S. CA is on fire!

[TromboneAl]

Here's something I wrote up after we lost our house in the 1991 Oakland hills fire:

[FONT=&quot]
Six Simple Things To Do That Will Help if You Have A Fire[/FONT]​

​

Here's is a list of six things you can do in about a day that will make your life a lot easier if your house burns down. And remember, if you don't do them this weekend, you will probably never will.

Photographs [outdated]

Go to the drawer that has all of the negatives of the pictures the pictures you've taken in the last 10 years, scoop them up, dump them in a box, and mail them to a friend or relative who lives where it rains.

Insurance

Get out your fire insurance policy and check that you have replacement coverage on your contents and guaranteed replacement on the house. Then take the policy with you to work and keep it there.

Plans to the House

If you like your house, and if you have a set of house plans, take them to a relative's house and keep them there. If you really like the house, make copies. If you don't have the plans, see if you can get copies from the architect or city before they lose them. We were able to track down our plans, and it will save us several months in the rebuilding process.

Computer Backup

It's not enough just to have off-site backups of the things you are currently working on. At least once, do a full backup for off-site storage. This will save you time reconstructing all your little utilities and repurchasing programs. Frequently store backups of current projects off site. I only lost about one day's worth of consulting work, but about a month and a half on a personal project. You may be out when the fire starts, so you might not have a chance to grab your on-site backups. Note that the contents of only the very largest and most expensive fire safes made it through the fire storm.

Important Documents

Keep copies of any real important documents off site. Copies of you tax returns will be easy to replace, but it will take my wife over a year to get a new green card.

Pictures of the House

[FONT=&quot]Go into each room of your house and take a 360 degree set of pictures. Get a full set of pictures of the exterior too. When you develop the pictures, store them offsite.[/FONT]

 

[califdreamer]

It's been such a strange day. Many friends have had to evacuate their homes. Who knows, maybe I'm next?

Laurence, I thought about you and your family earlier today when a woman was talking about fire damage very close to you. I hope you guys are all right.

 

[WanderALot]

We'd take the halt of the winds at this point. The flames jump the firelines so easily.

No kidding! Those of you who don't live in SoCal might not realize how fierce these winds are. The current winds are forecast to have gusts of greater than 100mph and sustained winds of at least 50mph in places. Couple this with the single digit humidity caused by the winds and drought conditions and you can see why the firefighters have to put out parts of the fire only to see it come back again.

 

[ERD50]

Google has a feature 'community maps'.

California wildfires here:

wildfires california - Google Maps

-ERD50

 

[TexasGal]

I sincerely hope that none of you who live in SoCal suffer damage and I hope all of you stay safe.

I don't know anything about wildfires such as you are experiencing, but when I try to think of something to compare it to all I can think of in NE Texas is being surrounded by several tornadoes that spawn even more tornadoes that might or might not take out my home. I would probably get my answer fairly quickly though because a tornado is like a fast freight train. The fires are just raging on and on, and it must be terribly frightening. I'm sure that is an understatement. It is pretty scary watching it on TV, and I can't imagine what it must really be like to be anywhere close to what is going on!

I personally appreciate your taking time to post updates here.

TG

 

[Dreamer]

I thought of Laurence right away because I knew he lived around the San Diego area. I had no idea that so many others on here could be affected. You are all in my thoughts and prayers. I hope that the fires are contained and that you are all safe!

 

[laurence]

Thank you! We seem to have escaped, but now we are turning our attention to all our friends who might have lost homes or need help. Tori's godparents are evacuated and we haven't gotten in touch with them since then, good friends live in Fallbrook along with Tori's horse, many friends live in Rancho Bernardo since that's where our work is. Others live in Poway. The roads between me and them are closed. We are just in that period where until we tally every person in the "tribe" and make sure they are all right, we'll be holding our breath. Hopefully today will be the beginning of resolution on this monster.

 

[brewer12345]

Be careful, Laurence. Maybe time for a CO vacation?

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

A carbon monoxide vacation?

 

[bssc]

I found it interesting that the initial news that we saw focused on Malibu and the news didn't cover the other fires until there were pictures of a local California news person in front of his house.

I have a friend in Poway who evacuated. Pretty scary.

 

[laurence]

Well, we made the decision to leave, ash is raining down on the house now, and they are evacuating about 2-3 miles from here. Even if there was no danger, Tori's lungs can't take this for long. We haven't had to use the [SIZE=-1]pulmicort or [/SIZE][SIZE=-1] Abutoral [/SIZE]in months, but we busted it out today to take with us. We'll be fine, grandparents are in a better locale. Check back with you all after this settles down.

 

[bright eyed]

yeah, i felt like i smoked at least 1/2 a pack this morning, ack!

definitely not good for the kiddos with asthma!

arg!

never even heard of poway until my sis moved there a few weeks ago, and i was just there saturday! they are away from the ash and smoke now, thank goodness..

 

[brewer12345]

Take care, Laurence.

 

[ladelfina]

until there were pictures of a local California news person in front of his house.

ah well, thank goodness someone decided to add some perspective.

I hope you guys all stay safe..

A very sad thing about the arson. In Italy, I am sorry to say, it's even worse and more complicated (the fires aren't worse but this summer has been very bad and dry for us as well); firefighters themselves have been suspected (certain response squads are paid on a per-fire basis, yeh?), and landowners have been suspected for other motives linked to development. They had to pass a law that said that any burned-out area could not be re-built upon for X number of years to discourage 'speculation' of this nature. Of course, who's looking and whether there is enforcement is also suspect. Another terrible scandal is that 75-80% of the fire-prevention force in Sicily takes off the month of August like everyone else.

