So-Cal Fire Thread -- BYOP*

[Angola!]

Re: Malibu burning

From the North (San Diego) County Times:

As of 5 p.m., county officials said, there are at least 50 destroyed homes in Poway, 70 homes in Escondido and 6 homes in Rancho Santa Fe. Official counts have not yet come in for the losses in Ramona, Rancho Bernardo or Fallbrook. In Fallbrook officials have said that multiple house had been destroyed, including many residences in the Valley Oaks mobile home park.

Makes me want to cry. I've lived in areas razed by wildfires, so I know that once the fires are out the real work begins of clearing remains, land erosion, etc.

I've never lost a house to a wildfire, but my house did burn down while I was in junior high. It is a ****ty thing to have happen and I can't fathom the cleanup of entire neighborhoods buring down.

 

[Football_Bat]

Re: Malibu burning

Someone please refresh my geography. Santa Anas blow in from the north off the high desert, right?

 

[buckweaver]

Re: Malibu burning

Someone please refresh my geography. Santa Anas blow in from the north off the high desert, right?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Ana_wind

 

[Firstime Caller]

Re: Malibu burning

Yeah, that's the thing I'm sitting here trying to figure out. If I have to evacuate from my place in SD, where do I go? Seriously. Just another place in SD? Or do I get out of town. Because it looks like the fires are surrounding all the ways out of town right now except for I-5, and even that they said they were considering closing in North County - which would be the way out of town up to LA.

I would suggest taking I-8 East. Looks like there might be another fire near Portrero, but if you really had to get out, that might be the best solution.

Thanks for the advice. (It's my first time through this.)

I was thinking of I-8 East. I was just at the neighborhood dog park trying to talk to people in the neighborhood about where to evacuate if it came to that. They suggested going to Point Loma or Coronado. I was thinking about maybe Mission Valley (if it's good enough for Tony Gwynn) and the hotels around there.

 

[buckweaver]

Re: Malibu burning

Six aircraft with Modular Airborne Fire Fighting Systems are being sent by the U.S. Department of Defense to help battle fires raging in Southern California.
The aircrafts have self-contained reusable 3,000 gallon fluid dispersal systems that attach to a C-130 aircraft. They arrive Tuesday morning.
The MAFFS is a joint program with the Air National Guard, Air Force Reserve and the U.S. Forest Servive. Its purpose is to provide additional airtanker support on wildfires.
Aircrafts will be coming from the U.S. Air Force Reserve's 302nd Airlift Wing at Colorado's Peterson Air Force Base, the Air National Giard's 173rd Airlift Wing from Cheyenne, Wy., and the Air National Guard's 145th Airlift Wing from Charlotte, NC.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger made the request today of U.S. Department of Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

- http://www.insidesocal.com/sb/fire/

(updated 6:34 p.m. PDT.)

 

[MileHigh]

Re: Malibu burning

Big-time fires in SoCal:

— October 2003: Cedar Fire, near San Diego, 273,000 acres, 4,847
structures, 15 deaths. Accidentally started by a hunter in the
Cleveland National Forest, it was among 15 wildfires that killed 22
people, destroyed 3,640 homes and blackened 750,000 acres of
Southern California during a two-week period.
— November 1993: Topanga Fire, Malibu area of Los Angeles
County. 18,000 acres, 323 homes, three deaths. Cause: Arson. The
fire was among more than 20 that killed four people, destroyed more
than 1,000 homes and consumed 193,814 acres during a two-week
period.
— October 1991: Tunnel Fire, Oakland hills of Alameda County.
1,520 acres, 3,276 homes and apartments destroyed, 25 people
killed. Cause: A flying ember from a fire believed contained
ignited a tree.
— November 1980: Panorama Fire, San Bernardino foothills. 23,600
acres, 325 homes destroyed, four dead. Cause: Arson.
— September 1970: Laguna Fire, San Diego County mountains.
175,425 acres, 382 structures, six dead. Cause: Power lines.
— November 1966: Loop Fire, near Angeles National Forest in Los
Angeles County. 2,028 acres, 12 firefighters killed. Power line.
— November 1961: Bel Air-Brentwood Fire, Los Angeles County.
6,090 acres, 484 homes, 21 other buildings. Cause: Believed to be
accidental.
— July 1953: Rattlesnake Fire, Glenn County. 1,300 acres, 15
firefighters killed. Cause: Arson.
— October 1933: Griffith Park Fire, Los Angeles County. 47
acres, 29 welfare workers clearing brush killed. Cause:
Undetermined.

 

[Claws for Concern]

Re: Malibu burning

There's a lot of hotels along I-8 in Mission Valley on Hotel Circle North and South (near the I-5 connector), but with Qualcomm being an evacuation site, there's bound to be a parking space there and there's a lot of resources available, too.

