California is on fire again.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:C-130_Hercules.jpg

Air Force C130 water dropping planes.

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/340241...e_crash_video/

Crash of a C-130 fighting a fire in Northern California.

The reason why these guys are more than worth their weight in salt.


A specially equipped DC-10 is dropping fire retardant on the Big Bear Lake fire.

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Yep, there are scumbags who do take advanatge of the situation.

That makes it really tough to protect your belongings and your ownself....
The cops are busy trying to keep the evacuees safe and roads open.

Gosh Richard and all of you California PTers, stay safe! I have been watching the coverage and it is incredible. The pictures posted here are amazing. :eek: I hope the winds begin to die down soon so that some progress may be made in fighting the fires.

What a day. I'm back at the house, but were on notice that we might get evacuated again. After the huge Cedar fires a few years ago the county put in a reverse 911 system where 911 actually calls land lines in the house to alert of evacuations. It's quite smoky, but can't see the fire right now. The sheer number of houses that have burned down is disgusting.

I wish we had any kind of fixed wing air support, but they won't let any fixed wing aircraft fly due to the extreme wind conditions. We've only had a hand full of helicopter dropping water; no foam, no planes, no help from the military yet. The stupid thing is that it is all available and our system is so broke that the bureaucratic jerks won't even let the pilots try. Every single one of them wants to get in the air, but command won't let them. The military has support coming in and that will include fixed wings, but they won't arrive until early afternoon tomorrow.

I doubt there will be much sleep tonight, but hopefully morning will bring better news.

So glad to hear you are safe, I hope it stays that way, and the fire is brought under control somehow. You will still be in our prayers - you, the dogs, birds and all your neighbors as well. Do they tell you things like putting a damp clothe over your mouth to breathe through to help keep some of the smoke from your lungs?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Karen

So glad to hear you are safe, I hope it stays that way, and the fire is brought under control somehow. You will still be in our prayers - you, the dogs, birds and all your neighbors as well. Do they tell you things like putting a damp clothe over your mouth to breathe through to help keep some of the smoke from your lungs?

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Thanks so much for the good thoughts Karen and everyone else. We had respirators earlier but they turned black and are no good. I've had a bandanna on hand and will remember to wet it with water the next time I go out. The birds are in a safe house, away from the bulk of the fire, but the dogs are still with me. We have power, so have the A/C cranking to try and filter the air a bit. According to most recent maps we're on evacuation again, so we might be visiting the birds again tonight.

I hope everyone else in CA is doing all right. I've heard about some of the burns in Los Angeles and Orange, and they sound nightmarish as well. I hope everyone is safe and well.

How scary. Hope you and the kids are safe, Craig! We're thinking of all the Californians.

I cut my business trip short and flew back into San Diego at 4:00 this afternoon...that was one of the scariest things I'd ever seen and done. Tubulance coming into land was horrible and you just saw a line of fire and smoke all the way up and down the area of San Diego, with numerous fires burning.

Where I live was evacuated about 30 minutes before I landed. I caught up with my roomates and they're all okay. They got the cats to a boarding facility, I have Bear staying with a friend near the ocean, and the other 3 dogs with me at a friends closer inland. Figured that will do for tonight and in the morning I'll figure out what's going on and what I need to do from there. With any luck they'll let me go home!

Best wishes to all those in So Cal, stay safe.

I'm so glad to see some posts from the PT members out there in harms way~ Like everyone else, I've watched the News and I've read the articles~

Your pictures and your reports brought me just bit closer, :eek: How SCARY!!!!!!!

We're all thinking and Praying for Southern California :o

I came across this in a FOX NEWS report on the people who have evacuated to Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego,


Most people seemed happy for the free food and drink. A Hyatt hotel catered one buffet, offering chicken with artichoke hearts and capers in cream sauce, jambalaya and shredded-beef empanadas.


I have to smile about that.

In typical Cah Lee Fuh Nee Ah fashion - we will not feed our evacuees canned, packaged or survival style meals - It's bean sprouts, low carb, low fat and low sodium for our huddled masses.

