Please keep the FireFighters in mind today as they fight the Fires in SoCal.
Here is a picture looking east towards the Fires.
I live at least 30 miles from the fires but I have ash all over the place. This should have been a beautiful Blue sky morning.
Tom
Tom, I was watching those fires on the News yesterday. Huge! Terrible! Hoping they get them contained (somehow) soon.
Was also wondering about other DG members out your way. Is anyone else being affected by the fires? Donna (SoCal), Arlene (TLC--don't know if she is still there but if not her house is)
Tom, that's been just terrible for all of you. I hope they get contained soon.
It is now about 9 AM here and the winds are picking up, unfortunately. It will be a very toough day for those fighting all of the fires. I just took this looking east from my house. It is getting blacker and blacker. The smell is less than pleasant as well. Donna and I areboth near to the coastline. I think I will give Jul a call to see how she is doing. She lives farther east. I can hear the planes going by as they fill the tanks with water and go back to the fire.
9:30 am This fire is only about 10 miles from me. There are quite a few homes burning now. It is on the other side of the freeway from me so it is very doubtful that it could get this far. It is much too close for comfort though.
This was shot with no filter. It really is that nasty color out.
Oh I do hope that they will get it contained soon. A few months ago it was Tucson. What a terrible loss. Jo
Thanks for the update, Frogs.
Will be thinking of you all. No matter what, be careful. This will affect so many of you in so many ways.
The fire got to about 3 miles from me but is moving south and away from here. Some of this area has not burned for 25 years, so the fire has fuel and is moving fast. I spoke to both SoCal and Jul and the fires are not near them. The have lots of ashes. The fire is very close to me but I have no ash. Go figure. It is too high to drop here I guess. They are evacuating alot of areas and there are schools in the area that are already announcing they will be closed tomorrow. Many of our freeways are currently closed. The Santa Anna conditions are really making these fire beasts to get under control. If anybody could send us a rain cloud, we would be very grateful.
Watching and praying for all of you and those fire fighters.
They had the fires on our BBC news in the UK tonight. I do so hope you all keep safe! They said 400 homes had now gone and that the fires are now covering a vast area.
My brother was in San Diego when he was working at the Salk Institute for a couple of years in the early '70s frogs
Dea, echoing your sentiments. What awful risks/loss to face for everyone involved.
Bruised view this evening. Some poor souls were having their wedding pictures taken under this.
Keep up the prayers folks. The fire is moving into populated areas again here and it is getting dark. They do not fly the planes at night with all the smoke. They are evacuating lots of people now so that they can be sure to get into these areas when the fire does rather that have to contend with people still leaving their homes. All servies are stretched to the limit as it is. They just showed Qualcom stadium and there are so many people evacuted there that it looks like there is a game on. We have an open stadium, so I do not know what the plan is for these people when night falls.
Frogs...people are evacuated to the stadium? Is the fire gonna head to it now...or is the stadium far away from the fire?
Mercy me...those fires do as much (if not more) damage as hurricanes and tornadoes.
praying for you all, I have a dear friend that lives very close to the fires and I pray you get lots of rain, now!
There are many evacuation points. The stadium is just one. It is unlikely that the fire will go there. There is alot of surrounding community that would have to burn first. They are saying that they have the most personnel fighting this fire than any in the history of the state.
Shoe, we have had drought conditions for so long here and they cannot do controlled burns as they should because the area is over-built so that it is too dangerous. Not enough people clear their land or plant firebreaks like iceplant. This includes the government installation as the Marine Air Station was also part of the fire. We get fires every year but this is just devastating. In one area the fire line is 25 miles long and there are several fires burning. Two of them are very close to merging and they are working to prevent it. Hope that morning comes soon so that they can get the planes back into the air.
Wow, my prayers are with you all in
Southern California. Stella, that is one awesome photo.
I agree Stella that picture is so beautiful and so eerie. It must be so strange to see the sky like that and smell the smoke. I hope you all will be okay.
Praying for all of you and especially for the firefighters and those who have lost their homes and loved ones.
Frog, I'm glad to hear it is moving away from you, please stay safe.
I am not real familier with southern California, I have a friend in Joshua Tree, are the fires near there or is that farther away?
Take Care and My Prayers are with you all.
Narc/Vicki
Joshua Tree is quite a ways from here Vicki and the winds are blowing south and west . I do not believe they should be in any danger.
It is very quiet this AM. All schools ae closed and the mayor has asked that any non essential businesses stay closed so that the roads can be open for emergency vehicles. Our eerie orange light remains and the smell is incredible outside.
I went to the evac center close to me last night to see if they had someone who needed a place to stay and the chaplain to me that people were reluctant to stay in private homes, the world being what it is today. Sad . I left my number.
It is already warm here and the Santa Ana conditions still exsist. It will be another very long day for firefighters. We are now a Federal disaster area so we should have more services available to us. there are so many fires that everyone is stretched to the limit.
This is so awful. Do you know how close the fires are to Qualcom? I thought my husband say last night as he was reading that there were fires in Scripps Ranch. Are the fires that close? Are they moving south?
The Simi Valley fire is a few miles from me now. On the way to work I could see the billows of smoke, which were a strange reddish-brownish-grey color. It smells like smoke everywhere, even a little bit inside this windowless building at work. (I don't think our house is close enough to the wildlands for it to be at much risk.)
Scripps Ranch was one of the hardest hit areas as was Ramona. The fires moved south and there is another one at Otay Lakes moving west. They are trying to keep these two fires from merging. They have been setting alot of fire breaks in the otay area. Qualcom is one of the evacuation sites and is in no danger. It is in Mission valley and not in an open area. The Cedars fire that started in Ramona and wandered to Scripps moved south and east along Hwy 52 toward Tierra Santa and Santee. They evacuated many people in Tierra Santa last night.
