To Our Readers:

The “Doonesbury” cartoon strips prepared for the week of Nov. 8 center on a fire in Malibu and were drawn a week before the devastating fire occurred. The Times has decided to substitute “Doonesbury” for this week because the humor in the strips do not seem appropriate at this time.

A spokesman for Universal Press Syndicate, which distributes “Doonesbury,” said artist Garry Trudeau understands the decision but was unable to create new, original art to replace the strips.