California Wildfires

[kingfish]

I had no idea how bad it is. I hope all of our members who live there stay safe.

[Stevew]

Just got back from chking out the Chatsworth fire. It is almost like night at 4:00 after the wind shifted, smells like crap, these are really bad, I have not seen them this bad since 70. One of my neighbors said he thought it might be terrorists. It is in my mountains about 2 mi. away.
It is a parking lot
S

[kingfish]

Steve I hope you are okay.

[Stevew]

Oh yea I am in the flatland next to the hills, not too much to burn here.
Is is just amazing how much smoke there was when the wind shifted. There are a lot of houses in the hills that could be in trouble
Thanks
Steve

[thomas7g]

steve and I are almost in visual range. We could see it but a big mountain blocks our view.

Don't worry about us though. We are old veterans of many fires like this. And we are safe enough withing the grid of concrete city streets and fire hydrants that we are pretty safe.

[thomas7g]

the one big problem though, is that it interferes with our airports so planes are grounded. Or at least were last I heard. So people couldn't LEAVE the con!

[Stevew]

Tom
After the wind shifted I can't even see the mountains. I am going out to see what I can see right now
S

[Stevew]

All I could see is a glow, the smoke is really bad
S

[Stevew]

You have been up quite a while now get to bed LOL
S

[ojai22]

Steve,
I came online just to check on you. The Chatsworth fire is really bad, but so are all the others. I'm just a few blocks from the ocean, the fires surround me on the other three sides.

I made a mistake and went out today for a few hours. Right now I have a severe headache from breathing this foul air. Ashes are everywhere. They fall on you as you walk along. I've tried to keep my plants cleaned off so they can breathe, but it's a losing battle.

In the middle of the day you look directly at the sun and it looks like the moon. They say you should breathe through a damp washcloth if you have to be outside. Those little paper things people are using are useless to keep out the smoke and cinders.

One of the fires near San Diego was started by a man who was lost. He sent up a flare and that started one of the fires. He turned himself in. It was an honest mistake, but it has cost about 11 lives and more than 300 homes in that area.

They are reporting now that most of these fires were set by arsonists. The strange thing is California fires don't really need to be set. Here in the south, the Chaparrel grows a few years, increasing yearly as a fire hazard, then the lightning strikes it and an area is burned. It's repeated, and would be even if no people lived here. It's part of Nature's Eco-system. The danger is in building houses so close to the canyons and areas where it grows.

Steve, I'm glad you're okay there. The fire back in '70 came within yards of our home. We used the pool water to soak the back areas, people dug trenches, and we had someone on the roof with a hose at all times. They were ready to force us to leave, and many people left on their own. We watched the deer race in front of the fire in the hills behind our house. That was the year it seemed the entire state was burning to the ground.

This one looks pretty bad, too.

[thomas7g]

Ojai! I hope you are okay!

Keep reporting in please. WE want to know you are safe!!

[Flamingo Girl]

If I had been a bit earlier, I could have made that suggestion...

[ojai22]

Thanks for your concern. I'm okay except for the heavy feeling you get in your chest when you breathe foul air. Not enough oxygen.

I think Steve may have had to evacuate his home. They have asked some folks in Chatsworth to leave. They can't make you leave, but if they tell you it's time to go, you're foolish to stay. Some of the people who died in San Diego refused to leave their homes.

Watching a ferocious fire burn toward you is hard to describe. It's like a giant force with a mind of it's own, and it's burning like it has a right to. It's strange. I don't know how firefighters hang in there so long.

We have extra fire trucks and firemen on their way from Washington, Nevada and Arizona.

I am concerned about Steve as Chatsworth is in a bad way. If he had to leave his home, I do hope he had time to pack his irreplaceable items - and his computer.

Now it seems like there's a scam being played against the victims who've lost their homes. Also, against everyone who wants to contribute money to help them. There actually exists people who take advantage of a situation such as this. But then, most of these fires were set, too, by madmen.

Hanging in there......ojai22

[ojai22]

Originally posted by Warrior

Should an emergency arise where any of you need to evactuate, you can stay at my place up here in the Sierras!

Thanks, I may come knocking on your door!

