California's Bay Area is suffering through once-promising 2020

The year 2020 began with such promise for residents of California's Bay Area.

New Year's Day was a holiday to boast about to friends living elsewhere, a day to pat ourselves on the back for living in such a beautiful part of the country.

We woke to fair skies, a slight breeze and temperatures in the 50s — the perfect day for a walk in the park, a hike in the woods or a barbecue with friends and family. Or maybe even a day at the beach. Longtime Bay Area residents know that winter is often the best time for a stroll along the coast.

Little did we know then that eight months later we would be collectively pondering whether 2020 might go down as the worst year in Bay Area history.

First came the pandemic, which led to ongoing deaths, economic havoc and utter chaos for businesses, hospitals, schools, workers and students. Then, if that wasn't enough, scorching temperatures and rare lightning storms last week touched off hundreds of wildfires.

Entire neighborhoods and towns were endangered. And multiple recreation areas, including the headquarters and campgrounds of the beloved Big Basin State Park, California's first state park, were devastated.

With so many out-of-control blazes, firefighters were unable to slow their advancement. The pandemic left officials bemoaning the lack of personnel available to battle the fires. All this while knowing that California's most deadly and destructive wildfires tend not to hit until the fall.

We live in a region renowned for innovation that has solved some of life's biggest puzzles, often giving us a false sense that we can deal with anything nature throws our way. Last week was hardly the first time Bay Area residents were reminded of the risk of underestimating Mother Nature's power.

The more than 50 Ohlone tribes that roamed this region for 10,000 years understood this. As Malcolm Margolin wrote in his book, "The Ohlone Way," "The Ohlones lived in a world where people were few and animals were many, where the bow and arrow were the height of technology ... and where (how difficult it is for us to fully grasp the implications of this) people did not yet see themselves as the undisputed lords of all creation."

They respected nature and survived by dealing with whatever disasters came their way.

And so must we. We may be hurting like never before. We may be wondering where and when nature might strike next — the Bay Area is, for example, long overdue for a major earthquake along the Hayward Fault.

But we must press on, confronting and dealing with today's challenges, collectively working to emerge even stronger than before and preparing for the next test that will come our way.