... just can't guage how large the city is looking at it from Google maps.

It's not a particularly large city, but traffic is a nightmare.  It can take 45 minutes to drive 8-10 miles on the freeway during rush hour.

It is a tiny town compared to many cities around. The 101 to the south and the 134 to the north can be brutal drives. It would take me well over an hour to get from the South Bay to Silver Lake Blvd and the 101. A 20 mile drive...

Griffith Park is nearby and a really cool place to visit. It is cool to walk up to the Hollywood sign. On a long shot it is a clear day there are some amazing views up there. Nights are even better.

Fires continue to be a threat here... the entire town was without power again off & on through the night.  Schools will still be closed on Monday and some services like trash pickup have been suspended.

My house is still out of harms way, but as the fire developed last night I have many more friends and clients who evacuated during the night or are evacuating now.  Enough ash has fallen to cover everything in what looks like a light dusting of snow.

Friday I drove down to Ventura to check on a job at the beach and was able to see everything that had burned along the 101 highway during the previous 2 days... most of the fires were out along that section, but still small pockets of flames along the road and in the median that were still burning.

Unfortunately one of the employees at my Lutron rep firm lost his house.  They were able to make it to safety and used their surveillance cams to watch their house burn until the power/internet went out.

I'm taking calls and texts from clients this morning who are evacuating and trying to prepare their properties for being away for a few days.  Using the WattBox stuff to proactively shut down equipment to try and protect it from all the power events that have been happening.  I'm already aware of two damaged TVs and one damaged AVR that seem to have failed because of power related issues.

Doesnt matter where you are from, LA is a culture shock lol

I see where the news is saying Santa Barbara is now in harms way. Don't wait too long to leave the area. Be safe.

Our home is still safe... the fires are coming in from the mountains and our place is less than 5000ft from the coast so we're about as far away as you can get (but it is a small town).

It's become a lot more unnerving this afternoon.  Lots of people evacuated or evacuating now and I'm monitoring several client properties via surveillance cams that have full fire crews onsite running hoses and watering down the vegetation and structures.

Right now I'm watching the glow from fire flare up on the top of the hill right above a clients property... they were evacuated early this morning.

If you want an idea of air quality, everything outside looks like this (my wife's car) and it's even worse closer to the fires.  Schools have already been canceled for the entire week.

[img][/img]

This photo is from about 5 minutes ago and shows flames cresting the ridge above a client property.  The glow in the upper left and behind the tree are flames that are quickly increasing in size...

[img][/img]

Paul, pack your crap and come stay with me for few weeks.
Bring warm clothes, it's in the teens (F not C) here in 87144.

Stay safe my friend, you are always welcomed in Iowa, I could use the help right now!

Hi Mario, that's the problem... I don't own any warm clothes!

Wind has shifted so air quality in part of town is a little better today.  Still have fire crews stationed on client's properties near the mountains.  This is a really big fire...

Dude, there’s nothing to do in New Mexico. Come east, we’ll find you room. It’s tough for anything to burn when it’s covered in snow.

I think hes Hank Hills twin brother...AV instead of propane.

Nah, Ernie is a 90 year old high school English teacher....

That’s probably closer to reality than most realize.

You're seen my shed and garage, not to mention the van.
There is enough work for Paul and Jake for weeks... Not sure why you'd say that there is nothing to do.