Our state deserves leaders who put people before politics and solutions before slogans. May these tragic fires be the final wake-up call.

California Governor Gavin Newsom called for a probe into “loss of water pressure to local fire hydrants and the reported unavailability of water supplies from the Santa Ynez Reservoir”.

Ferocious winds that drove the flames and led to chaotic evacuations have calmed somewhat and were not expected to be as powerful during the day. That could provide an opportunity for firefighters to make progress reining in blazes that have hopscotched across the sprawling region,