A reader shares this night shot of the Gap Fire in Goleta. Not much info, but that looks like a drip torch in the firefighter's hand, used to set backfires.
Veronique de Turenne is a journalist, essayist, book critic and blogger, and has been a staff writer at virtually every newspaper in Southern California. One of the highlights of her career was interviewing Vin Scully in his broadcast booth at Dodger Stadium, then receiving a handwritten thank you note from him a week later. She lives in Malibu.