“Largest peacetime movement of Americans since the Civil War”

I just heard Brian Williams describe the California evacuations as “Largest peacetime movement of Americans since the Civil War”.  They are reporting that 950,000 people (350,000 homes) have been evacuated.  Amazingly, there have only been two fatalities.

Fires in southern California are, of course, a fact of life.  It’s a fire-prone ecosystem.  Decades of fire suppression have resulted in high fuel loads.  Drought, and Santa Ana winds all combine to produce especially bad fires.  And, of course, I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a climate change effect in there as well.

(from Countdown)