Wildfire Impacts

The Station Fire has been heavily impacting Atladena and Pasadena (I'm on the border with Altadena) with lots of smoke, some ashfall (today being the biggest chunks), and the alarming sight of burning hillside from one's front porch.

Here's to the firefighters who have done an outstanding job of protecting structures and sentient beings, while respecting the fact that the hills NEED to burn. I am most grateful that they were able to save Mt. Wilson Observatory, and maintain communication towers way up there. Two firefighters died trying to escape and evacuate from a perilous situation, and we mourn their loss. Prayers and well wishes to them.

I know there are other fires that have been impacting other people's lives at the same time. I hope everyone is well, and that no losses were sustained.

Jeff

I started to send you a d-mail a little while ago...you're the closest to this fire. Shushinggrasses in Thousand Oaks says that they're getting just a bit of the smoke. I'm frankly quite tired of fires and think I'm about ready to get out of Ca before we have to evacuate again....stay safe.

Agree with everything you said, Jeff. Controlled burns might get out of control occasionally, but can't we at last consider them to avoid this kind of tragedy?

Best to all (firefighters and residents) in the affected areas.

Indeed. To quote one of my Facebook friends living in LA, "I'm rooting for the firefighters".

Had to share this with you:

Why does that say "LA Canada"?

La Canada is the name of a town. The 'n' is rolled - it's Spanish.

LOL, I had read it totally wrong, of course, I had heard of La Canada!

Back to your regular scheduled program.

^_^

Yeah, where's the tilde? ~ I am fluent in Spanish, but always forget the keystrokes for accents and tildes.

La Cañada, I do a Google search and copy and paste. ^_^

Jungleman,
Firefighters are often unsung heroes. My thoughts and prayers go out to all the firefighters. I mourn the loss of the two who lost their lives, and pray for their families to find some comfort in this time of grief.
I also wish that the general public would get the Heck out of their way! Let them do their job. In the meantime, it wouldn't hurt us citizens to maintain a defensible space around our homes and outbuildings.
We had a small fire 6 miles away from us that the water tanker from Lake Elsinore put out the day before yesterday. Then the wind shifted and I spent most of the day indoors yesterday to avoid the smoke. I sympathize with all those affected by the fires.
All I can say, is stay safe and be prepared. Don't forget your critters either.
That was a very touching story KC, and I thank you for sharing it.
Jungleman, someone told me that if you need to find characters not in common use on the computer, to go to the Start menu. Click on All Programs, then click on Accessories, then click on System Tools, then click on Character Map. There are some key board short cuts, but can not be done without a numeric ten key, which my lap top doesn't have. I wrote this all down on an index card so I could remember how to do it. Hope it helps!
I like how Calif_Sue did it too. Much less time consuming, but you can minimize the Character Map and keep it handy. That's what I have done when I needed to.
Take care you all, and let's hope we get some more t.storms without lightning fires.
WIB!
SW

I do the Google trick too - or use Word if I don't have access to the I-net.

Jungleman,

You and I must be pretty close. I am also on the border with Altadena. Ash everywhere and the smoke has really been rough on the lungs. My poor dogs are not getting the hiking they are used to. We regularly walk over to Eaton Canyon and hike the trails, but that's out for awhile of course.

In downtown at the office right now and can see another huge cloud rising from that direction. Anything new happening there that you can see. Last night I was watching the helicopters circling and dropping up in the hills pretty constantly.

Lee

i am in the upper desert, at the foot, north east of Cajon Pass; far from the fire lines. the skies is hardly visible from heavy smoke. it is difficult to breath outside. my dr. call to remind me to stay indoors. much as i would like, i can not afford to go outdoors, can't afford to get sick. we have the swamp cooler going 24 hrs constantly.

my brother, whose house in practically in the line of fire feel confident inspite of the danger. most of the firemen use the Hansen Dam as their central station, less than a mile from his house in Lake View Terrace ... gives my brother the assurance to be safe from fire. with the distance that separates us, i am still very concerned with my brother and his family thou.

ever since i move to the high desert, every once couple of years there are threatening fires. few yrs back, we were surrounded by fire, what i call the 'ring of fires'; fires in the mountains by Big Bear, Apple Valley, Lancaster, etc. the only outlet is to go north by I-15. in fact that is what we, my neighbors and a couple more family did. we camp in the open desert along the borders of Nevada and California to have fresh air and free from heavy smoke.

My nephew lives in Lake Los Angeles and says the smoke is very bad there. They worry most about their horses and dogs. :-(

Hope the air starts to clear for you all soon.

before the fire, we use to have winds gusting 20-35 m/hr. that is gone too. from the looks of it, neighbors and i will be heading to the open desert up the border... all their animals are also frantic due to heavy smoke. for all our sake, i hope and pray this fire stops!

