One of the major downsides of living in Southern California is the yearly headache of the Santa Ana winds and the fires that seem to always accompany them. Earlier today I managed to get from my office in LA to my house via a ride from Diesel Power Editor-in-Chief David Kennedy in record time as I found out that my area was under a mandatory fire evacuation. Then somehow I managed to make the 4-mile hike back to my place on foot since the surrounding roads were closed and mandatory evacuations were set in place. I am now back in LA patiently waiting things out and very thankful that LA has one of the best fire departments on the planet. Let’s just keep our fingers crossed.