The Larry Kane Report

Like Katrina in 2005, the heat in California has reminded all of us how vulnerable we are to the forces of nature, especially in the places we consider to be “paradise”, Florida, the beautiful Gulf Coast and now the state of California. There is a bit of a difference in the California crisis. State officials have risen to the task with an aggressive battle on two fronts: coordinated evacuations and fierce against-the-odds firefighting. This time, the Federal government has responded quickly. That should not be a surprise because we elect and pay these people to protect us.

Governor Arnold has turned into a real life action figure, pouring all the resources of his huge nation-state into protecting people.. What has also impressed me is the fighting spirit and determination of the evacuees who walk away from their homes and apartments with little sense of whether they can ever go back.

There are reports of possible arson. That, if true, would be a tragic postscript to this amazing story. That someone would actually start fires like that is really the unthinkable.

I have also been impressed with how quickly the nation’s media saw the scope, the wide ranging impact of this natural disaster.

Here, in our region, we face rain storms, blizzards and some ice conditions. After looking at the scenes from California, I feel lucky to live in area that faces few of the risks of California and other states. But, as Americans, we have long held the feeling of being as one nation in a time of crisis. The California fires, though thousands of miles away, hit us hard. We pride ourselves at being the most organized nation in the world, but when events exceed our grasp, we remain physically and emotionally vulnerable to the situations we cannot control.