I just happened to take the family north to Sacramento this weekend and got a call from my sister this morning (phone was ringing since 6am).

East and North County San Diego are in deep shit. Everything is burning and they are evacuating people right and left. She says its much worse than last time as the Santa Anas arent' letting up at night, so the temp isn't going down. Fire has apparently gone all the way to the sea via Rancho Bernardo, Rancho Santa Fe. She is in San Marcos, and surrounded by fire on the East, North and South. The San Diego Zoo Wild Animal Park in Escondido nearby is in big trouble also. The sky is black and she says anybody with comprimised airways needs to stay away. It sounds really bad this time guys. Qualcomm Stadium is opened to take all the evacuees.

its horrible. not just SD either.

Watched one of our projects in malibu burning on the news last night.
kind of surreal and not at all amusing.

3 fires on the mountain (San Bernardino Mountains). Got to work to be informed that Running Springs / Arrowbear is under mandantory evacuation. Yup, where I live.

Also one supposedly in Big Bear and one in Lake Arrowhead area.

Anybody got a spare backyard for a tent?

I'ffn you want to come east, I'll even give you a bed to sleep in.

Zach

Stay safe guys... it's good to be in Ohio whew

What about our other mountain dwellers? Anybody heard from them? It looks pretty ugly up there from down in the desert.
Mark D.

I just spoke to Ira from Tarett Eng. and he has been evacuated. Toting the kids, the wife, the boat and the inventory. He said he is at the beach right now and I gave him the option of dropping his boat and inventory off at my uncles a little ways north. He is unsure of what he is going to do because the freeway north is litterally at a standstill.

Toast, her Mom, Slits, Helomech have all been evacuated from Running Springs / Arrowbear area. People are scared stiff and bailing out.

The other fire in Grass Valley (Lake Arrowhead) is raging out of control and it looks like the communities of Twin Peaks, Blue Jay, Crestline are being or being considered for evacuation.

Broadcast channels are useless ... they don't know what the hell they are looking at and only broadcast burning structures due to their ignorance.

Fire Information Centers don't know what they should about voluntary / mandantory evacuations. Rumors are flying.

Can't get air-drops into the mountains due to high winds so it's a battle on the ground or no battle at all.

My aunt lives up in Lake Arrowhead. Time to call the grandmother and see if they came down the hill. Good luck everybody!

Laura's waiting for you...

Seriously. Good luck with all that and let me know if I can help in any way. We were just down there last week. Seaworld was grand... bummer about the fires. We had that small one on the mountain by our house the night of July 3rd... nothing like what you're going through but, I know the feeling now.

All the best. Let me know if I can help.

How is Orange county being affected by this? We have a vacation package in Disneyland starting Thursday. Might be foolish to come down at this time when people are evacuating just south. Sounds bad and looks bad on the tv. Hope these winds die down soon. But the bad news is they're predicting a very dry winter for Cali.

Hugh parts of San Diego are burning and they stay will burn.

We have been told there are a 1000 fire trucks on route to San Diego.

Four years ago, the fire went by our house two blocks away.

For now we are safe.

All you So. Cal guys are in my thoughts and prayers. I hope everything will work out for you all.

We really picked the wrong weekend to go to Vegas... Or the right one, depending on how you look at it.

We're still in Vegas but we're supposed to fly back tonight about 9:30. If Highway 5 is still open when we get in (if we get in), we'll go home, if not we'll stay with my mother-in-law in Chula Juana.

My parents live just over the hill from us in Vista and they said that we are safe for now, though the Fallbrook fire could be threatening if it continues to move south.

I'm planning to be in the shop Tuesday morning. If anyone needs a place to store a vehicle, a roof over their heads, or just a place to gather come on by...

Our thoughts and prayers go out to all who are affected. You guys stay safe and keep us posted.

Good to hear everybody's alright. My sister is a firefighter and she lives in Arrowhead and is basically up there battling for her own community right now. I was listening to County Dispatch earlier and the bombers tried, but they couldn't get anything done up there due to the wind and updrafts from the fire... Basically mad turbulence all around.
I don't have much to offer, but if y'all need anything I'll see what I can do to help.
Mark D.

Live feed from FOX LA
Stay safe everybody.

they said we have to go!

Be careful everyone and best of luck

Getting ready to leave!

