"We have 4 seasons in California: Fire, Flood, Earthquake, and Mud."

I've been to California a couple of times, luv the outdoor recreation opportunities.

Did the Half Dome hike in 2013, and along with Angels Landing and The Narrows in Zion, it was the
best day of hiking I've had in my life. Stunning scenery in all of Yosemite, and even better at
the top of Half Dome. But even on that day, there was a wildfire to the north of HD, we weren't
certain that the park service was going to let anybody go up, but they ok'd it and it didn't
threaten HD area.

My friend's kid lived in Thousand Oaks, and we did some hiking there to get loose before our time at Yosemite, and the brush and steep canyons were exactly as you've described. I remember thinking that it would not take much to get a fire going in that type of brushy, windy area.

i'm in northern Michigan, it got down to -15f overnight. Warming up now, should be up to mid 20's for my xc ski outing. I don't mind the cold at all. When skiing it is hardly noticed, unless it's so cold that the snow is slow, which makes it harder to glide down the trail. But mid 20's
on xc ski's is like a summer day on a bike in shorts and t-shirt, very pleasant.

Hope everybody in your circle is safe and comes out of this ordeal as well as possible !