Fire, floods, caravan and a super blue blood moon | 2018 Year in Pictures

Nearly every morning, a pseudo-dystopian scene unfolds just steps away from America’s gates.

At the San Ysidro Port of Entry in Tijuana, someone reads aloud from a mysterious, unsanctioned notebook filled with the names of thousands of people from across the globe. Each of them — including the various guardians of the notebook — is waiting his or her turn to give themselves up to United States immigration officials to ask for refuge.

They are trying to enter the country legally. But the process is slow, and immigration officials say they can’t keep up with the flow. Most days anywhere from 40 to 100 people are allowed to enter this particular port to make their plea for asylum while thousands who are living in miserable conditions wait in shelters and makeshift camps for their turn. Many linger in Tijuana for as long as a month before their names are read. The process has led to a humanitarian crisis at America’s doorstep.

In the meantime, President Trump's order to limit asylum only to foreigners who cross at official points of entry — the Immigration and Naturalization Act says any foreigner who has arrived in the U.S. may apply for asylum "whether or not at a designated port of arrival" — has been blocked in the federal courts.

Wildfires

The Woolsey fire destroyed 1,643 structures as it swept through Oak Park and Ventura County and into Malibu.

That made it one of the most destructive fires in Southern California history, although it was nowhere near the 14,000 homes lost in the Camp fire in Butte County.

The Woolsey fire scorched more than 96,000 acres and left three people dead before it was fully contained on Thanksgiving Day, fire officials said.

Mass shootings

Tragedy struck Thousand Oaks on Nov. 7 when a gunman opened fire at the Borderline Bar and Grill, which was packed with college kids. Twelve people were killed, including Ventura County Sheriff’s Sgt. Ron Helus, one of the first officers to reach the country music bar.

The national conversation on gun control and school safety reached new levels when, first, 17 people were killed in a Feb. 14 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., and then 10 more on May 18 at Santa Fe High School outside Houston. In both cases, the alleged shooters had armed themselves with legal weapons.

Foreign and Nation

The lava that flowed from the Kilauea volcano, creating a ghostly spectacle. The volcanic activity that started May 3 on Hawaii’s Big Island continues to transform the landscape, trigger earthquakes and force the partial closure of Volcanoes National Park, the Aloha State’s most popular tourist destination.

Though the U.S. government has invested billions of dollars to help clean up and repair of Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria, much work remains. Major power outages are still being reported, tens of thousands of insurance claims are still pending, and nearly 60,000 homes still have temporary roofs unable to withstand a Category 1 hurricane.

The ‘Great March of Return’ in March featured what encounters between the Israeli’s and Palestinian’s always feature - bloodshed. 2018 marked 11 years since Israel imposed a land, air and sea blockade on the Gaza Strip.

Lopez Obrador, who rode populist rhetoric and a vow of a national transformation to a landslide election in July’s balloting, became Mexico’s 57th president.

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