the wilderness.
The Angeles National Forest is one of our favorite places to camp during the Spring, Summer, and Fall seasons. It’s a 4-season forest with good conditions year round. After picking up the trailer from the dealer we knew exactly where we wanted to bring it for our first adventure.
During our few weeks in the forest we witnessed several fires spur up. We didn’t necessarily see fire itself, rather, smokestacks in the distance that dissipated within a few hours. One day however, we were driving home to our trailer and I noticed a rather large cloud coming from the mountains as drove in (seen in the photo at the top).
Upon first glance I was certain that we weren’t in harms way, our campground was just a bit further east, but I knew the fire wasn’t too far away either. We watched the fire burn and grow overnight. At night you could see the glow from the canyon in which it was burning. We woke up to news that it had spread like the wind and was completely out of control. I opened the trailer door in the morning and it was rather surreal – it’s moments like that I kick myself for not grabbing the camera or even making a video.
The morning after the fire began everything was covered in ash. The cars, trailer, ground, literally everything had a smooth layer of ash on it, much like snow. The atmosphere had also kept the clouds and smoke in nice clump together, so it was as if you were walking through fog.I’d imagine the air quality was quite hazardous at that point.
It was then we made the decision to pack up and leave the forest. We had plans to stay at the various campgrounds inside the forest and make our way out at a pace that made sense, but the fires were a dangerous game of Russian roulette. It was time to go – lightspeed.
