My Fire Experience Today

[Jeanie]

I haven't been out to visit with my business partner since September, so we planned to meet at the center today and go to lunch. I just got a part time serving job, which I was starting tonight at 4:00. I wanted to leave my house by 3:00 to make sure I wasn't late on my first day, so we decided to have an early lunch, about 11:30.

I left my house about 10:30 (it takes about 45 minutes to get from Long Beach to Corona). As I'm driving east on the 91, I started smelling smoke. Traffic started slowing and I eventually saw the fire making its way down the hills, toward some houses. There weren't even a lot of fire trucks yet. (Didn't think to snap a picture then.)

During lunch, at about 12:30, she got a phone call. Her friend told her that they had just closed the 91 because the fire had jumped the freeway. I said, "Shit, I have to leave NOW!" I had to take the LONG way around the fire (for you SoCalers, the 15N to the 60W). The 57S was also closed due to the Brea fire so I had to take the 60 to the 605. Anyway, a 45 minute trip turned in to 2 hours! Here are some pics of the smoke I took while stuck in traffic on the 60.

[LyinAss Bitch]

I was thinking about you most of the day yesterday. I know you live in Orange County but wasn't sure if this was going to effect you. Regardless, I am going to pm you my home address and phone number. If you need to evacuate at all ( now or in the future) you are more than welcome at our house. We've got plenty of room!

I was in Ontario yesterday. We were gonna take the 10 to the 15 to the 91 but heard on the radio to stay away from the 91 and 15 unless it was absolutely neccessary, so we just took the long way home, but here's what I got on my cell phone from Ontario roughly around 1:45pm.

[IMG]http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d12/amurray007/fire1.jpg[/IMG]

[The Wind]

So what was on fire?

[Hunter Bones]

California. Again.

[the unlucky platypus]

i'm smelling the smoke and been singing "ring of fire" all day. i think the closest to me is sylmar.

[Jeanie]

For all you non-Californians, here's the deal. Every year, in October and November, CA goes up in flames. My friend once explained to an East Coast friend that CA does have seasons. It has fire season. Here's the damage as of this morning:

Montecito fire: 1,940 acres burned, 210 homes destroyed, 9 damaged, 1,500 threatened. Only 60% contained.

Sylmar fire: 8,000 acres burned, 501 homes destroyed, 40 homes damaged, 1,000 threatened. Only 20% contained.

Orange/Riverside County fires: 7,000 acres burned, 119 home destroyed. Only 10-20% contained.

Not to mention the dead, injured and thousands of evacuees.

Ash is falling from the sky and it smells like campfire. Thank goodness the winds died down today! Fun times! !sad

[Jeanie]

[quote1226883450=LyinAss Bitch]
I was thinking about you most of the day yesterday. I know you live in Orange County but wasn't sure if this was going to effect you. Regardless, I am going to pm you my home address and phone number. If you need to evacuate at all ( now or in the future) you are more than welcome at our house. We've got plenty of room!

I was in Ontario yesterday. We were gonna take the 10 to the 15 to the 91 but heard on the radio to stay away from the 91 and 15 unless it was absolutely neccessary, so we just took the long way home, but here's what I got on my cell phone from Ontario roughly around 1:45pm.
[/quote1226883450]

Thanks so much for thinking of me. I PM'd you back.

[madamadam]

When the hills of Los Angeles are burning…

[the unlucky platypus]

[quote1226886662=Jeanie]
For all you non-Californians, here's the deal. Every year, in October and November, CA goes up in flames. My friend once explained to an East Coast friend that CA does have seasons. It has fire season. Here's the damage as of this morning:

Montecito fire: 1,940 acres burned, 210 homes destroyed, 9 damaged, 1,500 threatened. Only 60% contained.

Sylmar fire: 8,000 acres burned, 501 homes destroyed, 40 homes damaged, 1,000 threatened. Only 20% contained.

Orange/Riverside County fires: 7,000 acres burned, 119 home destroyed. Only 10-20% contained.

Not to mention the dead, injured and thousands of evacuees.

