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At a billion $$ and counting, the flames continue their inexorable excesses via the four cardinal points of the compass, throughout the County of San Diego.



From Camp Pendleton in the north, fire jumped the freeway from east to west, seeming to seek to put itself out of its misery in the Pacific Ocean, just a few football fields distance away. In so doing, however, it closed down the important I-5 and Amtrak corridor leading to the O.C. and Los Angeles County. The last I heard is that the southbound lane was open, and the parallel rail tracks were being inspected in order to allow the commuter trains to get back on schedule.



The little town of Julian, in the foothills east of San Diego barely escaped disaster in the fires of four years ago. It is a delightful apple-growing center that is famous for its baked goods. Julian is now a ghost town, having lost its power connections last night and being forcibly evacuated in the face of threatening fire.



From the freeway-jumping flames at the northern border, some sixty miles to the south they also jumped the Mexican border.



Somewhere in the night, two separate firestorms met up and decided to join forces, further complicating the already imponderable plight of the firefighters.



It is becoming extremely unlikely that the Chargers will oppose the Houston Texans at Quaalcom Stadium (The “Q”) this coming Sunday. The “Q” has been converted into an impromptu city of roughly 30,000 evacuees. It is an orderly congregation with an excess of food, equipment and volunteers. The spacious acreage also sports an amazing menagerie of remarkable diversity of pets. The denizens of the “Q” enjoy an array of amenities, including massage, WIFI and cell phone charging stations.



The captive audiences of the “Q,” largest of the evacuee centers, present a convenient backdrop for photo ops by public officials of all stripes, including local mayor and county electables, Arnold Schwartzenegger, Homeland Security’s Michael Chertoff, Duncan Hunter, Brian Bilbray, Darrell Isa, NBC’s Today Show and Evening News—and look for Dubya tomorrow.