Our view: Fire reveals county's great strengths

After the Cedar and Paradise fires of 2003, officials remarked that, together, the two blazes were a "Hundred Years' " fire, a devastating, once-in-a-lifetime event -- like a "Hundred Years' " flood -- the likes of which we'd probably never see again.

Guess they were wrong.

Only four years later (almost to the day), residents of the county are reliving the frightful experience. Ignore your calendar, and a few of the particulars, and the two events are playing out very much the same: smoke- and ash-filled skies, mass evacuations of both man and beast, instinctive fear, burning homes, destroyed lives.

After the 2003 fires, governments in the county reviewed their response to that event and realized that much more needed to be done to prepare for future conflagrations.

In particular, the county, which is responsible for the vast eastern parts of the county where these massive fires usually begin, took a number of significant steps that gave us new tools such as firefighting helicopters and the reverse 911 system, among others.

It's too early to tell whether the actions taken by the county and other government agencies in the three years since the last conflagration made a difference this time around. We'll leave that analysis for the days and weeks to come.

What we can say without reservation is that the response to the fires by regular folk has, once again, been remarkable.

Aside from the heroic acts of bravery that have been performed by fire fighters, law enforcement and untold good Samaritans, there's something admirable about the way that we as a region handle tragedy.

It's hard not to draw comparisons between the chaos at the Superdome in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and the scene at our own Qualcomm last night where refugees were treated to rock 'n' roll bands, lavish buffets and massage therapists.

That difference says something about the health of San Diego's civic life; a life in which private charities and businesses step in to fill the gaps left by the government and people spontaneously mount impressive volunteer efforts with little or no government direction.

The philosopher Edmund Burke referred to these as the "little platoons" that make civilization possible. They are just as important to a functioning society during disasters as platoons of firetrucks, police and National Guardsmen. We are lucky to have these platoons in abundance.

And it's not too late to join one, if you haven't already. The county of San Diego lists many reputable disaster relief organizations on its Web site, www.sdcountyemergency.com.

There's a regional cliche that asserts "No bad days." It's a pleasant but unrealistic coda. Of course we will have bad days, and the last several have been as bad as they get; but we will not let the few bad days dampen our love for this charmed place that we call home.