Chris

Click to view attachment

I've been calling my sister every 4 hours. They losts power in the middle of one conversation and the phone went dead. She's in San Marcos, and says the air quality is much worse than last time in 2003. Everybody there is concerned about the Fallbrook fire since all of the fires are moving SouthWest, and San Marcos, Vista, and Carlsbad lie in that path to the sea. Her inlaws in Escondido where evacuated. It looks like her neighborhood and mine will be okay for awhile as the only open spaces are dry but mowed grass with no chapparal around. Too many though are not as lucky.

Reports are that the winds are going to not die down, and possibly pickup tonight.. so I don't think I'll be sleeping tonight.

Thanks for the support in general, and my best to you who really are in peril.

Our officer manager's father was evacuated from his home yesterday or today.

Our hopes and prayers are with you out there. We've were involved in a large flood and was evacuated many years ago. We didn't lose anything but a number of people did.

Good luck.

THIS IS NOT GOOD PEOPLE!!!! Not much I can do from Nor Cal! But Dammit! This sucks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My Dad and Step-mom got evacted, staying here with me now. It's really great to be able to give my Dad orders, been waiting for that for a long time, lol. On the serious side, it's one of those shit or go blind situations, call their house occasionally, if the answering machine answers, it means the house is still standing. Now we wait.

Stay safe everyone.

Later, Don

Out here in the desert the sky is clear the moon is shining and there is a light breeze blowing. On the other side of that mountain I am looking at, there is a blazing inferno that is going to change a lot of lives over the next twenty four hours. Hopefully the people we know will get bypassed by this tragedy. Slits, Toast and every one else over there, my best wishes.

Called the house till the answering machine quit. Yup that's what we do for Hurricanes.

We have come to the decision there is no good place to live to escape mother Nature. or some dumb ass with a match.

If anyone down there can get online, please let us know how you are doing. We wish you all the best.

Zach

report this morning are not good.
over 1000 homes burned estimated.

more evacuations, both north and south of the city.
Qualcomm stadium is nearly full and more evacuations are expected.

Del Mar evacuation site is expected to be evacuated again soon.

0% fire containment and 50mph winds.

people are being told to voluntarily leave town in some areas.


there was a photo in the news of a house burning big time and a 911SC sitting in the driveway and I couldn't help but wonder if the photographer got the shot because of the 911.

As of 12:30 PM, Helomech & Toasts' house have not burned in Running Springs. The fire (Slider) somehow burned around the area they are located and is now burning down the hill because of the winds. The area it is burning in is densely populated. The fire retardant droppers have been able to make two passes, but winds and visibility interfere with continued drops. If the wind shifts .... all bets are off.

Slits' house in Crestline is still standing. The fire (Grass Valley) that is burning on the northwest side of Lake Arrowhead is burning in the direction of Crestline. It is burning to the south and west. The area between North Lake Arrowhead and Crestline / Lake Gregory is densely populated.

The Politicos have been on TV patting themselves on the back for a great job.

If the winds will die down they will be able to knock the fire down in a couple of days. The firefighters are doing their best against weather (winds), bad access (narrow mountain roads) and the general terrain.

While the winds are the main driving source of the fire, I have to take off my hat to the environmentalists, SOFA (Save our Forest Association), BLM and San Bernardino County for their role in establishing laws that prevented us from cutting dead trees / clearing brush on our own properties 'cause "it would endanger certain species and destory our forest ambience"

After the 2003 holocast, they decided that maybe it was time to thin the forest of bark beetle dead trees and just dead trees ..... but it was just a tad to late. They're aren't enough contractors to make a major impact and to get a license from the County/State/jCity to cut trees is damn near impossible.

What is burning now is what didn't burn in 2003 ..........

That's the latest.

This is one of the better info links I've found

More info

It's kind of ironic that it snowed here over the weekend.

Ron - Call my dad.

Wow. Really bummed to hear about all of this. I have a lot of friends in California. Stay safe and don't take any stupid chances. Things can be replaced, people can't.

Good info Ron. Glad to hear your homes are still standing. I emailed Toast yesterday morning and hadn't heard from her, so I was wondering. Glad you're alright. It's kind of weird that we have two different dialogs going on with the San Bernardino Mountain fires and the San Diego fires. Best wishes to all you guys down south as well.
Mark D.

