Wildfires - Southern California

[Guest]

reminds me of katrina

I was just thinking the same thing earlier tonight as I was watching the news reports.

Simply devastating.

Thoughts/prayers to all those affected....



Cort:34swm."Mr Monte Carlo.Mr Road Trip".pig valve.pacemaker
WRMNshowcase.lego.HO.model.MCs.RT.CHD = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort
"Tell me tomorrow will be brighter" ... KT Oslin ... 'Hold Me'

 

[Dennis S]

I remember being packed to evacuate because of fire the first year in our new home. It is a strange fact of life (at least in our New mexico pine forests)-the fire that doesn't get you will often clear enough fuel to make you safer for years to come.

The men and women who fight these fires are the new heros of the west. I may have mentioned this before, but the locals in our little village would get up in mid meal from their restaurant table when a crew of hungry firefighters had a quick break for a meal. The whole restaurant belonged to the fire fighters for as long as they needed it.

And I will never forget the small group of friends that gathered at our house. Our stuff was in pickup trucks, and we were watching the fire on the mesa above our house. A little silver plane dove into the hottest part of the fire, and then we realized he was marking the path for the big bomber like plane following him with a load of fire retardant. The pilot of the second plane came in so low we could clearly see his face. There was a tremendous cheer from my friends, but a lump in my throat silenced me then, (and now) as I thought of the risk he took for us. It is easy for me to pray for all of you.

 

[KAJ]

I hire instructors to teach college classes aboard U.S. Navy ships. One of my instructors has several pieces of property where the fires are located. He is currently teaching aboard a ship that is operating around South America. He has e-mailed friends to check on his property but of course no one is allowed near the area. Not sure how he is able to teach with that type of stress.

Karl

 

[Susan BAV]

Still bad here. But not currently as bad as yesterday. And not currently as bad as north and south and west of us. Winds erratic. We (especially Mr. W) were up every hour last night checking the nearby mountain blazes and nearby hotspots and prevailing winds and gusts. Half sick and exhausted today. The sound of the winds kept waking me last night. So scary. House full with our two sons and their wives; so glad they're here. Checking on friends and neighbors homes as possible.

Husband just came back in. Another hot spot came up but bigger. Firetruck nearby watching field that burned. I'm so glad we still have power.

How are things for you today, Deanne? Hoping all is well.

I'm not certain but I think Dot4toto's home is in a currently evacuated area also. Hope Tina is okay.

 

[Bina]

This is terrible, fires have got to be the most frightening of disasters.
My thoughts and hopes for our members being safe and spared.

 

[WayneGM]

Thanks for the update. I was a bit worried from the silence. I hope you are all safe and untouched. My thoughts and wishes continue for all those impacted, especially the firefighters and other emergency workers who I am sure are working so hard.

 

[BDMc]

I am Praying For All of You

I am Praying For All of You

There was an interesting program on network tv the other night, about forest fires and climate change. Whatever is responsible for the warming, the results are pretty terrifying. Even here in Mass we had a long drought, only recently getting relief. The scale here is so small, but after watching that show, and the coverage of the fires on the news, I can imagine what it's like. Praying for your safety, Brian

 

[Susan BAV]

Thank you everyone. I'm worried that Deanne hasn't posted recently. Also no news from Tina.

It's worse here now. Huge blaze due east heading north along a mountain that burned four years ago; too close. Much ashier air. Thick smokey air and dark and ominously gloomy. And the ash is like enormous snowflakes. Some large black embers. Firefighters nearby.

Local news is already reminding us of the mudslides we're going to have when and if the rainy season comes this year. And the noon news just said that two firefighters lost their own homes. Awful.

 

[VikiVix]

the fires

the fires

My daughter and son's aunt and uncle lost their home in San Diego in the fires yesterday. They were evacuated at 4:00 in the morning so didn't get a chance to save any belongings. The most important part is they are alive and had no injuries. The uncle is a college professor and the aunt is a dance teacher and choreographer and have lived in a beautiful house in Escondido for years. It is sad to see anyone lose any of life's belongings but life itself, being spared, is what keeps us going.
Viki

 

[Freddie]

Please excuse my ignorance. I was under the impression that these wildfires were south of L.A. But I see now fire are also on the north side.
What I can't find on Google is the location of Ventura California and the fires. Could someone help me out with this?

