There are terrible things that happen every day in our world, and unfortunately, it has gotten to the point where disaster no longer shocks us in the same way it used to.

You started short of one day after the horrifying Thousand Oaks shooting and have since done nothing but haunt countless numbers of people, some of who were also affected by the shooting. You really came with a bang - You were unexpected and too smart to stop. You were out to destroy and nothing would get in your way.

Us, victims are defeated.

The cities You have massacred are now ghost towns, and the families You have affected stand weak in front of burnt land they used to call home. Yet, I cannot be mad at You. You have caused me, my family, and my friends to evacuate our homes. You have destroyed the dance studio I grew up at and the schools my friends graduated from. My former classmates' houses are gone and they are left only with ashes of their belongings.

When disaster strikes I cannot help but feel hatred for the person who brought it upon us. It is always easier to cope with loss and anger when you can find someone to blame but You are not someone. I cannot blame an inanimate object for this. I have no one to hate and it is making everything worse. I want a face to feel anger towards, but all You are is red sparks of flames spreading through everywhere I have ever known. You are a force of nature too strong to be reckoned with. In the four days, You have been here, You have caused over 240,000 homes to be evacuated. You have destroyed 350 homes and caused innocent people to die. Animals have been left to burn in the flames and people have been left homeless. Firefighters are putting their lives on the line to stop You. I do not know why You are here but enough is enough.

My family was not put under mandatory evacuation until Sunday.

Since Thursday I have woken up every morning to a sense of fear that my house was gone. So far I am still lucky to have my home but so many others do not have the same privilege. My friends have come back from college to be with their families only to find themselves homeless, all thanks to You. My hometown looks like the setting of an apocalypse. The grassy fields and colorful barns that used to give life to the San Fernando Valley are now plain darkness. The nature that surrounds the city I grew up in is now gone, and we are left with the remains of the hiking trails, buildings, and communities we used to love so dearly. You have lived enough, give us back our ability to live without the fear of our homes burning down. You are supposed to stay around until next week, but we cannot handle having You here for that much longer.

Sincerely,

A resident of the town You burned down