through a gaping wound

the aftermath of the Malibu wildfire, as described by my friend James who works at Pepperdine University:

"No, no major buildings were affected, but to see how much of the landscaping was torched is scary. While we were all huddled in the Tyler Campus Center Sunday morning, fires were raging (literally) all around us. One fire came within just a few feet of our main library and our administration building. Quite a bit of the mountain ridges that encircle the campus are black. Streetlight poles completely melted. The palm trees on Banowsky Boulevard are singed. A significant chunk of Alumni Park burned.

We're really lucky."