 

[HeatherF]

My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone affected by the fires. I hope you are all safe!

I have friends in the San Diego and surrounding areas and have not heard from them. I was wondering if anyone can give me some advice on visiting San Diego. I'm going to an area in San Diego that as of today, has not been affected by the fires, but is experiencing poor air quality.

The hotel says everything is "fine." But I'm not sure if going to a conference in an area that is in crisis, using my cell phone and precious resources (e.g., water) is even right...unless the city and surrounding area is able to recover by the time I get there (Nov. 10th).

Does anyone have any inight as to how long it takes the city to recover from these fires? I'd rather hear from people who've been there/are there -- than from the hotel, which still wants me to come and spend money there!

Thank you,
Heather

 

[Martha]

Good luck and take care Laurence!

My sister in Orange is having to wear a special mask for her asthma.

 

[Gumby]

ah well, thank goodness someone decided to add some perspective.

I hope you guys all stay safe..

A very sad thing about the arson. In Italy, I am sorry to say, it's even worse and more complicated (the fires aren't worse but this summer has been very bad and dry for us as well); firefighters themselves have been suspected (certain response squads are paid on a per-fire basis, yeh?), and landowners have been suspected for other motives linked to development. They had to pass a law that said that any burned-out area could not be re-built upon for X number of years to discourage 'speculation' of this nature. Of course, who's looking and whether there is enforcement is also suspect. Another terrible scandal is that 75-80% of the fire-prevention force in Sicily takes off the month of August like everyone else.

Weren't there some very bad arson fires in Italy this past summer? I recall seeing an article in Gente about a seaside resort that burned in Calabria or Campania (can't remember which) and they showed pictures of the incendiary devices used. For the life of me, I will never understand why people commit arson.

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

laurence sorry you have to leave your house but at least grandparents get to play with the kid. leave some room in the car; sounds like you might have to take bright eyed with you.

ladelfina, i recall seeing a tv report on suspected fires in italy. at the time the suspects were developers, not firefighters.

isn't it something to think that any arson or other variety of terrorist would even bother to cause so much pain & destruction. i realize i'm just lazy but if i was an arson or a terrorist i would just wait it out on the sideline and let nature take its course.

 

[brewer12345]

isn't it something to think that any arson or other variety of terrorist would even bother to cause so much pain & destruction. i realize i'm just lazy but if i was an arson or a terrorist i would just wait it out on the sideline and let nature take its course.

You would be amazed what people will do to make a payment or pay for the next fix.

 

[ladelfina]

As in many situations here and elsewhere, it's "follow the money".
The Raw Story | Organised crime suspected in Italy's fires

I used to wonder too, why there were heaps of open rotting trash bags on the public beach. Then I put two and two together: the pay beach right next door to the public one charges €12-15/day. Guess who went to the pay beach the next day? and, hmmm WHOOOO could have thrown that trash there

Another reason for fires is farmers/shepherds clearing land that's overgrown with brush and it "gets out of hand". (They don't have GWB!)

 

[califdreamer]

If anyone has friends or relatives in the San Diego area and is checking on their neighborhood for fire damage check out kpbs.org/news/fires. Click on the interactive map to see where the fires, road closures, etc. are.

Friends of mine in Fallbrook got back to their house this afternoon not knowing what to expect. It turns out their property is OK but a house just 100 yds or so away burned to the ground. A grove of eucalyptus bordering their property was on fire and ready to blow (those things literally explode from all the oil in the tree) and he and a neighbor doused it out with hoses. Just goes to show how seemingly randomly the fire can move to one house and not another.

 

[riskadverse]

I live within the city limits of San Diego. The fires are to the north, south and east of the city (nothing but ocean to the west). The air quality in the city is not very bad considering the number of fires. To the poster who is going to travel to the city, unless things get a lot worse, I wouldn't think the current situation should interrupt their trip. I ventured out today to the east to look over the city, but I couldn't see much but smoke from my vantage point on Mount Helix. To give you an idea of how dry it is - the urban freeway, I-8, I drove out on had a fire on it when I returned 45 minutes later - probably from a cigarette butt thrown from a car. My signature line has new meaning this week.

 

[laurence]

Well, we've returned home, and things are a lot better here, most of the local news is saying things are looking up and that we are getting a handle on the fires, but the national sites like MSNBC make it sound far worse. The winds are gone and the fires are turning or burning out. Lots and lots to do, and a little town called Julian - known for a mean apple pie - is in trouble out east of us, but things are looking up. A lot of my friends have checked in as having been allowed back into their houses. Keep your fingers crossed!

 

[W2R]

Well, we've returned home, and things are a lot better here, most of the local news is saying things are looking up and that we are getting a handle on the fires, but the national sites like MSNBC make it sound far worse. The winds are gone and the fires are turning or burning out. Lots and lots to do, and a little town called Julian - known for a mean apple pie - is in trouble out east of us, but things are looking up. A lot of my friends have checked in as having been allowed back into their houses. Keep your fingers crossed!

This is good news! I'll be hoping for the best, for you and others in California areas threatened by wildfires.

 

[HeatherF]

Thanks Riskadverse, for your advice on my trip to San Diego. And thanks laurencewill for the update on how things are going with the fires. I am happy to hear that things are getting better.

I finally heard from my friends in the area that their house was spared, they were lucky. I continue to send thoughts and prayers to everyone else in the area!