The wildfires that swept through Southern California last week have left a trail of heartbreak and destruction. Living across the country from these disasters, most Amherst College students have been fortunate enough to view the fires at a distance. Sadly, for some College students whose homes are in or near Los Angeles and San Diego, the danger hit home.

Most fires, including the Witch Fire of San Diego County and the Santiago Fire of Orange County, have been largely contained. Mandatory evacuations have now been lifted for many of the residential areas threatened by the fires.

Alex Myers '10 experienced a very close brush with personal tragedy. "I live in northern San Diego on a cul-de-sac with three houses," he said. "One of the three houses burned to the ground, the other had extensive landscaping damage and my house had almost nothing wrong with it (a few palm trees burned down)."

Gregory Campeau '11 has also been impacted by these disasters. He explained that, as of Sunday, the Santiago Fire, which was purportedly started by arson, was approaching the border with Riverside County, where his family and friends live in Corona.

"The Big Bear Lake home of a beloved high school teacher was destroyed by a fire," Campeau said. "My high school friend's family, living in a community that was, by and large, driven from their homes several days ago not by the immediate danger of fire but by the overwhelming smoke and debris in the air, is now living with a relative on the other side of town."

Max Kaisler '11, who recently returned from California, has friends and family in the San Diego area whose homes have been threatened or destroyed by the Witch Fire. Though her home was not in direct danger, many of her loved ones were not as fortunate.

"I'm from City Heights, an urban and developed part of San Diego that was not directly threatened by the fires, but my dad lives up in Vista just north of [route] 78, which is largely rural and undeveloped," she explained. "He lives in the zone that was, until recently, threatened by the Witch Fire; thankfully, he and my little sister are now safe back at home. I know that at least two houses of students from my high school burned down, one of which was located in Ramona."

Anna Castro '11 knows several people from the Porter Ranch area northwest of L.A. who were dangerously close to the nearby Porter Ranch Fire. She also knows two people that go to school or live in San Diego who were also threatened nearby fires.

Some College students from California, however, were impacted only minimally by the fires. As Justin Sheng '11 explained, "The wildfires in the L.A. area did not have nearly as large of an impact as the San Diego area wildfires… I'm from Westwood [a district in the West Side of LA]… so there was minimal threat to my home or family, other than the terrible air quality during and after the fires."