California fires

Bill Lantry

Member
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2,663
Location
Inside the Beltway
Hey, folks,

Well, this sure puts things in perspective. My brother sent word today that he's been ordered to evacuate his home, just north of San Diego. He said something about 70 MPH winds and 4% humidity... a bad combination. From the satellite pictures of the smoke plumes, looks like the winds are blowing hard straight out of the east. Anyone in the area who can give a first hand report?

Thanks,

Bill
(Former CDF firefighter)
 
No fires close to me but there's a couple 15-20 miles upwind from here (extreme north-east corner of Anaheim): bad smoke smell anytime I stick my head outside, almost unbreathable.

Worst Santa Ana winds I've seen in 33 years here. Next-door neighbor got a big chunk of his roof peeled back last night, guy on the other side of him had a big tree fall over and smash his back fence flat, and the fence gates on the house across the street are laying flat in his back yard. The park where I normally walk my dog looks like a tornado hit it...it would be even worse except they did a major pruning of the trees there last spring.
 
Geez, I sure hope this passes soon, fire and wind are a bad combo to be sure.

Can't help myself........... "What kind of tree fell down Lee..........?"

:D
 
I have, and always will, hate fires. It does not matter if you are rich or poor, young or old, when a fire takes your place (rented or owned) you are left with the same thing...nothing.

Now with that being said, I think I am off to Malibu CA. I guess its in danger of burning down several well know actors and actress'es homes. Now I really don't care about much about personally saving Eddie Murphy's house, or Jennifer Annistan's, or even Victoria Beckman's place, but by goodness when Tiffany Amber Theissen's house is in danger I will be there!! (She's my heart throb by the way and just happens to live in Malibu.)

Yep I asked the wife to dig into the savings account and get me the money for the plane ticket. I figure with my 10 years of fire fighting experience, and with my brother being a Bangor Fire Dept Training Officer, I should have enough credentials to put water on said fire.

I can just imagine the accolades now, the thanks, the praise from sweet Tiffany as I save her house and try to revive her even if she is breathing just fine on her own. :DI am sure after that act of bravery she will want a Machinist for a husband instead of some Movie and Television producer named Brock. I mean think about it, a Machinist that can trick out OUR kids trikes with custom made CNC parts, or a boring, rich Movie Producer?:huh::thumb::rofl:

On second thought, maybe I should just stay right here in Maine and wish my California friends the best in their time of need.
For those that don't know, Tiffany played the Cheerleader on Saved By the Bell and also played in Beverly Hills 90210 as Valerie Malone.

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Travis, stay home :D

Hey, you forgot about this one.........

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Then again, it was only on air for one season or so..........

It is on late night re-runs here, not that I watch it, as I don't watch TV, but a Japanese buddy of mine asked me about it, and I looked it up.

Cheers!:wave:
 
I hope your brother's house stays OK, Bill. My niece and her husband in San Marcos (northern San Diego County) are providing housing for some of the evacuees.

So far in my little corner of LA County things have not flared up (literally), but we're on the edge of the Angeles National Forest in a pretty heavily wooded area, so we're keeping our eyes and ears open. The conditions are ripe...right now (at 2:00 AM) it's 78 degrees outside and 12 percent humidity. Fortunately the winds are calm right now, but they are predicting the winds will be back tomorrow, and inland temps (my area) are expected to be in the high 90's.
 
I have two cousins in CA. I'll be calling them later today to see if they are affected. Also, my 98 year old aunt lives with one of the cousins. I simply don't understand California or Californians or why anyone would want to live there. Mudslides, fires, earthquakes and Michael Moore. No way, no how for this boy.
 
How far north of San Diego Bill? North does not appear good. I do not live there now but lived in Rancho Bernado untill 1986 and still have friends there but have not heard anything from them. I understand that is one of the hardest hit areas so they probably have their hands full. I sure hope that your brother escapes with no damage.
 
My daughter was evacuated and then cleared to return. My folks live down there and I have lots of friends scattered throughout the desert basin that have also been effected. The numbers keep changing but we had lost 700 homes at one point and have 300,000 people in some stage of evacuation. The air is even browner than usual. Unbelieveble impact on so many lives. Saw an arieal shot of the coast and the smoke cloud extends what appears to be miles out to sea.
 
I simply don't understand California or Californians or why anyone would want to live there. Mudslides, fires, earthquakes and Michael Moore. No way, no how for this boy.
Well, we also get wall-to-wall TV coverage of the blizzards, tornados, hurricanes, floods, humidity, whatever that the rest of the country gets 24/7/365. Seems like everytime something bad happens here, there's also a news story showing some poor schlub back east sitting on top of his house in the middle of a river waiting for a helicopter to show up to rescue him. (Followed by the obligatory interview where he vows to rebuild for the umpty-eleventh time.)

