When people come to visit, I drop the top on my old convertible and take them up the Pacific Coast Highway into Malibu, through Topanga Canyon down the 101 (immortalized in the America song "Ventura Highway") into "The Valley" and then on to Mulholland Drive, where the winding road along a ridgeline provides breathtaking views.
The Ventura County blaze, which was expected to reach the Pacific Ocean, crossed the scenic Pacific Coast Highway that separates the Santa Monica Mountains from the sea.