Santa Ana Winds Stoke Wildfires In Southern California

PORTRERO, CA - OCTOBER 25: Rocky hills north of previously covered with thick chaparral brush are converted to charred branches in a blackened land after strong winds pushed the Harris Fire to more than 75,000 acres on October 25, 2007 near the US-Mexico border south of Portrero, California. Tecate, Mexico is visible on the other side of the US-Mexico border. The foot trails of generations of illegal immigrants and smugglers, once hidden under thick underbrush, are now visible on the desolate land that was stripped by fire. A border patrol agent patrolling the area said the denuded landscape will give border crossers fewer hiding places but that major fires of the past have shown that migrants become easier to see but can become harder to catch because as they are longer confined to a limited number of paths but can travel anywhere and move faster. Southern California has been suffering the worst wildfire event in state history, fed by strong Santa Ana Winds blowing numerous fires across dry native Chaparral habitat that was desiccated by the driest rain season since records began 130 years ago. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)