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My first O/T thread ever: Los Angeles fire..


timmerz

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My sister and her family have probably lost their house. It's very likely, given their location, but she doesn't know anything, yet. That's the hardest part.
:cry:

 

Oh my hell...I was afraid somebody we knew here was going to get hurt by this....it's huge, and they don't have a CLUE when they will be able to control it...

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It's not LA that's got the worst of it, it's San Diego. The Malibu fire is bad, but it's pretty normal for the Santa Ana season, and it's now under control (no smoke visible, and they're reassigning most of the firefighters).

 

Down in SD however they're evacuating left and right. 500,000 evacuated last I read.

 

The Santa Anas are supposed to abate on Wednesday, after which they should be able to get all the fires under control.

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Oh my hell...I was afraid somebody we knew here was going to get hurt by this....it's huge, and they don't have a CLUE when they will be able to control it...

 

Thanks, Tim. She's doing well, emotionally. Everyone is safe, and she's insured. :thu:

 

She got the reverse 911 call at 430 am Monday and was already prepared to evacuate. She said a lot of her neighbors weren't prepared, and now we're reading stories about fire crews using thier valuable resources to help people evacuate instead of saving houses.:mad:

 

I used to live in her neighborhood. It's stange seeing these pictures. This is in Rancho Bernardo. I never could have imagined this. But of course, all the ingredients were there - it was just a matter of time before this happened. It almost happened 4 years ago.

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But of course, all the ingredients were there - it was just a matter of time before this happened. It almost happened 4 years go.

 

 

Yeah, that's the thing, this is what this region does normally. It's a mix between Mediterranean climate near the coast and various forms of desert away from it. It's human habitation that changes the cycle from "a bunch of little fires each season" to "one or two {censored}ing giant ones"...

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Sucks. Get used to the term "defensible space." when referring to houses.

Not a whole lot that defensible space will do for your house if the fire is as monstrous as these are, though. They create their own wind patterns and can start a house on fire from 100 yards.:eek:

 

A few years ago in CO we had a massive fire that luckily was in a low population area in the mountains. One more day of south-westerly winds, however, and it would have been in the southern burbs of Denver in a hurry. The fire in SD is 3 or 4 times larger than that one. Scary {censored}.

C7

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Sucks. Get used to the term "defensible space." when referring to houses.

Not a whole lot that defensible space will do for your house if the fire is as monstrous as these are, though. They create their own wind patterns and can start a house on fire from 100 yards.
:eek:

A few years ago in CO we had a massive fire that luckily was in a low population area in the mountains. One more day of south-westerly winds, however, and it would have been in the southern burbs of Denver in a hurry. The fire in SD is 3 or 4 times larger than that one. Scary {censored}.

C7

 

Yeah, but there is no such concept as defensible space in San Diego.

Most houses are so close that you can't drive a car between them.

 

Then the state and county wants to have these massive "open" spaces filled with dried out weeds and they wonder why they can't control the fires.

No fuel, no fire.

 

What I don't understand is why the houses aren't built out of reinforced concrete with steel shutters and tile roofs.

 

I have friends in SD and can't reach them. I hope they are safe.

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Most of my mother's side of the family is ridiculously close to the fire.

My grandmother's had to evacuate, and my aunt will be evacuating soon if the fire keeps spreading at the same rate.

I'm just hoping that none of their houses get messed up or anything...

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An SD Councilmember and his staff walked through my sis's neighborhood and noted all the damaged/destroyed houses. They posted the list on the City's website.

 

Her's isn't on the list, but several houses near her are. Freaky.

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My brother just went to Qualcomm Stadium to volunteer (med school student).

 

The winds stopped (atleast last I heard) comming hard from the east in SD, and have shifted thank God, but now the winds are not predictable.

 

A couple of friends got evacuated, but they have not lost their homes, and are actually able to return which is great.

 

Hope all is well for the others in SD and LA

 

TJ (Tijana) and Tecate are helping out too, which is nice.

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holy {censored}...

 

how long has this been going on? have most of the developments talked about in the thread happened today (as far as mass evacuations), or has it been 250,000 evacuated over the course of a week/month...?

 

(i know those are dumb questions, but i go to college in a small midwest town, so i dont have much access to decent news, or enough time to follow the news as closely as i should.)

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holy {censored}...


how long has this been going on? have most of the developments talked about in the thread happened today (as far as mass evacuations), or has it been 250,000 evacuated over the course of a week/month...?


(i know those are dumb questions, but i go to college in a small midwest town, so i dont have much access to decent news, or enough time to follow the news as closely as i should.)

 

 

Fires started early Sunday morning.

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From my uncle in San Clemente:

 

 

 

I wanted to give everyone an update of what's going on out here.


Generally speaking, this is the worst fire situation that we have ever seen.

Thankfully, we haven't personally suffered any damage and the only visible

effect of the fires is that we have a lot of ash fallout.


Unfortunately, this is not the case with friends and business associates. A

lot of people we know have had to evacuate their homes. This is remarkable

in that the geographic areas in which they reside extend from the LA area

all the way south to San Diego and inland. One of our friends who lost

their house in the last fire rebuilt and is now under evacuation orders this

time around. This morning, a friend that lives near Palomar Mountain, which

is south of us and inland, woke up with her cats in very close proximity.

Even her barn cats were frightened enough to find a way into her house.

Yesterday, she observed a very substantial fire rage uphill in plain sight.


As you are probably aware, the weather has been very conducive to the

development and spread of fire. We have had below-normal rainfall here the

last few years, so the vegetation is tinder-dry. For an equivalent weight

of gasoline, the vegetation is significantly more flammable due to the

volatile oils it contains. The Santa Ana winds have been ferocious. Wind

speeds in excess of 60 MPH have been the norm. The temperatures have been

extremely hot, in the high 90's at the low end, and very dry. A perfect

setup for what we are experiencing.


I flew home from Dallas last night and they rerouted us to avoid

firefighting aircraft near the airport. Very unusual. As we descended, we

could smell the odor of fire.


Upon waking this morning, the skies are completely obscured by smoke, which

extends well out to sea, and the temperatures remain high.


The fires continue to spread. We can now see a fire line burning in Camp

Pendleton a few miles to the southeast. Interstate 5, which connects LA to

San Diego and is close to the ocean, is now closed south of San Clemente to

Oceanside.

 

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