California is burning, again.

[RICHARD]

First the Monecito/Tea fire, Now there is a fire to the north of my house.

I am about 8 miles away and in no danger but I smelled smole about 10:45 tonight and smelled smoke. I walked outdoors and a car stopped at the signal on the corner and someone yelled something about a house on fire....


The Firehawk chopper is flying back to the base about .5 miles away from here...

I saw the news and heard that the fire was in Sylmar. I went out doors to my back yard and saw a huge red glow in the sky - got my ladder out and put it up against the the garage. Holy Crap!

You could see the flames and with a pair of binocs it looks like a plume of fire about 70-80 feet in the air....I have only seen that area burn once in the time that I have lived here. The area is packed with homes that but up against the Angeles National Forest.

KABC just reported that there are homes on fire now.

[blue]

BBQ AT RICHARDS!!!!



















Stay safe and dont do anthing stupid if its that close. Did you pay your insurance for the month?

[RICHARD]

BBQ AT RICHARDS!!!!

I don't need fire to do something stupid!

The Valley is a bowl about 25 miles across. If you look at it like a clock I live at the 3 o'clock position and the fire is burning at the 1 o'clock position at the very edge of the bowl, Above the fire is MILES of nat'l. forest.

Wowser. The area right below the fire-the wind is blowing about 20-30 mph with 50+ MPH due in the morning around sunrise- is jam packed with homes built right up to the edge of the mountains. We have the Santa Ana winds out here. You may have been part of it when you come out to CA at this time of the year. They blow hard and very hard at sunset and at sunrise and the humidity is 5% and it's 77 degrees. I think you can stream the coverage on KCBS 2 or KABC 7.

The part that sucks is that it's so close to the holidays and to lose your home at this time. They also just reported that there is a neighborhood where people are trapped in their homes.

[RICHARD]

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/index

Here ya go, bro....check it out.

If you watch the coverage in real time you can see that those LA County Fire Pilots have huge brass ones. I just saw a water drop the was totally blown off the fire by the wind.

scary as all get out.

[RICHARD]

http://cbs2.com/

You can click on the LIVE COVERAGE button and see another view of the fire.

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MY mom was at the rehab hospital about two miles away from the fire up until a month ago.

I think I would have righteously crapped my pants if she was still there.

[Medusa]

I'm glad that you and Mom are safe, Richard.

[RICHARD]

The winds have taken the fire and spread it west.....more flying embers~

All last night you could hear the choppers coming in to refuel and change crews. What a long night.

[KYS]

I wonder how the fire started.
My BF calls me up at 5:00 a.m. to see if I am ok.
The fire has jumped over to Granada Hills area and many of the freeways
are closed. THe high winds are not helping matters.
I feel so sorry for all the people who are affected.
I have had to change Rocky's water bowls out 5 times already from
all the ashes.
I am trying to keep him in the house.

[RICHARD]

I wonder how the fire started.

Back in the 60's-70's there was a Nike base on the hills above Sylmar. The gov't. had put missles up there to defend the L.A./ San Fer valleys from a nuke/Russian attack.

When the base closed it became a place to drive up to, party and look over the San Fernando Valley. On nights like we have been having over the last few days you can see Catalina Island from there-that view around 40 miles from the top of the mountains!

It was probably some kids out looking for a good time-the area is one that isn't conducive to lighting fires and running away in a hurry, if you were stupid enough to do that you could get caught up there.

[momoffuzzyfaces]

Prayers on the way for all of you in the fire area!!!

I remember watching our down town burn a few years ago. The choppers dropping water and all, it looked like the end of the world.

Stay safe!!!

[Catty1]

Prayers to all the people and those firefighters. There is a lull in the wind today, and they are not expecting to make much headway, so PT Prayers are flying out to them.

I HOPE that people made plans for their pets this time!

[Karen]

I wonder how the fire started.
My BF calls me up at 5:00 a.m. to see if I am ok.
The fire has jumped over to Granada Hills area and many of the freeways
are closed. THe high winds are not helping matters.
I feel so sorry for all the people who are affected.
I have had to change Rocky's water bowls out 5 times already from
all the ashes.
I am trying to keep him in the house.

Yikes, it is safe for people or pets to be outdoors, breathing with all that ash in the air?

Rocky, I know you may THINK you wanna go out, but trust me, boy, it's safer inside. Speaking as an asthmatic, you don't want to get any more particulate matter into your lung than you've already got.

[RICHARD]

The air quality depends on where you are in the area,
downwind is the worst - at my house it's breezy with occasional gusts.

In the areas like Sylmar and GH they butt up against the hills and get the compressed wind. I could drive west around 5 miles and get gusty winds about 30-40 miles an hour. It's really strange and one of the things we have always lived with.

There are two more fires, in Brea and Yorba Linda.......

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The City and County have a great pet plan in effect. The areas to the east are places where there are many horse ranches - The have opened up a horse and pet relocation center at the Dam/rec area up the street from my house.

There have been 4 hurt firemen and 1 civilian injured.


Just as I finish this the wind has started to pick up

[pomtzu]

I've been watching the coverage on MSNBC off and on for most of the day. Truly devastating and heartbreaking to watch - and made even worse with the holidays close at hand. So many people have lost everything. We have tornado warnings up here right now and it's getting black as pitch out. Wish me luck!

[Edwina's Secretary]

A mobile home park with hundreds of home completely destroyed. Sad indeed!

Although I am at a distance from the worst of the fires (there are some here in OC as well) I am miserable. The heat is oppressive (November???) and my lungs and eyes are burning.

Tell me again why anyone lives here???