Me and Henna are praying for the winds to DIE!

Keep the faith

I spoke to Ira from Tarett and he was in good spirits. He and his family left as soon as they were told to leave and went to the beach. They got a hotel right on the beach and were very lucky to do so. They are packed now. He was lamenting that he had left his wetsuit at home and that the waves right off there room looked great. Water is too cold though at 60 degrees. So far he says his house is fine.

My uncle has a house on Lake Arrowhead and I have not been able to get him for 36 hours though.

Prayers to everyone!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I found this picture on another chat board. Unbelievable:
Click to view attachment

Looks like a scene out of a hollywood war movie; hope everyone stays safe and best of luck.

Somewhat off topic:
The news last night was making a comparison of the people evacuated to the Murph vs. Super dome.
People helping themselves and others vs. people waiting to be helped.

there's too many differences between this and katrina to be a fair comparison.
i wish they'd stop it, or be accurate in the reporting.

I agree. This is WAY different then Katrina.

Its horrible, but on a different order of magnitude.

Best wishes for a less windy day today.

Zach

It's what the media does best..

i'm kinda happy with msnbc this morning though. while making wreckless comparisons, the are also pointing out some of the differences such as infrastructure, law enforcement and communitcation that wheren't available in louisiana.

also, fema isn't any better imo until they perform under similar circumstances, such as god forbid a 100-year earthquake in l.a. that knocks out every thing. power, water, medical services, communication, all unavailable to all city residences.

i hope things would be like they are during this event, but until they can manage something like that, the political backslapping needs to stop.

anyway, my best wishes go to everyone affected.

The order of magnitude between the fires and two major hurricanes back to back is a bit of a stretch.

No power no water no phones for 150 miles of coast line reaching up to 100 miles inland.

Same story from Tahoe last year wasn't it? the special interst groups got their way and next thing you know. Fire. Do we get to sue the special interst groups who got the laws passed now? That is not conservation, that is endangerment. My mother is a Detective Sergent in S.D and has been really busy.

Its a real tragedy that the San Bernadino Forest is dying. Our family built our cabin in Lake Arrowhead in 1940 during the war years. Started a lumber company only to have it fail in the post war years. We still have the cabin, and its a sorry sight seeing that forest dying like it is. No amount of cutting or clearing would save that place from fire, its inevitable like the loss of our family retreat. It may not happen this summer, but it will happen.

Fire is the single best thing for reforestation. Putting them out before they do there job is the worst thing we can do. Problem is people are in the way so the forest loses.

Minnesota was the king of huge White Pine forests, the country was built on much of this.
Now there is only about 40 acres standing, Cutting was a big part of it, but also fire control had an impact as they needed the fire to drop and activate there seeds.

My sister lives in Carlsbad and was evactuated the other day but was able to return.
Sounds like the winds are dying down, Yahoo....

Controlled burns are a necessary part of forest management. Several species of conifer require a burn to release the seeds from the cone. The forest can regenerate quickly after a fire. The problem is the do-gooders that never want a fire at all. Yes, perhaps they should be sued, for stupidity and endangerment. I can see our house insurance rising to help pay for all of this.

Just talked to my old boss...he lives East of Poway (North of SD) and is under evacuation orders. Last time this happened they lost 14 of the 17 homes in his area. His place was spared. His pool furnature did melt. But his burros were unharmed. He's staying put for now. Appointed himself sheriff of his little area and is patroling the other homes incase of looters.

fireproof burros.
cool.

Things seem to be looking up a bit. The winds are shifting and many of the fires are now contained to some very small degree. That is better than last night when they said they didn't think they would have any form of containment until the weekend.

Some of you guys know Ron Mistak, a great guy and 914 fan. Ron lives in Fallbrook and was evacuated on Monday. I haven't heard from him yet and I'm hoping his place is still there. According to the maps I've been able to find the fire line missed his house by a few hundred feet. I hope those maps are accurate... Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

On a happy note, one of my good friends lives in rural Ramona surrounded by brush. I was sure his house was gone. Yesterday he called me - from home! The fire ran right over his house. They had cut back the brush around their place and it was enough. They lost a shed and had some minor damage to the house but otherwise they are fine.

Stay safe everybody...

Those would be Asbestoburros... Very rare beasts indeed