As for Michael Moore...well, we just have to remind ourselves that it could be a lot worse: we could have Rosie O'Donnell. :eek: And god knows we're more than willing to share him with the rest of the world. :p
 
"I simply don't understand California or Californians or why anyone would want to live there. Mudslides, fires, earthquakes and Michael Moore."

Frank, you know I love you Mon, but just for the record, this upset me grievously, especially coming at this moment. If your homeland was being devastated and I made jokes, especially political jokes, about it, it's possible you'd get upset. I'd say more, in different terms, but then I'd be on the wrong side of the CofC.

Looking at the satellite pictures and the fire tracks, it's likely my brother's house is done. Home also to his wife and three children. The good news: he's got a tile roof. The bad news: it's a "modern house", which there means the houses are so close together that they tend to burn one after the other after the other. It's just east of solana beach., and the neighborhood backs up to wildland on the side the fire's coming from.

Travis, wildfire in that area is unlike any other in the world. The only places that come close are Australia and South Africa. Trust me on this one: you don't want to be the guy standing there as the wind-driven flames come over the hill. Hot, incredibly dry, smoke everywhere, you're trying to put out the burning embers falling all around you, and none of those things are the real problem. I still remember watching the laguna fire way back in 1970, coming down over the ridges straight at us. It was like the whole world was on fire, and everything we knew. The wind died just as the fire got to the city's edge. This time, it's different. Yikes.

Thanks,

Bill
 
I simply don't understand California or Californians or why anyone would want to live there. Mudslides, fires, earthquakes and Michael Moore. No way, no how for this boy.
I've always said that if everyone in the United States had to live in California for six months before they could go somewhere else in the United States, we'd have standing room only. As it is, we almost have standing room only already.

Living along the coast of California is about as close to Paradise as you can get on this earth.

Mike
 
Now I really don't care about much about personally saving Eddie Murphy's house, or Jennifer Annistan's, or even Victoria Beckman's place, but by goodness when Tiffany Amber Theissen's house is in danger I will be there!! (She's my heart throb by the way and just happens to live in Malibu.)
Wow. I know I'm getting old. I never even heard of Tiffany Amber Theissen before.

Mike
 
I don't mean to disparage anyone. I understand what you are saying about those people who live in flood prone areas. Generally, they are very low income people who cannot afford to live anywhere else. When we lived in SE Indiana, we often saw Ohio creeks and rivers repeatedly flood out mobile homes and other sub-standard housing. But, in California, people build and rebuild million dollar homes that are guaranteed to fall down hill in a mudslide with the next heavy rains. Or they build where brush fires are a regular happening. That is the part I don't understand.
 
...But, in California, people build and rebuild million dollar homes that are guaranteed to fall down hill in a mudslide with the next heavy rains. Or they build where brush fires are a regular happening. That is the part I don't understand.
Regarding the hillside homes, there are thousands of them that stay in place just fine. The occasional one goes down, and it's world news. As far as building where brush fires happen...brush and forest fires happen all over the world. There are too many people here (IMHO), so it's inevitable that the edges of civilization will encroach on the wildlands.

I really like California...it's the bazillion or so other people here I can't stand. :rolleyes:
 
I don't mean to disparage anyone. I understand what you are saying about those people who live in flood prone areas. Generally, they are very low income people who cannot afford to live anywhere else. When we lived in SE Indiana, we often saw Ohio creeks and rivers repeatedly flood out mobile homes and other sub-standard housing. But, in California, people build and rebuild million dollar homes that are guaranteed to fall down hill in a mudslide with the next heavy rains. Or they build where brush fires are a regular happening. That is the part I don't understand.
In one way, I can understand people building in flood prone areas since they can get low cost flood insurance from the federal government. And even when the area demonstrates that it will flood every so many years, the government still writes insurance on the houses - in essence, the government encourages people to build in those areas. Some ocean front houses along the Atlantic coast have been rebuilt with federal flood insurance money several times.

But in CA, people build on hillsides and in forest areas on their own dime. No insurance company will provide landslide insurance (or if they will, it will cost as much as the house), and most insurance companies are refusing to write fire insurance on houses built in the forest. So when the house slides down the hill, or burns due to a forest fire, the homeowner suffers the loss.

In some places, even mortgage companies will not provide loans on houses in certain areas because CA has a law that the house stands for the loan. This is true of the loan when the house is purchased, only. If you refinance, all of your assets stand for the loan.

Mike
 
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