California is on fire again.

**Randi** · 10-21-2007, 12:09 PM

Just read about it on LA News, how frightening!! I hope you're all OK!

Please check in and let us know.

**gini** · 10-21-2007, 12:44 PM

I just saw a news update on t.v. A Presbyterian Church and an animal hospital have been destroyed. There is no word yet if they got all of the animals out. I pray that they did.

The winds are horrific - and that is what causes the fires to spread so rapidly as flames jump from one spot to another.

At my home the winds were strong last night - but all is calm right now.

**wolf_Q** · 10-21-2007, 12:47 PM

How scary! I hope everyone in the line of fire will be ok and that they'll be able to get it under control soon.

**Edwina's Secretary** · 10-21-2007, 12:52 PM

Calm here as well. Strange to watch such horror on the tv that is so close and yet feel/smell/hear/see nothing!

**RICHARD** · 10-21-2007, 12:55 PM

No,
I am not really close to the fires. But, I could get into my car and go to all three places with in an hour......It's very frustrating to see the reports on the news.

Gini lives about 14 miles from my house......but here the wind is blowing like mad!

Think of this helicopter flying over your house, Without the water coming out the bottom, of course.

It alot of noise, because it's only about 150 feet above as it come in for a landing. really spectacular and not bad when you think of the service it performs.

**jazzcat** · 10-21-2007, 02:54 PM

I was just watching that beautiful castle burn on the news.

Since I've never been to CA I don't know the geography but they were describing how the wind really gusts through the valleys. How scary. Stay safe everyone!

**sasvermont** · 10-21-2007, 02:58 PM

I was watching some cable news at my Mom's moments ago. It is so darn scarey.

Keep us posted.

Let's hope the winds stop.

**KYS** · 10-21-2007, 03:00 PM

Every year around Oct and Nov. the dreaded fires begin in that area and than the floods will come.

I heard that PCH is now closed to help the firefighters fight the fire.
The Santa Ana's winds makes it so difficult for them, CHP and Sheriffs. I wonder how the fire was started this time.

I came home and the winds did a job on my poor beautiful Parkway Tree.

**Dorothy39** · 10-21-2007, 05:10 PM

I've read about the wild fires out your way Richard, ,,,,, No way can I imaginie a helicopter flying that close over my house ( minus the water)

I've never been to California either , so I had to look this up on the map.

That's some real scarey stuff!!!!!PHEW!!!!!!!!

Stay safe Gini and Richard~

**Edwina's Secretary** · 10-21-2007, 06:26 PM

Windier than I thought...my husband's car sits on the driveway. He had it washed yesterday.....today it is covered in dust. Just from the Santa Ana winds or is it ash too?

**lizbud** · 10-21-2007, 07:37 PM

Originally Posted by KYS

Every year around Oct and Nov. the dreaded fires begin in that area and than the floods will come.

I heard that PCH is now closed to help the firefighters fight the fire.
The Santa Ana's winds makes it so difficult for them, CHP and Sheriffs. I wonder how the fire was started this time.

I came home and the winds did a job on my poor beautiful Parkway Tree.

Wow.

I hope all you California people stay safe. The fires & winds
look fierce.

**Chica** · 10-21-2007, 07:51 PM

WOW, The winds are very very bad.The news is saying that the MALIBU Fire is not contained, and there may be evacuations!!!!!

Everyone in that area should be prepared!

The news media is saying to remain alert!!!

I am praying that no one gets hurt, the fire fighters and law inforcement and of course the residents and animals.This cituation is very touchy!!!

**Medusa** · 01-02-2008, 11:51 AM

Originally Posted by RICHARD

No, I am not really close to the fires. But, I could get into my car and go to all three places with in an hour

My son lives in N. Hollywood and he's going home today to all that. He told me how scary it was out there. Prayers going out that you, my son and all others will be safe.....

**NoahsMommy** · 10-26-2007, 03:03 PM

Originally Posted by gini

The winds are horrific - and that is what causes the fires to spread so rapidly as flames jump from one spot to another.

At my home the winds were strong last night - but all is calm right now.

Amen to this....the winds have been HORRIBLE at our place. We live in the hills of Simi Valley - VALLEY. Valleys are NOT good places to live when windy, espeically when the place you live means - WINDY VALLEY (Simi = windy in Native American).

Luckily its died down A LOT since everything began, but wow. On Monday, my mom was so distraught - we had to give her 3 margaritas to calm her. My mom doesn't really drink - maybe wine socially. She was soooo upset to see her garden in ruins.

Her/their Gardens have been in 'Garden Tours', have won Awards many times over. Most weekends consist of at least one day in the garden and during the week after work I'd say about 2 to 3 days spent out there until it gets dark. My step-dad is retired, so he is out there additionally during the day. They spend a lot of time, money, energy, and LOVE on that garden. Its VERY important to them...my mom has been gardening since she was a little girl - taught by her mother. We have things in the garden that belonged to my grandma, from her garden, her English Garden.

Our Arbors came down - they were so top heavy with roses and flowering vines that despite being reinforced and cemented in at the bottom, the wind toppled over first. All the trees are so wind blown, are naked (leaves have been blown off), snapped off in the weaker areas, leaning or have snapped off because the 80 mph wind was too strong for our 2-year-old and younger trees (2 years is the very oldest...). Poor, poor trees and bushes. Even the tree stakes snapped - these are wooden poles thicker than the trees they support!!

I'll be back to write more, work is calling...

**Cinder & Smoke** · 10-26-2007, 05:32 PM

Do we really PAY these idiots????

Can I get a refund?

FEMA workers masquerade as reporters
Employees asked questions at last minute California wildfire briefing ...

WASHINGTON - One way to get decent coverage in this rough-and-tumble city is to arrange to have your own employees interrogate you at your news conference...

FEMA scheduled an early afternoon news briefing on only 15 minutes notice to reporters here Tuesday to talk about its handling of assistance to victims of wildfires that were ravaging much of Southern California.

At the news conference itself, some FEMA employees played the role of reporter, asking questions of Johnson - queries described as soft and gratuitous.
"I'm very happy with FEMA's response," Johnson said in reply to one query from a person who was an agency employee, not an independent journalist.

Asked about this, Mike Widomski, FEMA's deputy director of public affairs, said, "We had been getting mobbed with phone calls from reporters, and this was thrown together at the last minute."

Johnson issued a statement Friday saying that FEMA's goal was "to get information out as soon as possible, and in trying to do so we made an error in judgment."
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Your Tax Dollars at Work ...