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Hi, John - Cheers from Alexandria, VA. With the recent San Diego fires, thought you and your Crawford readers might be interested in this photo I snapped in the fall of 1970 from in front of my house. The colors are a little faded, but about what I remember. The location is on University Avenue just east of Rolando and looking east, with the Food Basket sign and my folks giant jacarandas framing the picture
-- Susan Wilkerson McCasland '71
(The Laguna fire or Kitchen Creek fire ignited on September 26, 1970 when downed power lines sparked fire fueled by Santa Ana winds and chaparral. The Laguna disaster started in eastern San Diego County in the Kitchen Creek area near the Cleveland National Forest. More than 75% of the vegetation in that forest was chaparral, coastal sage scrub, chemise, manzanita and ceonothus - very flamable fuel when dry. The Laguna Fire held the infamous title of worst fire disaster in California history for 33 years until The Cedar Fire destroyed hundreds of thousands of acres and killed 14 people. They both occurred in approximately the same area, an area which has been noted as having firestorms nearly every decade. The Laguna fire disaster then became known as the second-largest fire in California history burning 175,000 acres and 382 homes killing eight people.) |
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