Another week, another chunk of California deciding whether to spontaneously combust.
The Floriston Fire blew up near the Nevada border this week, forcing evacuations in a tiny community that mostly exists so Interstate 80 has something to look at between Truckee and Reno.
Residents along the river corridor were told to grab their stuff and go, which is basically a California rite of passage at this point.
If you live anywhere near the Sierra, your emergency alert app has probably gone off more times than a car alarm in a Reno parking lot.
The fire is chewing through steep, brushy terrain in that weird no-man's-land where California and Nevada pretend they're different states.
Winds did what winds do, which is ruin everything for everyone.
Crews hit it from the ground and air while the rest of us refreshed maps like we were tracking a package.
Here's the thing nobody wants to hear: this is the new normal, and the new normal keeps getting worse.
Fire season in the West no longer has a season.
It's just... fire, whenever it feels like it, occasionally in January just to keep things interesting.
It's a handful of homes, a river, a railroad, and a whole lot of trees that have been waiting for a spark since roughly the last drought.
When the order comes, you don't debate it.
You pack the dog, the documents, and the photos, and you drive.
Meanwhile, the internet did internet things.
Half of X was offering thoughts and prayers, the other half was arguing about forest management like they personally rake the Sierra.
Somewhere a guy in Florida commented "just get a hose lol," and somewhere a guy in Paradise felt his blood pressure spike.
Officials haven't pinned down a cause yet, because of course they haven't.
It's always "under investigation" until it's "a downed power line" or "equipment use" or "somebody doing something profoundly dumb with a lawnmower." We'll get the answer eventually, right around the time we all forget this fire existed.
The good news, such as it is: crews are throwing everything at it, and the weather might cooperate.
The bad news: "might cooperate" is doing Olympic-level heavy lifting in that sentence.
If you're in the evacuation zone, please just leave.
Your house is not worth it, your stuff is not worth it, and your neighbor's heroic stand with a garden hose is not a plan.
It doesn't replace you. **The takeaway:** Floriston is a reminder that we've built entire communities in places that want to burn, then act shocked when they do.
Final Thoughts
Fund the crews, harden the homes, and stop pretending this is a freak event.