 

[MileHigh]

Re: Malibu burning

APNewsAlert,0021SAN DIEGO — Fire officials say 500 homes and 100 businesses
have been destroyed by a wildfire in San Diego County.

 

[Angola!]

Re: Malibu burning

Damn. Do the Santa Ana winds kick up over night or are they stronger during the day?

Any word on the San Bernadino newsroom?

 

[buckweaver]

Re: Malibu burning

Damn. Do the Santa Ana winds kick up over night or are they stronger during the day?

Any word on the San Bernadino newsroom?

Seem to be doing OK at the Sun. Winds are "favorable" to containing the fire, even though it has grown bigger in the last two hours. More here: http://www.insidesocal.com/sb/fire/2007/10/little_mountain_fire_acreage_c_1.html#more

 

[MileHigh]

Re: Malibu burning

Santa Anas simmer down a bit overnight, but just before dawn they really kick up.

 

[MileHigh]

Re: Malibu burning

Here's an update throughout SoCal:

— Buckweed Fire: 35,547 acres in northeastern Los Angeles County
south of Agua Dulce. Twenty percent contained. Approximately 15,000
people and 5,500 homes evacuated. Fifteen homes, 17 outbuildings,
40 vehicles destroyed. Four people injured.
— Canyon Fire: 3,800 acres in coastal community of Malibu. 8
percent contained. About 200 homes evacuated. Six homes and a
church destroyed. Nine other homes, five commercial buildings
damaged. Four injuries reported.
— Harris Fire: 22,000 acres about 70 miles southeast of San
Diego north of the border town of Tecate. Five percent contained.
Unknown number of homes destroyed. One civilian killed, 16 people
and five firefighters injured.
— Witch Fire: Some 145,000 acres burned in northern San Diego
County between Ramona and Santa Ysabel. No containment. 500 homes,
50 outbuildings and 100 businesses destroyed. 300 other structures
damaged, including 250 homes. One civilian and 7 firefighters
injured.
—Rice Fire: At least 300 acres burned in Fallbrook in eastern
San Diego County. No containment. Some 45,000 people evacuated.
Unknown number of structures destroyed.
— Grass Valley Fire: More than 300 acres in Grass Valley area
west and northwest of Lake Arrowhead in San Bernardino Mountains.
At least 113 homes destroyed and several communities evacuated. No
containment.
— Slide Fire: More than 1,500 acres in Green Valley Lake area of
San Bernardino Mountains. At least 20 structures destroyed and
several communities evacuated.
— Santiago Fire: 15,000 acres in Orange County east of Irvine.
Thirty percent contained. Two outbuildings damaged, one destroyed.
Four minor injuries to firefighters.
— Ranch Fire: 29,000 acres near Piru in Ventura County. Ten
percent contained. About 200 people evacuated. One homes destroyed
and no injuries reported.
— Sedgewick Fire: 710 acres near Los Olivos in Santa Barbara
County. Fully contained. No evacuations. No homes destroyed and no
reports of injuries.
— Magic Fire: 1,200 acres in northern Los Angeles County in
Stevenson Ranch. 20 percent contained. Unknown structures
threatened.

 

[Angola!]

Re: Malibu burning

Damn, the Witch Fire is nuts. Did that one start yesterday and already grow to 145,000 acres?

 

[Football_Bat]

Re: Malibu burning

And there's almost a month of prime fire season left.

 

[Claws for Concern]

Re: Malibu burning

Anyone else think this thread title should change to include San Diego?

The words that just keep coming back to me are these: zero percent contained.

 

[Firstime Caller]

Re: Malibu burning

Yeah, IMHO, the thread title should probably be Southern California is burning.

I'm thinking we might have to at least be prepared to head to Hotel Circle. (We stayed there when we first moved to SD, so I know it's ok.)

I was just waching the news and there was breaking news that the Witch fire has spread and is now about 6 miles from us to the east. But it's heading west. And the evacuation zone for the Witch fire is about 4 miles north of us, too.

I turn to my Southern California SportsJournalists.com fire experts ... should I be packing yet, should I be leaving?

 

[Dan Rydell]

Re: Malibu burning


I would be packed in this situation, and ready to leave in a minute.

 

[MileHigh]

Re: Malibu burning

I'd be getting updates every couple of hours overnight. Wouldn't hurt to have necessary things to take with you at a moment's notice -- insurance papers, pictures, pets.

 

[buckweaver]

Re: Malibu burning

Start gathering stuff together, FC. Better to get your stuff out of there now than wait to see if the fire's going to take it first. You can always take your time unpacking next week.

If there is a mandatory evac, you'll feel better if you're prepared.

 

[TigerVols]

Thread title changed so no one feels left out of all the So Cal fun!