San Juan Capistrano Resident Writes about Southern Calif. Wildfires

Longtime San Juan Capistrano resident, author and historian Donna L. Friess, Ph.D. announces her latest book Up in Flames, a first-person account of the fire history in Southern California. It delves deeply into the 2024 simultaneous fires in the San Bernadino mountains and includes the author’s introspection of the 2025 Los Angeles fire devastation.

A Southern Calif. native, Friess and her family are 53-year members of the historic Weesha Club, a homestead established in 1888 near the village of Angelus Oaks. The 2024 Line Fire in the San Bernardino Mountains last fall was the first wildfire in recorded history to breach its pristine 132 acres, destroying 83 percent of its forests and orchards. At the same time, two separate massive fires raged; the Airport Fire in the Santa Ana Mountains and the Bridge Fire in the Angeles National Forest.

Friess said, “As a landowner and historian, I felt compelled to write this fire history as a formal record of events, their extensive impact on those affected and as a tribute to first responders.”

The 111-page manuscript covers the history of fires over the past 20 years in the San Bernardino mountains and upper Santa Ana River Valley. Part memoir and part researched materials, it chronicles the forty-nine days of devastating wildfires in the local mountains which destroyed 43,978 acres, threatened 38,000 structures and evacuated 60,000 residents. Rare photos of the area are interspersed throughout the book which recognizes and celebrates the thousands of responders who worked to protect life and property in wildfire country.

As Up in Flames was set for press in January 2025, Los Angeles literally burst into flames. A native of Los Angeles, Friess halted production and added a section and her perspective of those devasting fires.

Friess has authored 14 books to date. Her 2024 Ignite Your Spirit, a collection of inspirational stories and reflections, was recently received the highly regarded Book Excellence Award.

Up in Flames is available at Amazon.com in Kindle format, black and white print and hard-back color print. All proceeds benefit a variety of local charitable causes.

For more information, visit www.drdonnafriess.com.

About the Author

Donna L. Friess, Ph.D. is a fourth-generation Californian, historian, author and life coach. She is Professor Emeritus of Cypress College and award-winning author of Cry the Darkness: One Woman's Triumph Over the Tragedy of Incest published in seven languages. Friess is a grief counselor volunteer, Mission San Juan Capistrano docent and former chair of the Cultural Heritage Commission. She enjoys a rural lifestyle in San Juan Capistrano with husband Ken and extended family which includes eleven grandchildren. The Weesha community has been of significant historic importance to the Friess family for over half a century.

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