暖冬cool夏
這裏一年四季溫暖如春，沒有酷暑沒有嚴寒......
正文
進入秋季，加州這塊幹旱燥熱之地又一次爆發了嚴重的山火。從十月九日起至今，20多個縣受災，死亡31人，400多人下落不明， 191,000公頃被燒， 3,500建築被毀 (WSJ，10／13／2017報道)，是曆史上自1923年以來第二次最致命的山火。州長宣布進入緊急狀態。直升飛機從四麵八方八個州來援助滅火，消防隊員辛苦地日夜奮戰。
奇怪的是，同一天10月9日上午10點左右，南加也爆發了一處山火。中午時分，我從公司的二樓往外看，厚厚的濃煙布滿東北方向的天空，而且來勢凶猛，一小時後，濃煙更重了。下午兩三點，大家的手機，同時警報聲響起，告訴我們哪些地區需要強行撤離。隻見我們組裏一位女同事匆匆離去。三點，公司發出一份郵件，需要離開的員工隻需跟自己的老板打聲招呼，就可以走了。據說，那日有些高速公路封道，正常情況隻需一個小時的路程，有一個同事那天下班開了五個小時才到家。
都說加州好啊，冬暖夏涼，有山有海，四季陽光普照。但是，地震山火也是不斷的。就說這山火，幾乎每年都聽說。想想，這麽幹燥的天氣，一個電閃雷劈，一根火柴，就可以造成一片汪洋火海。加上時有的Santa Ana風(像這次就是一例), 活像一隻裝了強力馬達的熱吹風機，以一小時四五十mile的速度，狂風卷落葉，席卷著，肆虐著萬物和蒼穹，抽幹空氣中本來就少得可憐的濕度，讓原本星星之火，以極快的速度燎原。
想起每次去北加經過的成片成片的葡萄園，井井有條地排列，生機盎然地沐浴在陽光下。而今，美麗的酒鄉Napa Valley, Somoma Valley被燒了，無法想象該是怎樣悲慘的一片廢墟。又想起十年前家附近的一場大火，那時自己搬進新區才一兩年，山火從山那邊燒起，一直蔓延到山的這一邊，燒到我們住的社區後麵的山上。那年，我們曾隨著成群的人們走到山腳下，隻記得夜空被火光照著發紅，一條火龍沿著山脊燒下來。人們在議論在擔心，因為再往下燒，我們就麵臨被強行撤離的境地。
好在那場山火後來被撲滅了。那場大火燒毀了三萬頃山林。我們兩年前去爬山時，還看見那峽穀底處，成片被燒過的痕跡。然而大自然又是頑強的，劫後重生的樹木從焦土中重又生長出來，努力覆蓋著它曾經的遍體鱗傷。就在我們今天似乎想要忘卻時，一場更凶猛的山火又一次爆發，再次提醒我們大自然的無常和無情。
願山火早日撲滅，願災區人們早日脫離危險，重建家園，重新安居樂業。(下麵這照片是從公司二樓往下拍，10／09／2017中午時分)
Wildfires raged varociously in Northern California. When the news came that about 20 counties, concentrated in the wine counties of Sonoma and Napa Valley, were ravaged by the fires, I was standing in the company kitchen, watching through the window the wildfire in Southern CA close by. My memories drifted away along the smoke towards the Northern vineyard.
It must be more than 15 years ago, in the spring of that year, we drove up to the north via Freeway No. 5. After we exited out of the deep rigged valleys, we were then greeted by the vast stretch of open farm land, green, lush, vibrant and full of life. Rows of fruit trees, such as pistachio lined up straight. Sheep and cows, black and white, dotted the verdant rolling hills, grazing leisurely under the sun. Hours later, a more picturesque scene came to our eyes. Under the blue sky and drifting white clouds, there were acres and acres of well-cut grape vines, hundreds and thousands of them. The bare vines contrasted strikingly with the green abundant leaves, which hung heavily along the underpinning wires or poles. They stood lines by lines uniformly, disappearing to the end of the sights. What a postcard like scene! My daughter, then six or seven years old, turned her head from the window to me, and commented like a little scholar that this was a place from Chinese Tang poems.
I have never really been to Napa Valley, but I guess it should be no different from any vineyard I came across on the trip. Now the places were reportedly burnt to ground, and I cannot imagine on my mind that such iconic wine regions are now engulfed with fires, turning themselves into a charred land, with perhaps piles of burnt and collapsed grape vines smothering in the air, a scene depicted in the movie called “A Walk in the Clouds.”
Ten years ago, a rampant wildfire erupted in the area next to where we newly moved in. It started in a remote hilly valley but extended over the other side fueled by the gust wind. I remember that night we walked across the community and flocked to the scene with the other residents in the community. The night sky was tinged with orange haze; the burning smell inundated the area; the scattered fires were like a fire dragon burning and dazzling on the ridge of the mountains. People said that if the fires had rolled down a little further, our whole community would have been evacuated.
As a result of the fire in 2007, 30,000 acres were burnt. Though a lot of trees remain dead when we hiked the areas in 2015, new trees and bushes were sprawling over the once charred valley . Nature is resilient, so are people. Let's pray for the people who will have to weather such a havoc, and hope the fire will soon be contained completely.
一看到加州大火的預報，就想到了MM。想你住在南加州會安全一些。看了你的文章才知道你們那裏也見烈焰。請千萬多保重！！！
我們還是九年前去的Napa Valley。盡管不會欣賞葡萄酒獨特的香醇美味，仍被那冷豔清澈的紅白酒色所吸引。另外，那些風景秀麗的葡萄莊園和造型別致的歐式建築給我留下了很深的印象。總想著何時再去溜達一圈，多拍點美景。可惜呀！山火無情毀莊園，青藤紫珠落塵煙；空樓殘柱留香氣，玉液瓊漿入長天。
祝平安!
水火無情，隻有祈禱災禍早日過去。
喜歡你的英語。
葡萄園即使燒掉20%,還有80%可釀酒，可參觀。