That's how MarketWatch columnist Herb Greenberg described the intensity of this morning's fires across San Diego County, where more than 250,000 people have been evacuated from their homes. As of late morning, this seems to be the most perilous situation in Socal. Qualcomm Stadium and the Del Mar Fairgrounds were opened as evacuation centers, and officials made 120,000 "reverse 911" calls to tell people to evacuate. Here's what Greenberg was blogging earlier this morning:

What a difference a few hours make: My wife and I were out for about 2 hours yesterday. We left our home east of Del Mar on what was a windy but richly warm day as the Santa Ana winds started to kick up. There was no talk of fire. We had headed just a few miles north on the coast. By the we turned around we headed into smoke that was really so thick and red that we thought the fires were either on the coast by Del Mar or somewhere near our home. Yet the flames were 30-plus miles east of us. That’s how intense the winds were. Rather than dying down at night, as they often do, the winds have continued to blow with heavy gusts throughout the night. No matter where you are east of the flames it’s impossible to escape the soot and ash. I would suspect my area is very safe and not threatened. But many schools and all San Diego courts have been closed.

Later, Greenberg wrote that "the enormity of the situation can’t be stressed in San Diego. We’re packing and getting out of dodge. Cheers."