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November 15, 2008 @ approx 1:30pm- While driving East on the 91 Freeway on our way to a Riverside Philharmonic concert, traffic was moving smoothly. We were to pass just South of the Yorba Linda/Corona fires. Several lanes on the 91 West were closed, but there had been no reports of problems on the East-bound side of the freeway. Traffic suddenly stopped and then slowly progressed through thick black smoke. At this point, we could see spot fires on the South side of the freeway- the fire had already crossed the freeway ahead of us. As we drove through, the strong wind was pushing the flames into our lanes, and you can actually see embers sparking up the windshield of the car. I believe this fire became the Anaheim Hills Apartment fire which you can see at the end of the video. And yes, one of the passengers was on his cell phone the whole time...

The music in the background is from Shostakovich's Symphony #10 (Mvt 2). I chose this music for several reasons, but mostly because we were actually on our way to perform this piece at the Riverside Philharmonic concert that evening. We found it interesting that the music we were about to perform matched the intensity of the fires we witnessed.

The piece was written after Joseph Stalin's death in 1953, and the 2nd Mvt is said to be Shostakovich's "musical portrait of Stalin". Shostakovich, who had been severely repressed by the Communist Party, wrote "In this composition, I wanted to portray human emotions and passions". The 2nd Movement has been described by musicologist Robert Dearling as, "a study in concentrated fury rarely equalled in music". I thought this fury was well demonstrated in the Southern California fires. (less info)