Ash is falling from the sky and it smells like campfire. Thank goodness the winds died down today! Fun times! !sad
[/quote1226886662]

so being someone from an area devastated by natural disaster before, i have to pose to you the same question that's posed to me about new orleans: why rebuild there and why live there if it's going to be destroyed anyways?

after living here for almost 2 years now…i realize something. southern california…particularly los angeles and anaheim…have this deluded idea of an aesthetic for the area of a lush, green environment…but the weather here more screams to me "southern italy" or "beachside israel". meaning that sort of desert on the beach look where there's a lot of desert with sparse greenery.

but then again, i'm from an area that actually gets rain so maybe my perspective is skewed…i don't think it raining 7 days out of the year is enough to legitimize trying to maintain a lush aesthetic.

[jrock241]

I hope everybody stays safe and that the wind dies down so they can contain these fires.

But I've got a question. Around here they sometimes burn fields, forests, ect, in a "controlled fire" to make sure a fire of California's size doesn't happen [or another Great Chicago Fire]. Why don't they do that in California, or do they and it doesn't help?

[Jeanie]

[quote1226897968=the unlucky platypus]
[quote1226886662=Jeanie]
For all you non-Californians, here's the deal. Every year, in October and November, CA goes up in flames. My friend once explained to an East Coast friend that CA does have seasons. It has fire season. Here's the damage as of this morning:

Montecito fire: 1,940 acres burned, 210 homes destroyed, 9 damaged, 1,500 threatened. Only 60% contained.

Sylmar fire: 8,000 acres burned, 501 homes destroyed, 40 homes damaged, 1,000 threatened. Only 20% contained.

Orange/Riverside County fires: 7,000 acres burned, 119 home destroyed. Only 10-20% contained.

Not to mention the dead, injured and thousands of evacuees.

Ash is falling from the sky and it smells like campfire. Thank goodness the winds died down today! Fun times! !sad
[/quote1226886662]

so being someone from an area devastated by natural disaster before, i have to pose to you the same question that's posed to me about new orleans: why rebuild there and why live there if it's going to be destroyed anyways?

after living here for almost 2 years now…i realize something. southern california…particularly los angeles and anaheim…have this deluded idea of an aesthetic for the area of a lush, green environment…but the weather here more screams to me "southern italy" or "beachside israel". meaning that sort of desert on the beach look where there's a lot of desert with sparse greenery.

but then again, i'm from an area that actually gets rain so maybe my perspective is skewed…i don't think it raining 7 days out of the year is enough to legitimize trying to maintain a lush aesthetic.
[/quote1226897968]

SoCal is definitely a desert. I've lived here my whole life and I've seen these horrendous fires just about every year. I've never lived in a wooded area, so I've never been in peril, but I would hope that anyone buying a home in those areas would be aware of the possibility of fire. But people like ther scenic views and they are willing to take the chance. Silly!

[Jeanie]

[quote1226898710=jrock241]
I hope everybody stays safe and that the wind dies down so they can contain these fires.

But I've got a question. Around here they sometimes burn fields, forests, ect, in a "controlled fire" to make sure a fire of California's size doesn't happen [or another Great Chicago Fire]. Why don't they do that in California, or do they and it doesn't help?
[/quote1226898710]

I think that the burn areas between inhabited areas are so small, that it would be too dangerous to purposely start a fire. Anyway, that's my guess. I don't know for sure.

[the unlucky platypus]

[quote1226901119=Jeanie]But people like ther scenic views and they are willing to take the chance. Silly!
[/quote1226901119]

yeah…it's weird. i'd love to see all the greenery on the way to work gone. not because i don't like it but just because it shouldn't be there…they need to stop watering all that bunk and worry about the real stuff…not maintaining a certain look.

[LyinAss Bitch]

You definitely take a chance living here. I've lived here all my life as well. The cycle is first the wind, next comes fire, and then enough rain to create mudslides.When/ if I'm faced with my house burning down, I have nobody to blame but myself for staying here.

[Author]

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