Californians pay price of communing with nature

By Jill Serjeant

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Iain Blair lost a close friend to a devastating 1993 blaze in his rural Los Angeles canyon community.

Sarah Tippit fled for her life four years ago as flames jumped a highway and burned 11 homes in her idyllic San Diego neighborhood of Tierrasanta, known to locals as the "island in the hills."

Both Blair and Tippit returned to their homes afterward, and on Tuesday both were anxious, packed and ready to leave as fires raging out of control threatened their homes once again.

An estimated 1,500 homes burned and about 500,000 people were evacuated as some 17 blazes turned blue October skies brown and orange across Southern California.

But even those terrified or displaced most likely will return to homes built close to nature or teetering on stilts on ocean bluffs because threats of fire, mudslides and earthquakes are seen as a price worth paying.

Living in scenic canyons can be especially appealing but also especially dangerous during fires. The narrow canyons form a funnel through which winds and fire whip through, making it difficult for residents to escape along winding roads or sometimes one-way roads.

"I am looking out the window across 18,000 acres (7,284 hectares) of wilderness," Blair said from his home in Topanga Canyon between the Pacific Ocean and the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles. "Every morning, I see deer, hawks, the occasional mountain lion and bobcats. But I am only 20 minutes from civilization.

"People want to live in beautiful surroundings wherever they are. I think most people refuse to live by fear," said Blair, a writer and musician.