atmosphere that stretch thin clouds over the US (L) and Mexico (R) international border ..

Winds in the upper atmosphere that stretch thin clouds over the US (L) and Mexico (R) international border are a precursor to windy conditions coming to an area where the burnt remains of rare Tecate cypress trees killed in the 2003 Cypress Fire stand in the Otay Mountains 31 October 2007 southeast of San Diego, California. The survival of both the Tecate cypress tree and the rare Thorne's hairstreak butterfly whose larvae typically eats only mature Tecate cypress trees between 20 and 25 years old was threatened when huge wildfires nearly wiped out the rare trees in 2003. Some of the 2003 burn areas burned again last week, killing fire-dependant plant seeds before they had time to mature, thus disrupting the native ecosystem and increasing the growth of exotic grasses which are more flammable and less able to prevent erosion. The local Mediterranean-type ecosystem occurs in only a half dozen places throughout the world, which make up only about 2.2 percent of the Earth's land surface but are home to 20 percent of the Earth's plant species. Firefighters have had a break from the dry Santa Ana wind conditions that fueled the wildfires with gale-force winds, blackened 368,000 acres, destroyed 2,000 homes, and killed at least seven people. The Santa Ana winds are forecast to create high fire danger again this week but are expected to be much milder.