Nice work guys

Rod Percival, 46, coasted his mountain bike down Las Flores Canyon Road, his dog Ayla skittering behind him. Like many residents, Percival and his wife had refused to leave Malibu. Late Tuesday morning, he used his trusty bike to take stock, as best as he could, of the fire danger.

A neighbor, Bruce Bolander, 43, asked Percival how things looked.

“We’re safe. I’ve just ridden around the entire canyon,” Percival responded. “The fire’s out.”

Bolander asked his friend if he thought there was any way to sneak his wife Bonny passed the sheriff’s barricade. She was at Duke’s, a popular restaurant down on PCH.

“Is she prepared to walk?” Percival asked, not conveying much optimism.

Bolander muttered an expletive.

Percival himself wanted to go down to PCH, but knew that if he did so, he would not be let back in.

“I need some beer. I’m out of beer,” Percival joked. “This is terrible.”

Yes it is.