Those Santa Ana winds can be something fierce. I remember them well. I lived in Santa Paula and Ventura, California when I was 9 to 15 years old. I can still remember vividly, being dressed for school, and back then, that meant skirts and sweaters even though we lived in a warm place, and going outside and feeling that hot wind and it made your skin itch, which didn't help with the sweater on. The thing I remember best is that the wind blew all the fog and clouds and whatever out to sea and the sky was so blue and we could see the ocean from our house and the off shore Anacapa Islands stood out so clearly. Because of the wind, whitecaps were being formed on the ocean, and the air was so clear, it seemed like you could reach out and touch them. And we lived many miles from the beach, but up on a hill, so we had a view. Obviously, we had no fires the years that I remember the Santa Ana winds. When the air was "normal", the islands usually were a blur.
Sue in Vancouver USA