I'll be praying for all of you folks affected by the fire and smoke. MaVieRose, take care, and know you are in my prayers.
Hope it gets better soon. Even the little bit of smoke from the Camp Pendleton fire was hard for me to deal with and you all are getting it so much worse. Hang it there. You still have mudslides to look forward to!
WIB!
SW

thank you SW, u ain't kidding. i dread the thought of mudslides. i have not personally experience mudslides, but i had seen the devastation it creates not only to homes and humans. i am originally from the Philippines, where we have typhoons and long rainy seasons.

i am concerned for those people whose homes are close to the foot of Big Bear and other surrounding mountains in the area. specially areas that had been hit by fires during the previous fire seasons.

Today brought a nice onshore flow, so we are not suffering from the smoke, but that means someone else is! Sorry folks - I don't wish it on anyone. I was out at Zuma Beach today, and coming back on the 101 through the SF valley, I could see a huge thunderhead of SMOKE! So it seems the fire still burns. It's going to be a while, folks.

Much cooler this morning - hope that means the temps are going to go/stay down. God bless those "hot shot" crews who are out in the brush fighting this thing. Newsman yesterday compared them to Navy Seals, in that they are specially trained and can stay out in the brush for days at a time. Must research that.


Here's a link to information about the Hot Shots - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hotshot_crew

This message was edited Sep 5, 2009 9:53 AM

Tis True Kathleen. While working for the Dept. of Corrections, was "treated" to a tour of the inmates facilities (the prison inmates who work the fire lines). They receive a lot of the same training that the Hot Shots/Navy Seals do. They can be on their own for days at a time, with only their team mates to rely on.
The inmates are trained by CDF staff who prepare them for the harsh realities of wild fire fighting. One of the guys I used to work with at the park who had worked as a CDF Firefighter, said that the training was comparable to that received by the Navy Seals. Not in the swimming parts, but in the survival tactics parts, and the jumping into danger parts.
Good info on that link!
Did you know that only the most trusted inmates are chosen for fire crews? They usually do the backbreaking labor of hand clearing fire lines. Once they have completed their prison time they are highly sought after by fire depts, and the CDF, because they've proven they've got the right stuff. BTW, both men AND women inmates work on fire crews. They don't let them jump out of planes, but they still have to be prepared to live on their own for days at a time. They do have guards with them, who have also trained to fight fires.
It's given a lot of people valued work experience, self esteem and a new lease on life. A fresh start if you will.
Say, before I forget, our friend from Romania, Adina posted on the Hike to the Oak thread, but she should have posted her remarks here. I took the liberty of copying them and pasting them here.

"Guys, take care with those fires! So scary! I'm glad you aren't so close to them.
Adina"

I assured her that we are okay, but thought some of you closer would like to know that people around the world know and care about our little problems.

MaVieRose, mudslides can be devastating. A lot of those areas you are concerned about do not have the dense brush because they have had relatively recent fires, which consumed most of it. Not that you shouldn't be prepared, and do what you can to prevent and prepare for fires.
I've heard talk that as soon as the fires are out they are going to start spreading seed to help hold the soil in place. Some places are notorious for slides, and if you live in a canyon or up against one you have reason to be concerned. But only if the area had burned, and hopefully it won't.
It is amazing how quickly life appears amongst the ashes once it does rain. Pray for gentle soaking rains to start the season.
I've heard that in the Phillipines that your average rainfall is something like 8 times what mine is.
In 2005, we had the rainiest year I remember since 1969, (although I could be wrong), when we got 36 inches of rain for the year. Our average here, (if we are lucky) is about 10 inches a year. Since the weather has been shall we say, unusual, who knows what's going to happen this winter. At least it doesn't last long. Sigh.
Hope everyone is well.
WIB,
SW

In Las Vegas on Monday and Tuesday we had ash falling in the pools and on the landscape. When you went outside you could smell the smoke and you just automatically looked around to see what was on fire. We had a great rain yesterday which washed away the majority of the ash off the plants and trees. First rain in over 6 months. Came up from Mexico. Please know all of Las Vegas has California, the firefighters, the animals and citizens in our prayers. Praying for rain to come your way. Looks like it might we coming down from the North.

They shouldn't have to spread seed - there are plenty of fire-followers that will sprout on their own and some that come only after a fire. Unless they are spreading native seeds, I hope they let nature take care of it. Plenty of documentation about this. There are other methods they can use near homes, etc. They used to spread seed - the WRONG seed, and end up with more brush that didn't belong, choked out natives and caused more problems.

Glad the rain helped in LV. That ash is the worst thing to clean up - but it's better than not having a place to clean!

God bless the child.

We used to live in the hills in Simi Valley, many years ago. We moved to Texas, because everything was greener here, in 1974. During the summer, we dreaded fires. It didn't take much to set that grass on fire. I see now, that they have built many more homes farther up the hill. We used to worry about Rocketdyne's blasts, and maybe them setting off fires. Of course, I miss my home state,and the weather there, but not fires. As for mudslides, the house in Simi was in a new subdivision. We were up high enough to have a 180 degree view of the valley. Soon after we moved in, we had a monsoon rain, and the slope on the side of our house sild down to the street (about 20'), and within 1 foot of our foundation and fireplace. That was a scary sitiuation, too. Thought we were going to have a free ride that we didn't want!