It's the only place in the world where you will gain weight during a disaster! :confused:

I do have to say that if the report had made any mention of TOFU or LATTE
I would not have blinked.

http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2007Oct...alcomm,00.html

All in all, I wouldn't live anywhere else in the world.

Well, maybe I would, but where else would I have a muscle bound movie star-
that cannot pronounce the name of the state he's in charge of - come to the aid of the people?

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Everyone accounted for and safe in our neck of the woods.

Thanks for the thoughts!

I have been watching news reports of this terrible situation.

Last evening, I received a few emails fromt he admin office of the bichon rescue group I voluteer with. (Administration is in Oklahoma.) We have bichon foster homes in the evacuation area, some of these people have 5 and 6 dogs and are having difficulties finding safe places! It must be so difficult when you have to worry about spouse kids and pets OMG!

It's something I never really considered as I moved up to 12 pets in the house.

Prayers for all of you PT'ers that you can relocate to safe places with all your pets!

I sure hope that everyone will stay safe. My brother and his wife and 3 kids live in San Diego and I sure hope that they're doing okay.:( Prayers and positive thoughts are being sent out to everyone. Please take care.

Checking in from Orange County, CA. The Irvine fire was abut 10 miles from my company, so we had to close yesterday due to heavy smoke. Today it's much better.

I heard on the news that there are 20 different wild fire in Ca at one point. In San Diego, more than 500 houses were burned to dust. Hopefully the fires will be contained soon, and no more damages will be done.

I just spoke with my partner who had to evacuate her home due to the Irvine fire. She told me of the wild animals....deer, coyotes, etc....running down the hills in advance of the fire. Where will they go???? :( :( :(

Just checking on California PT'ers ... I was listening to the news last night on my car radio, driving in the rain, and there were reports of heavy rain in New Orleans. California is too dry and NOLA is too wet. I wish they could cancel each other out somehow.

All I can do from SC is pray for all of those in harm's way in CA. We don't have rain now, but we have had some the last two days. We needed it, but I would rather have it out there with the fires.

I"m so glad you are all safe, so far. Please keep our old friend, Jackie, and her family (in San Diego) in your prayers. Her husband has been ill. As of this morning, they are ok, but are waching the reports, closely.

Logan

Praying for all of our PT members in Southern California...
Logan, how is Jackie? I was thinking about her just the other day... How are Perry & Daisy? I will be keeping her husband in my prayers! :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Edwina's Secretary

I just spoke with my partner who had to evacuate her home due to the Irvine fire. She told me of the wild animals....deer, coyotes, etc....running down the hills in advance of the fire. Where will they go???? :( :( :(

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That really makes you wonder, doesn't it? > so sad :( for these poor wild creatures <


I have often wondered, if I had 30mins. to evacuate, WHAT would I gather up and take?????



Hmmmm........ interesting..............

What would/do you take???

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Catsnclay

That really makes you wonder, doesn't it? > so sad :( for these poor wild creatures <


I have often wondered, if I had 30mins. to evacuate, WHAT would I gather up and take?????



Hmmmm........ interesting..............

What would/do you take???

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I got to do it twice yesterday :) .

From my house with the mandatory evacuation I grabbed my home insurance policy, my bank statements, my two check books, Frankie's crate, her bed, her food, a lot of bottled water, a sleeping bag and a pillow. I also keep my camping gear in two totes, one for the tent and camp supplies and the other for the kitchen and cooking supplies, so I put those in the back of my truck in case I couldn't find a place to stay. All in all I was out of the house in under 20 minutes.

From my parent's house, they were out of town, I grabbed the home insurance, classic car insurance, Riley's crate, her bed, her food, Bailey's cage, her food, Jasper's travel carrier, her food, more water, all the pictures that I knew were irreplaceable to my parents, and my mom's jewelry. I was out of their house in about 30 minutes.

After the fires died down early yesterday evening I began the process of moving the classic cars from my parent's house to a friends house a ways north of us. Luckily they were able to gather a few drivers and we moved them all at once, except mine which wouldn't start due to a low battery. All in all I think everything was successful. Got the important things on the first trip out and then came back for the important but still replaceable things of value.

