S. CA is on fire!

[MasterBlaster]

Quote:

MB, when the property and even the lives of some who post here are at stake, I don't see much humor in your post.

Sorry Dad, I am sorry that your humorless life makes it necessary for you to scold me.

I promise I won't do it again and I am really sorry.... for you!

For those that don't know I live in SoCal and have wildfires burning way too close to my house. Evacutions were recommended for neighbors of mine last night.

[REWahoo]

You obviously have the ability to laugh in the face of adversity, but for many of us on the outside looking in, it's tough to make the call on what's brave and what's crass. I sincerely hope you and yours escape any damage.

[W2R]

Wish we could send you some of our rain!! It's raining hard here as I type, and has been all day. We're not flooding in this neighborhood (though others are flooding), but I can't help but think this rain would be great for quenching your fires.

[laurence]

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

[W2R]

Quote:

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

Those Santa Ana winds can be fierce, I know.

Back in the early 1980's, my ex and I survived a fire that went all along a ridge above our Spring Valley, Calif home, two blocks away away from us. The embers were dropping down on us, and I was really scared! I had to leave, pulling the boat filled with stuff behind me, with our (then) baby beside me in her car seat and leaving my (now) ex standing on the roof with a hose amidst the shower of embers. And THAT was for a fire that didn't cause evacuations. I can hardly imagine how awful it must be right now.

I am really, really hoping those winds die down.

[TromboneAl]

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

Six Simple Things To Do That Will Help if You Have A Fire

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Photographs [outdated]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

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.

[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]

Quote:

Originally Posted by laurencewill 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 pulmicort or Abutoral 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]

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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