All of you in California, be safe and take care.

Annette

KC, You are quite right, and a lot of our natives depend on fires to assist their seeds in germinating. I know that areas devastated a few years ago where the natural grasses and wildflowers start blooming again without the reseeding. They go through a progression of growth with one making way for the next group of plants.
I do know that sometimes they try to reseed with natives, 'cause I've helped gather wild seed for reseeding projects. Hot, scratchy and dirty but it was nice pay, and I got to work outside! I don't understand why they don't do more of it.
skwinter, glad you got the ash washed off. Still waiting for rain here. At least it's cooler.
Thanks for sharing your concerns LouC and Annette.
I like your description of the mudslide, Annette, I had to laugh at the visual. I can see why you'd find it scary. What I find is scary is that even with a history, the developers continue to build houses on geologically unstable ground. That's scary, especially in the earthquake state. I guess every place has it's own hazzards.
You be careful there in TX, most of my extended family lives there and you all got slammed pretty hard last year with the h.caines.
WIB,
SW

Several years ago I visited Malibu. Could not believe the devestation from the fires and mudslides. Doesn't seem as glorious as it used to.

Thanks, SingingWolf. We keep an eye on the Gulf. My DH is a native Houstonion, and all of his family lives here. He tried to get me to live on the coast, but I prefer these woods, so here we stay!! I grew up with earthquakes, and to me they aren't near as bad as the h'canes, especially like Ike. We have a lot on Bolivar, and were considering building a weekend house there, but that went out the window. You can't get insurance for it now. Actually, the hurricane itself wasn't too bad. It was the tidal surge that covered the whole penninsula, over twenty feet, that did the major damage. I'll stay in these woods, about 100 miles away.

Have always teased my YB(younger brother)#2 about living in a swamp. I was in Galveston just before Ike hit last year. My family was lucky and had minor storm damage, but so many others weren't as fortunate. Saw the reports on CNN and the WeatherChannel about the storm surge all the way to JSC parking lot almost.
Looks different now, LouC, but what doesn't?
I'll take the earthquakes, mudslides and wildfires over h.caines & tornadoes. I guess it's just what you are used to.
I was transplanted to CA from OK when I was about 2 weeks old. I lived in NV for almost a year, and OK for about a year.
Visited TX many times. Very different from CA. My kinda people.
On our recent trip we stopped for the night in a small town in TX. Really nice hotel, more like an old hotel turned B&B. Anyway, on the bedside table under glass were two signs. I swear this is the truth and I wish I'd taken photos.
One sign read, "Please do not clean your weapons with our towels!" the second one read, "Please do not clean game in our rooms!" I don't know about you, but they seemed like reasonable requests to me! Besides that was the best bed I slept in the entire trip.
TX is a great place and I could handle everything except the constant AC. Walked into Walmart there and my ears popped from the pressure change.
Seriously, TX is a wonderful state and if I didn't live here, I'd probably move there.
WIB,
SW

hahahaha! Depends on just where you were, Wolf. Sounds like deer hunters to me.

Christi

Christi,
Actually, it was turkey territory. Saw several large flocks turkeys from there to OK.
Sometimes I think my kids think I am making up stuff about my childhood, then they see those signs and realize that just maybe I wasn't kidding. I'm not sure where exactly we stayed that night. DH doesn't remember either. It all seems a blur, but we were cutting across TX to get to Mangum, OK. and we were coming from NM, had been to the Carlsbad Caverns that morning.
For the first time since I moved here in 1987, I didn't hear the sound of gunfire waking me up on Sept. 1, which is the beginning of Quail season. We don't allow hunting or fishing on our farm. LOL about the fishing part.
Since we've moved in and planted the pines, the Quail have come back. I am going to build me a blind to get photos. They like to hang out by the farm pond and under the pines. I've even found nests on the ground once or twice. One had over 20 eggs in it. Silly Quail! I love to watch them, but it is hard to sneak up on them with Spirit chasing them off. He is still a pup, and he is learning not to chase it just because it moves.
It was just one of the signs along the way, that in this case, told me I was in TX. I just had to laugh. People shouldn't have to be told those things, it should be common sense and courtesy.
I see it made you laugh too, Chris!
WIB!
SW

Oh, SW, we can have a quail watching party when hatching season comes! That would be fun. :-)

Here, Sept. 1st opens dove season, maybe quail too. I don't know about that.

LouC,
You are right, and I have scrambled eggs for brains. Dove season! Well they are safe here too, but those coyotes better watch out!
KC, we'll have to leave the dog at home, but DH has finally agreed that we need to put up a fence and fix the gates to keep him at home instead of chasing off those babies. I'll start looking for nests this coming spring. Or maybe I shouldn't, Spirit likes to eat eggs and he knows what they look like! All the more reason for him to stay in yard!
WIB,
SW