 

[Lynlw]

Please excuse my ignorance. I was under the impression that these wildfires were south of L.A. But I see now fire are also on the north side.
What I can't find on Google is the location of Ventura California and the fires. Could someone help me out with this?

not a map but here is the ventura fire info http://fire.countyofventura.org/

 

[Granbonny]

Susan

Susan

I hope you are staying inside and not breathing that smoke.. I pray for everyone who have lost their homes..here's hoping that the end of the fires are near.....Take care..Bonnie

 

[briansmom]

We are good, I think the danger has passed for us. We had loaded up our motorhome and attached a trailer with 6 of our dirt bikes and had another truck and trailer ready to receive our race car, but never got the call to actually evacuate. I felt a little petty, because there were so many people that had serious problems, but all I could think of was that we are supposed to be leaving for SEMA this Sunday (all you auto fans probably know that this is the biggest aftermarket auto show). We have our race car being displayed in one of our sponsor booths and plus we have another car that needs to be displayed in our booth. We couldn't voluntarily evacuate because my husband was desperately trying to get the race car ready. I had a house full of underage teenagers (previously evacuated from their houses) that I had assigned tasks (including driving our vehicles out) in case of emergency evacuation. On top of all that Brian has been a typical teen age sh*t, so life has been difficult. My husband leaves tomorrow to pre-run his section of the Baja 1000. So bottom line I am whining. I am now sitting here drinking a couple of glasses of wine. I guess that is appropriate given this post!!!
Susan, I am glad you are safe. Thanks everyone, once again you all amaze me with how much you continue to help me

 

[blessed1416]

Cheers Briansmom!!

Cheers Briansmom!!

Glad to hear that the winds are dying down and maybe the worst is over. I also have teenagers, so I understand completely how they can be little sh**s!! Nothing like a disaster to make us have to laugh to keep from crying. God Bless!!

 

[Susan BAV]

Thanks again everyone.

Thanks again everyone.

Things appear to be better here today. Smaller fires keep on popping up but it is all so much easier for the firemen to deal with, now that the winds have died down. Armed National Guard is preventing anyone from entering our area now. There have been firetrucks immediately to our east, where that field burned, guarding that part of the eastern flank of this unincorporated community. Our sons took the fire watches last night and Mr. W and I slept like logs.

I haven't gone out to see the actual landscape yet but the maps show that the edge of the Witch Creek Fire is what swept the field next to us, up from the huge burned valley where the Paradise Creek Fire began four years ago. A lot of the northwestern edge of the Witch Creek Fire burned areas that had burned four years ago so the brush hadn't recovered much and fortunately the fire wasn't as intense in those areas. Then the Poomacha Fire marched across from our northeast to our northwest.

One family we are friends with lost their home four years ago (they stayed with us for a few days after that fire) and they relocated and lost their home to this fire also. I'm afraid there are others like them. What a horrible situation to go through--and twice!

I haven't seen the news for awhile. My brain is just a fog now. I hope things are better everywhere else also.

 

[EireCara]

*Im a bit ashamed of myself to discover this post so late....SORRY everyone.

Im soo glad you are all safe, it must have been horrible for you.

Prayers and best wishes to all who are affected.

 

[Susan BAV]

brave firefighters

brave firefighters

Firefighters Recount October Firestorm - in a local paper today:

http://nctimes.com/articles/2007/11/11/news/top_stories/1_02_1711_10_07.txt

 

[hensylee]

Since there hasn't been much in posting in a couple of weeks, how about a report from y'all who live there and were/were not affected?
There are several members from around there.

 

[Susan BAV]

Since there hasn't been much in posting in a couple of weeks, how about a report from y'all who live there and were/were not affected?
There are several members from around there.

I don't know about the other members but it seems that most of our friends have been fairly traumatized that this has happened again, and so soon after the other bad fires, four years ago. Both the firestorms were called century storms, meaning that they might be expected once every hundred years. The soot and ash blowing around will be a serious health issue for months and the bad stuff we have been breathing is making nearly everyone ill.

About a year after the last bad fires, we noticed a sudden increase of local pets suddenly dying and we also noticed a sudden onset of chemical depression among several people that we knew. We couldn't help but wonder if all the airborne toxins and carcinogens didn't contribute to it all.

The fire came about a hundred yards from the corner of our property this time. Last time it came closer, burning down one of our sheds and scorching about 20 of our orange trees. We are expecting a bit of rain this evening, though it's not supposed to cause any mud slides. Just a bit of rain might lay down the toxic air particles a bit.

One thing that made this firestorm episode so much worse was the continuous hurricane-force winds; these type of winds come from the east. They went on for about three-four days this time. In our area, the trees that weren't burnt look dead on the east side, from the intense winds. Most of the leaves on the east side of each tree or bush are gone but those few that remain are brown. The west side of the trees are still green. It is so strange looking. We've been around these hot desert Santa Ana winds for a couple of decades or so and we've never seen that type of damage to this degree before.

The article totaled the homes destroyed at 1700 this time with 9 fatalities directly related to the fires. There were a few other fatalites related to the evacuations. Just tragic.

 

[hensylee]

thanks for letting us know. It sounds so devastating. The leafless trees - maybe the dry winds took all the moisture out of the leaves? It's good to know that you are safe, however you will still be subject to all that ash for some time, probably. I have a cousin in Ca who got ash but they are no where near the fire area, so it spread far and wide.