Right now we're just trying to stay out of the ash and smoke. The fire seems content to burn a couple miles south of us, but I guess it's moving slowly north of the mall right now. Luckily we have full air support for the first time and it seems like things are better today. The fires are still not contained at all, so it's a waiting game. My parents have people at their house and I have my roommates evacuated families and pets at mine, so hopefully our area won't get evacuated again.

I hope everyone else has had a bit of time to breathe safely and isn't in, or hasn't been in immediate threat due to the fires. I'll keep my fingers crossed that we all come out of this covered in ash and nothing more severe.

A little hint about what to take if yor have to go.


The CPU on the computer is paramount. Don't eff around with the monitor or keyboard. I saw some people with speakers, keyboards and monitors in their arms. You can get those anywhere.....the info on the hard drive is what you want.

I have two boxes, Edward's sleeping hangout, on my desk. THey are filled with all the important papers.

I grab his arse, toss him in his cage and then the boxes go. It's all I need.

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It's hot and dry here in the valley. The sunshine is orange tinged...

The sound of helicopters has kept me up all night long. WHUPWHUPWHUP.

I am pretty good at knowing who is who for a long time. I can tell the Bell Rangers from the Firehawks from the Hueys. But it's almost scheduled now.


The Firehawk pilots usually fly over the house and make a lazy right hand spiral to the pad. The wind has forced them to approach from the south and plop straight in.

I don't mind the Fire choppers, it's the dang news flights.

Two TV stations fly out of the small airport.....They run their engines for about 20 minutes before they take off.....theirs is a noisy high pitched turbine engine that grates on the nerves after a few.

I've been glued to the tv all day.
Prayers that the winds will stop and rain will come.
This is so sad.

Rain? What is that?? Seriously, we will start getting rain just when we don't need it - and the thought of the mud slides to come gives me the chills.

I live miles in each direction from all of the many fires - but this morning the sky was a muddy beige. I ran my finger over my patio table that had just been cleaned yesterday - and I could write my name in the soot.

I have been sneezing all day.

Trish, I am so glad to hear that you are home and your babies are alright.
I pray that your home is alright too!

I, too, have been watching the news about the fires. I hope only the best for these people, much the same hopes I had (have) for the hurricane Katrina victims. And I thought I had (have) problems. Such destruction.

I wish we would spend more money on prevention from the damages of flooding and fires and less on war. 46 billion requested by Bush just yesterday. 46 billion more.

My heart goes out to the CA population as well as their loved ones sharing their horrors.

Yes, I noticed that word too - BILLION!!!!

There was a newscast this morning from the Fire Department Chief in Orange County. He asked to vent. After the 2003 fires in San Diego County -
a "blue ribbon" committee was formed to study what needed to be done for the future to prevent so much damage and loss of life.

48 points were recommended as a result of that study.

Not one - NOT ONE - of them have been implemented.

It seems as though our priorities are really messed up.

46 billion dollars to implement -

Here comes another helicopter.....

Fire prevention plans?

When we have the little fiefdoms- small cities, home owners associations, zoning laws and all the em effing local politicos looking for a piece of the government money?- that money would be better spent loading it into 757s and dropping it into the ocean.

I just wrote out a long rant for the Dog house that I deleted on accident....

People depend on the gov't. for way too much and way too often.

One man was ticked off that he lost his home-the FD saved it once before, but now they are the EVIL FD..

A few minutes later I saw him doing another interview on another TV station.

The Fire fighters were probably his heroes the first time out. This time his luck ran out and he had nothing but bile and hate for them.

I guess the luck of an ungrateful bees turd runs out eventually.

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There is no real way to prevent fires and losses from such..

I guess you can cut fire break roads around the forests, do not let people develop them and then pave a huge asphalt "no build zone" around Southern California.


46 billion should be enough to build a firehouse, complete with firemen, on every single parcel of land here in CA.

Our priorities sure are screwed up.

We are letting people-Another chopper overhead-build up to the edge of our forests and not making them responsible for their homes.

Sure, I want to live in the forest-but fire, bears, snakes and landslides make me want to stay a flatlander.

