Mind on the fire, not on the plunge

I work today and I cover a "POLAR PLUNGE" fundraising event for the Special Olympics, but that's not nearly as chilling as the news coming out of SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA this morning.
Fed by nearly hurricane-force winds, a MASSIVE FIRE is descending from the hills toward the San Fernando Valley communities of Sylmar and Granada Hills, Calif. The flames have also closed I-5 at the Newhall Pass, severing the main north-south artery into the Los Angeles area.
Dozens of homes have already been lost, just days after more than 100 homes were destroyed in Santa Barbara County.
It will be difficult concentrating on people jumping into the cold Mississippi River, knowing that lives are changing a couple thousand miles to the west.