tinder

The administration’s move to federalize the Guard in the name of quelling a domestic insurrection has poured more gasoline onto the tinder of our times here in the Southland.

In the lead-up to the Palisades and Eaton fires this month, the intense dryness kept vegetation tinder dry — a recipe for disaster when combined with strong Santa Ana winds and an ignition.

On the other hand, when the sponge dries out, it has even more capacity to suck up moisture from the soil and plants below, parching the landscape and turning it into tinder.

Firefighters have been unable to quell multiple blazes across the region around LA, which are spreading because of very strong winds and an increase in dry vegetation, acting as tinder.

It’s easy to see how all this becomes a crucible; a crushing personal weight and tinder for political unrest and infighting as we strive to stabilize and move forward.