There are fires during wartime, too.

There’s a scene in the film Hope and Glory that I think about a lot. Thirty seconds of DDGing haven’t brought up either a clip or a quote, so you’ll have to take my word for what goes on in the scene.

The film takes place during World War II, in London. Some of the more exciting bits of the film take place during air raids, where German planes drop carpet bombs on the city.

One night, the family’s out, at a play, or something. They return home, and their house is completely engulfed in flames.

The mother, horror-struck, turns to the fire chief. “But I didn’t hear the air raid sirens!”

“There wasn’t an air raid, Ma’am.”

“But the fire?!”

“There are fires during wartime too, Ma’am.”

There are fires during wartime, too.

It’s tempting — in the middle of a global pandemic AND historic wildfires AND an impending consitutional crisis — to say “Well, damn. It can’t get worse, right?”

Here’s the thing. Geology doesn’t care about any of that, and we’re just as likely to have a major earthquake during a global pandemic as we are at any other time. The odds haven’t improved just because everything else has gotten terrible.

If you live in California, I highly recommend the following podcast. It’s nine episodes, each a little over half an hour, produced by KPCC, Southern California Public Radio. It’s sobering, and could save your life.

Also, connect with your local CERT / NERT group and get trained!