[thomas7g]

http://www.osei.noaa.gov/Events/Fire...usCA300_N6.jpg

if you look at that picture...

the convention was about halfway between the yellow Los Angeles dot and the clump of fires on the left.

LAX is somewhere above the first E in Los Angeles.

[thomas7g]

hey I just merged the fire talk over here. I wanted to point Ojai to the link above. I'm breathing in smoke which probably means the fire went farther south than west like it should have. I hope Steve checks in soon. He should be up really early in the morning.

I'm glad you are okay Lorena. Drink lots of fluids okay? Need to wash the stuff off your throat walls as much as possible.

[Stevew]

OJ Smoke is really bad, hope you are ok. I was in west hills in 70, then canoga park and ir went right in front of me. Just loes of smoke here now
S

[Starbuck]

I'm up in Northern California, but my relatives down in San Bernardino have been calling and saying that you can cut the air with a knife from all the fire and smoke!

[Stevew]

Very true Starbuck. I was going to look at the hills but the smoke is too thick. They said it was on Oat mtn and that Indian Hills might get it

[LadyImmortal]

The fires looked really bad there in California. You could see a continual haze over the city wherever you looked because of all of the smoke!

I didn't go out much (at all, lol).

I managed to fly home yesterday - my flight was delayed about two hours but in the grander scheme of things, I'm just really glad I made it home.

P.S. - Hi Warrior!

--Rhonda

[thomas7g]

Hi Rhonda. I wish I coulda met ya.

[Stevew]

Thanks Darrell
I just came back, wind has died down here and is drifting back over the burnt area. Still some hot spots in the lower foothills, I think the worst is over
S

[kingfish]

Rhonda glad to see your back. :

[ojai22]

No, Thomas, you didn't send me the link! I've been looking through every forum for my posts that disappeared! :baloon:


I was just watching the fires in the Crestline area, they thought it was good that the wind was blowing in a southwestern direction. That means it's coming straight to my area. I'm not in a wooded area so I'm in no danger of fire, there's just no air that's breathable. Today my head is clogged like I have a really bad cold, and it's all from the smoke and ashes. I do have to go out today so perhaps I'll try the damp wash cloth suggestion.

I closed all windows and doors except the bathroom - left that one up about half an inch. The plants I have in there have ashes on the leaves.

Steve, glad to hear you're okay.

[Stevew]

Thanks OJ
I think we have hit the worst as long as the wind stays down. The 118 was open as well
S

[jewels]

I'm glad to hear you are all OK. We saw the fire on the crest of one of the hills/mountains(?) when we left yesterday morning and I was very concerned about all of you.

Take care of yourselves with the smoke too: It was noticeably harder to breathe in the area around the hotel & Citywalk on Sunday already. I hope the wind shifts in the firemen's favor today.

Jewels

[Artemis]

The one good thing about the fires in my county is that the worst of it started Saturday night to Sunday morning when most people were home and could get their pets and valuables rather than at work trying to get home and then evacuate and not be able to locate their other family members....
The air is a lot worse today since there is almost no wind so it is just hanging, but it is good for fighting the fires. Some people burned in their cars because they couldn't get out of the way the Santa Ana's were moving the fire so fast. What is really mind boggling is that a lost hunter started the worst of the fires down here with a flare gun. We haven't had any measurable rain in about 170 days and someone shoots off a flare gun.? :confused: ? The other main problem is all the eucalyptus trees that were planted here, they literally explode when they burn and send burning embers everywhere, at least the bark beetle is killing most of them.
Now we get to look forward to possibly the worst mud slide season, and people say California doesn't have seasons, we have fire and mud.

[Stevew]

I thought this was very interesting
http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=35306
S

[thomas7g]

Here is the Nasa article on the fires. It also has the large source image.

http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/loo...int_fires.html


here is the yahoo map of the area

http://us.rd.yahoo.com/maps/mapresul...resize=s&mag=6

where the star is is LAX. Where the 101 freeway symbol is is about where the con was.

[thomas7g]

its kinda pretty... the soot is falling like a sparse snow...

Which is ironic cause in hot southern california It never snows around here.