Some of the things that we learned from the 2003 fires have been corrected. The main one that came out of the 2003 fires was the need to communicate evacuations. Since the 2003 fires huge strides have been made. The reverse 911 system turned out to be amazingly good and saved lives and made the evacuations a lot more controlled. We did get our Fire 1 helicopter out of the 2003 fires and it was the first helicopter up and really did an amazing job while the political morons tried to figure out how to get the other aircraft in the air. That said, there were a lot of lessons that we learned the hard way to 2003 and we repeated them again this year, sad.

The one that saddens be the most is that the military once again wanted to help us, once again was prepared immediately to help us, and once again was slowed by Cal Fire administrators. The same issues that plagued us in 2003 came up again these last few days and the same sad results occurred.

The good news is that the humidity is up a little and the temperature has come down a bit. The Santa Ana winds have died down, but are being replaced by off shore winds that are hard to predict. It's a necessary evil I guess, the off shore will bring in cool, moist weather, but it's pushing fire back towards us and is much more unpredictable.

I hope everyone remains safe!

Just a small note.. we lost a lot of homes yesterday in non-forest or wild land communities. It just goes to show the unpredictable and destructive nature of wild fires. This fire jumped fire breaks as wide as the 6-8 lanes of the 15 freeway, and most every dirt fire road around. The wind was so intense that no width of paved fire break was going to stop this monster from spreading from forest, to foot hills, to city developments. It's the risk we take, no different than any community on the globe; there will always be fires, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes and other natural disasters; no amount of prevention can stop Mother Nature when her fury is released. Can knowledge and preparation reduce the damages? Yes, but sometimes these disasters even go above any kind of preparation.

Just thought I'd check in to make sure everyone one here was safe. Glad to hear, so far, everyone is well.

We were in a campground in Aquanga, CA, which is a teeny tiny town North of San Diego, about 15 miles East of Hwy 15. We arrived there yesterday (Monday) after being told there had been a fire across the street the day before, but it was 100% out and only burned 5 acres - so we decided to go.

This morning we woke up to hear a new fire had broken out near Palomar Mountain, which was just over the mountain from us. When I heard this, I looked out the window and saw nothing. Turned out we had some business to tend to in Indio, CA, so I called the front desk to see if I could leave the keys for the motorhome with them, so in case a fire started nearby and the park needed to be evacuated, someone could come in and get the cats. I was told "Oh sure, that's no problem. We'll make sure they're safe." I was thrilled and very grateful for such a warm response. I told them we'd have all important papers and such with us in the car, they would just need to get the cats.

We were getting ready to go and I happened to turn around....and to my complete surprise and horror, I saw smoke billowing over the mountain! (first picture) Terry was on his cell phone, so I snapped a few pics and a video. You could see the smoke cloud growing and changing shape by the second! I was horrified and told him there was no way I was leaving without the cats. If he wanted to go himself, I would stay and watch the cats and the motorhome. He wouldn't do that, so we talked to the front desk and they agreed to give us a credit and we left.

By the time we left, the wind had started taking the billowing smoke and spreading it out. (see second pic) As we started leaving, I was on the phone making sure no roads were closed in the direction we were headed. Fortunately, all roads were open. We had to take I-15 to I-215. I-15 was closed Southbound, but open Northbound - Whew!

The 3rd picture was taken when we were about 30 miles North, and the smoke is still a significant obstacle on the horizon.

We are now safe in Indio, CA, where the wind speed was about 3 mph when we arrived this afternoon. Can you imagine - three (3) mph! We couldn't believe things could be so dramatically different in such a short distance.

It's all so sad - so many people loosing so much property, and so much loss of wildlife. :(

I'm thinking of all the California PTers, I'm glad to hear that everyone is ok. This is just awful. :( I've seen the mountains on fire a few times, but I've never had a fire close enough to threaten our home...I can't even imagine.

I found out that my brother and his family had to evacuate on Monday and now they're staying at my parents house in San Clemente. My brother told my mom that it smelled like a campfire at their home in San Diego. They hope to be able to return home sometime tomorrow.

My SIL's brother has a friend who lost his home in the fire while he was away on a business trip. His wife and kids had to evacuate and now they have nothing to return to.:( My SIL's parents live in the Fallbrook area and they know a lot of people there that have lost their homes.:( My brother lives in the Rancho Bernardo area and hopefully everything there is okay.

