Malibu and other So. Calif. fires
 

Since 5:00 a.m. or so, whole chunks fo So. California have been on fire (one of our four seasons: fires, slides, earthquakes and riots).

There has been a steady line of fire air tankers (both heli and fixed wing) flying over my house on their way to the various hot spots.

At around 3:00 p.m. teh wind shifted direction and huge clouds of smoke flew in our direction. The sky darkened to the point where we had to turn on the interior lights.

Everything is covered with ashes.

Feels like we are downwind from a volcano, or in the middle of a battle zone.

I went to the market to buy some goodies and some people were wearing dust masks over their faces.

I hope that any of you who may be closer to the fire zone than I am are OK.

We are OK here, but earlier in the day there were some fires on a ridge above my home. Firegifghters made quick work of it, saving some homes, including a huge new house that was under construction.

The firefighters and the pilots are skilled, brave people. Thank God for them.

Good luck Ernesto. I saw that the Santa Ana was blowing but we haven't felt anything up here yet. Had a good dust storm a few weeks back - I've contemplated wearing a mask during some of those, but only when visibility was down to a few feet. We haven't had one of those in a while.

I remember reading an article about an outdoor whole house sprinkler system once. Basically, the idea is that you have a giant sprinkler on each eave and soak the house and surrounding area for a while before the fire shows up. Good results if I remember right - all of this from memory...

I recall talking to you personally at dinner with Carl last week about those Santa Ana winds. Looks like they are back, right on schedule.:mad:

One of the few downsides in Southern California I can think of

They are really scary, in many ways. They even make people act kind
of crazy, sometimes.

I sure hope you and your family and the pets will all be OK. I would be disinclined to go very far away until this threat passed if it were me in your shoes.

Hopefully this will be over quick and things back to normal down there.

Good luck down there buddy!!!



PS I offered you lunch a while ago when you can to Sacramento..... The offer still stands.

Hope everyone down there will be o.k. Good Luck guys.

It's getting pretty crazy down here. All my classes at SDSU have been canceled. This fire is expected to be way worse than the cedar fire in 2003. They think the fire in Rancho Bernardo might make it all the way to the coast.

Google Maps

Expect the server to be a bit busy.

You get a lot of ash when you're a half mile away, and downwind.

And planes like flying into the wind, especially when the're at tree top level. I had many passes of them right over my house. Nothing like a LOT of water to put a fire out.

I've seen a couple of fires, but none with winds this strong, and them directly up wind.

My closest was several hours after the local danger was out and it flared up. But they were watching and the sky was dark with smoke and super scoopers. Everything near me is out now, but the wind is still blowing, and I havent seen my firemen neighbors in a while.

Hope you all fare ok thru this!:eek: Keep seeing it on the news here. Bad stuff! I remember the foothill blazes we saw when I lived in the San Fernando Valley as a kid. Always scared the hell out of me.

Hope everyone is keeping safe.

Mike Tangas lives down in Temecula. Seems they get hit every other year.

Mike you out there?

Holy crap, Ernesto. I can't believe how widespread the are. When I flew out of SD Friday night I can't say that I saw anything on the news about them so they must have sprung up over the weekend? Are they believed to be naturally caused and just fed by the winds? Unbelievable. I guess material losses are a given, but I hope all those involved are o.k.

It is the price we pay for living in paradise: fires, floods and earthquakes!

I can't believe how widespread they are either.

It feels as if the whole place is on fire.

Over 260k people evacuated from teh San Diego area. That is a huge number of people displaced from their homes. They are being taken to Qualcomm Stadium. And that is just in San Diego!

Some of the fires are arson set. These conditions attract arsonists like moth to a light. Other fires are set when power lines spark and the sparks set off fires. When I used to do insurance defense work, we had an expert testify as to the "heat value" of a spark as it travels from the arcing wires to the ground. We were trying to show that the sparks were hot enough to start a fire. This way the insurance carrier could go after the utility company for its losses.

I was talking to a friend who handles property insurance claims. He said that in spite of the devastation, some homeowners may actuall be "glad" about the fires. These are the homeowners who were deeply upside down on their property and were about to lose their place when the interest rates went up on their ARMs.

MATTSD300 lives in that area. I worry about him, I think that the fires were coming right at him!

We are OK where we are. The smoke, howeer, is really thick. My house and cars are covered in ashes (like in a volcano). It is hard to breathe the air and my eyes have been burning since Sunday.

I feel so sad for the people who have lost homes and personal belongings. It is also hard on animals, especially onhorses who get easily spooked. Cats seem to do the best. :D

That's freaky. :eek: I hope it ends soon. Stay safe!

When did they start, Saturday? It was kind of ironic because with each taxi driver or tour narrator that I was making small talk with about how great the weather was, each and every one mentioned how dry it's been. Granted you kind of expect that with Arid Coastal climates but they said it had been even drier than usual. The acreage numbers vs. containment are downright scary. And they were saying the Santa Anna winds don't show any signs of relenting soon.

I can see where some homeowner may indeed find their silver lining. Very sad for everyone else though.

You, Matt and everyone else in the SoCal area stay safe!