Themes

Here in at the beach in San Diego, the Santa Ana winds bring out surfers in droves. Blowing from the desert, they warm the air and smooth swells to glass. At night temperatures drop to near freezing.

Funneled by the mountain passes, they gust up to 100 mph/60kph. They dry the air; faning a spark to an inferno. Two friends have lost their homes to fires. In 2004, a fire spread so fast that 20 people lost their lives to the flames.