Many more prayers are going out to everyone in San Diego and the other areas that are involved in the fire.

My thoughts go out to all of you - you just cannot believe it from here. Knowing people who actually have to deal with this catastrophy makes quite a difference... it is not just a story on paper.
Hope you all stay safe.

It's a quiet night.

No sounds of engines, no aircraft running overhead.

Yesterday there was a thick smoke cover with just a small band of blue sky between the mountains and the haze.

T&P,

Welcome to Hell.
That is a small taste of what our autumns hold for us. I am really amazed that the hills to the north of us haven't caught yet....there is still that chance that some accident or screwed up person will test the firefighters in the near future.

It is pretty amazing how a fire can get so big, so fast.


Barbara,

Not too many people payed attention to a fire that started on July 4 and burned for more than one month this year....

Sadly enough, we only pay attention when we get singed. :( :confused:


http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=25190


The Zaca fire burned from 7/4/2007 PAST 08/24/2007-220,000 acres burned.

More info

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zaca_Fire

And no one payed attention. :( :( :(


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Here's a little trivia about the huge DC 10 airplane you see flying over and dropping the red phos check stuff.


That plane was damaged in an accident fighting another fire.

How?

It hit a tree.

It was flying low over a fire and a downdraft forced the tail to hit some tree tops, damaging the tail and raising some questions about a large plane being used to fight fires!

http://www.chicagotribune.com/media/...0/33416459.jpg
Here's kind of an eerie photo from today's on line Chicago Tribune. It's an aerial picture from the European Space Station.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by RICHARD

There is no real way to prevent fires and losses from such..

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Well, one way to prevent fires is for idiots to stop setting them. They are saying at least 3 of the fires were set. They have one person in custody and are looking for another. :( I hope they make them pay for all the damage they have caused!!! :mad:

Stay safe everyone!!!

even seeing the pictures can be scary.

I have two uncles, aunts and three cousins live just very near where the fire is, I don't talk with them very much but my (northern) grandmother is fret all about this and haven't been sleeping well. they also have three goldens, four cats and two birds altogether down there - I hope all are ok! animals can react to this nature very well.

everyone who evacuted, lost homes, loved ones, or is going to be in the fire's way is in my thoughts. :( remain safe everyone!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by cassiesmom

http://www.chicagotribune.com/media/...0/33416459.jpg

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A little perspective?


See the island off the coast? The smaller on in the middle of the pic....That is Catalina Island. It's 26 miles off the coast. :eek:

Just checking in again today on Calif. PT'rs. I hope you are all okay. They are saying on the news that the number of people needing to evacuate is now over 500,000, but that the strength of the winds seems to be decreasing.

I am soo glad I am in Northern California.. but I have a lot of family down there. None needed to evacuate yet..


:(

-Ali

I love my Governator!


He stopped in at an evac station in a high school.

One of the reporters tried to get a word with her. He put his hand on her arm and gently swung her out of the way so he could get to the evacuees.

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One report qouted a person who said that officials from all 50 states should go to San Diego to see "how it's done"-referring to the organization of the evacuation efforts at Qualcomm Stadium.

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And hat's off to the mayor, city council and all the volunteers.

My brother and his family are still staying at my parents house in San Clemente. Even though people aren't supposed to go back to their homes yet, a few of their neighbors have done so and they told my brother and his wife that their house is fine. A grocery store near them has burned to the ground though. I guess their neighborhood is far enough away from Rancho Bernardo so I hope that everything will remain okay.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by RICHARD

And hat's off to the mayor, city council and all the volunteers.

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They were talking about that on Fox News today. One good thing, everyone was on the same radio frequency so they could all talk to each other: firemen, policemen, and officials!!! No one got their nose out of joint thinking someone was taking over their power.

Katrina must have taught some lessons after all!

I've been watching fox news channel since the fire started and they have excellent coverage.
Nothing better than Fox News.
This is the saddest thing hearing and watching not being able to do anything for their pain.
Leaving the pets behind is very horrible.
I hear people saying they couldn't get their cats out because they didn't have time.
This fire has been going on for 4 days now.
Is it ever going to stop??
My God!