They are hoping to start allowing people who were evacuated back into their homes at around 4 this afternoon. Luckily the winds have not been as bad as expected so far today but the temperature is suposed to be in the mid 90's.
Visibility here is very poor. In some areas it is less that a mile. It is up to 3 miles here now. I am less than 10 miles from Scripps Ranch. The Marine Air Station is about 3 mi.
Oh wow. Thanks for that good report frogsrus! I have friends and family and San Diego and have not been able to get a hold of anyone yet. My sister lives in Ramona and a friend lives in Rancho Penasquitos.
Sue, You have mail.
Janice
We have not had measurable rain here for 178 days and drought conditions for several years. There is so much dry vegetation feeding this fire. They seem to be getting some control now since it isdaylight and they can once again use the planes.
The firebreaks seem to be holding back the Otay fire so far. The Olympic training center is on the other side of the lake from the fire and there is much new construction that is still just wood frames that they are trying to keep from the fire.
One piece of good news from the police department was that crime took a vacation last night and left the police force able to concentrate on the fire. Thank you to all the criminals who took a night off.
This is an interesting picture.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/031026/480/ny11310262336&e=1
My prayers also go up for all those affected by this tragedy and those risking their lives to save others. Firefighters, law enforcement officers, rescue and emergency personnel and our military members are a special kind of brave. I thank God for all of them and I know that we would not enjoy the quality of life that we do, without them. I pray the following prayer during times of disaster and it is taken from The Essential Catholic Prayer Book:
God and Father of us all, hear our prayer. We look to you with hope in the midst of this disaster. Bring comfort and help to all whose homes have been darkened by this tragedy. Help the injured and bereaved find solace. Raise up good men and women to offer their generous aid fully and freely and bless their efforts and strengthen their resolve. We ask you this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.
So horrible to see all these pictures and then look out my window and see yet another day of rain and flood watches up for the area. Please God, send this rain where it is needed badly!
My thoughts and prayers are also with all at risk due to the fires. If I could do it ya'll could have the rain we've gotten today and expecting tomorrow. God bless and be safe.
Rain.
That is one thing that can be a blessing and a curse.
The right amount of rain would certainly help with the fires. Too much rain and we will have flooding.
Now that the vegetation in the fire areas is gone their is nothing to keep the topsoil from just running off.
You can bet this year once the rains start we will have
some flooding that will be a direct result of the fires.
Not to make light of the situation but this is one of our 4 seasons here in Southern Cal. Earthquakes, Fires, Floods and Riots.
Keep us in your thoughts
Tom
I just watched on TV for the first time in over a week...I pray that the fires will be under control soon...and send blessings to all the fire fighters and policemen and women. Has the CA Army Reserve been utilized in this disaster? Be safe! Jo
Heres something to give you a little perspective
From Nasa
Praying for everyone that's involved. This is so catastrophic. I'm watching, and praying.
We were all on-edge today. I work at a hospital, so you get used to the sirens, but today every one of them made us glance toward the hills. Then at sunset a helicopter flew past the window. More anxiety. Laguna was devastated 10 years ago today. And the memory is all too fresh. I feel so much for the folks going through this terrible time. It really is a miracle, you know, that so few have died. These fires are true monsters, out of control. Please bless the firefighters out there for our safety. They put their lives on the line every minute they're on duty. And I, for one, am amazed at their bravery.
This is usually a clear view of Lake Elsinore from my balcony I can see all the mountains (that are on fire)normally. Most days lately we have this smoke and ash at 1PM when the winds come our way, but this morning we woke up to worse than this. We live 35 miles from the fire area!
My sister lives where the OTAY fire is burning. They evacuated finally last night. They couldn't see and couldn't breathe, no power. I think the back fire that was set helped the fire change direction away from their home (they live rural on 8 acres). Lets hope it keeps going that way, it has come back their way twice since it started. They could see the flames from the Cedar fire from their house on the other side of their fire. It is hard to monitor the fires in San Diego since we are out of county.
Frogsrus, if you get this message, when you hear about the Otay fire, let me know if it gets to Lyons Valley in Jamul. (off the 94) I am not sure if your TV stations get into all the details like ours does. Thanks, my email is on the blitz this am. If you call, the cell number is on my machine. Hope all is well with you and yours. Have you been able to help out?
Jul, I will keep you posted if I hear anything. I know that they have evacuated Julian and Descanso and some areas around 94. The reporting is no longer non stop but I will keep the TV on. They have been good about reporting evac areas.
It is smoky here. We have air that you could chew and my area is clearer than many. If the wind will cooperate today, they might get at least a small grip on this thing. The pictures coming out of the burn areas are horrendous. These fires just keep burning and burning. I hope they get the help that they need for the firefighters today. Their resources are strained beyond their limits. The pressing need is plnes to dump water and retardant, but there are only 11, not enough to fight all of the fires adequately.
There is no school again today and many businesses remain closed. So many people have been devastated by these fires.
Jul, the Otay fire is now 90% contained and they expect 100% by days end. Only 1 structure burned. Good news.
Here is the bad news: they do not expect the Cedars fIre to be contained until NOVEMBER 5th. It is currently 0% contained.
It is almost 1 pm and it is fairly dark. Even my son's poor weather fish is agitated.
Some people are being allowed to go back into the areas where the fire has already passed but still others are being evacuated. Lake Henshaw area and Mt Palomar are on standby.
