San Diego California ON FIRE!

HumanePain · 10-22-2007, 07:29 AM

OK, my first day back to work since I almost bled to death, and now this:

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/10/22/wildfire.ca/index.html

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has declared a state of emergency in seven counties.

My workplace is like a ghost town, with a skeleton crew (pardon the pun).
Everyone was either evacuated, going to be evacuated, or running around like a chicken with the head cut off, or in rare cases, like me, working. I live 80 miles away, so I don't have to worry about my home burning down. Yet.

Many of the people who have horses have found their horses jumped fences and otherwise decided to flee the fires instinctively, so we have people collecting in parking lots and shopping centers and camping in gas stations, horses running wild, 12 lane freeways shut down in both directions, mass hysteria. It's bad.

My boss said to prepare to evacuate the office should the San Diego Fire Department come knocking on our doors.
O_o

Renatus · 10-22-2007, 11:48 AM

Yeah I was wondering what was going on over there for you, what is your take on the situation? We're just hearing the end of Katrina now we are hearing about opposite ends of the country (Atlanta Georga might run out of water in less than a year) who could use the water from Katrina

Beneath the Shadows · 10-22-2007, 12:59 PM

I found out about the fires by waking up and looking out the window to discover that everything looked ashy.

Lillith Persephone · 10-22-2007, 02:26 PM

That's horrible! We've been declared a disaster area as well (Georiga) but that's simply from drought.

Almost bled to death...?

HumanePain · 10-22-2007, 02:36 PM

Ok folks, for those of you who live in rural communities, this is your time to be grateful:

I just got home 20 minutes ago. I left work 4 and half hours ago when the order to Evac cam through. The 241, 133, 15, 78, 76 and 94 freeways are all shut down, so imagine crawling along a freeway at 1 mile per hour, and then taking side streets where possible, for 80 miles, across some areas where the freeways are closed due to fire.

I am exhausted, but grateful to be home.

Last count: there are 8 different fires across California, of which two are merging into a firestorm (called the "Witch" fire coincidently enough).

I am taking plenty of eye drops and nasal spray to counter the effects of all the smoke.

The skies alternate between gray, brown, and red, with patches of blue in between.

HumanePain · 10-22-2007, 02:43 PM

Oh, and the bled to death comment I thought I explained in the "whine about booboos" thread: I suffered a hemorrhage where my sinus surgeon made an incision to remove a bone spur blocking my left nasal passage. After he sent me home a month later I started bleeding (due to blood thinners I take for my arthritis) and it would not clot, wouldn't stop, so after a half hour of filling up the bathroom sink with blood I asked my wife to take me to emergency where I proceeded to lose another pint of blood and promptly fainted, my blood pressure nose diving to 68/56 and hemoglobin dropping to 9.

Since then I have spent the past week trying to build up my strength, and today was my first day back on the job, only to have this fire screw everything up.

HumanePain · 10-23-2007, 09:07 AM

The looting of evacuated homes has started in the Running Springs area by Big Bear Lake.

I hope the looters get barbecued.

Steppenwolf · 10-23-2007, 12:11 PM

... Man it's almost November , and as I saw the news I thought : This can't be normal , there must have been an explanation ... To me it seems that this fire was set by someone ...
Don't tell me that here in California got not only earthquakes : Now the forest burns in November ... o_O ...

Humane , I hope you are ok now , after all the misfortune ...

KontanKarite · 10-23-2007, 03:14 PM

Oh my gosh. Be safe, Humane. If there's anything you might need, let us know. I might be able to send a care package or something if you need it.

HumanePain · 10-23-2007, 05:20 PM

Thanks man! Just send me your jawline, your hair, hell let's just get a face transplant!

Really, I am 40 miles away in any direction from the closest fire, but my coworkers that live in San Diego aren't so lucky, they are the ones that need care and prayers.

60% of my coworkers have been evacuated from their homes in the past 2 days, but the good news is some of them are now being allowed back.

killer_asian_Dax · 10-23-2007, 05:41 PM

Wow!! I just heard about the SD fire today at lunch. Hope things don't go from bad to worse for you Humane.

My area's got 4 of it's own to deal with: the Santa Clarita fire, ranch fire, simi valley fire, and malibu canyon fire.

Earlier today at work I overheard some other people talking about the evac situation in Simi Valley and then "ring of fire" just ended on my iPod and "Los Angeles is burning" came on next. Party shuffle was quite inappropriate today, but still a little funny none the less.

I'm quite literally in a ring of fire. In a lot of ways I think the sky being full of ash with a blood red sun, the orders of evacuation, traffic, and everything are just wicked awesome. I've also not had a headach from light since it all began. But at the same time, I'm hoping that everyone is ok and hoping that it doesn't get any closer or I and my family might have to run North to stay with my brother for a while.

Stay safe Humane! And anyone else on here near the fires.

Drake Dun · 10-24-2007, 01:24 AM

Apparently my parents' place is in pretty serious danger. It's in Silverado Canyon, near Orange. I read that some of these fires are beyond the powers of the firefighters to control, so let's hope the fates are kind.

Drake

thedoll · 10-24-2007, 01:39 AM

I'm up at college and I can't get ahold of my Mom or my two sisters, the news isn't saying anything specific enough about which towns have been evacuated. I was supposed to fly home next week, but I can't get ahold of anybody. I lived in North County in SD (fuck you if you want to lecture me about internet safety) can you relay any information about that area? I'm terrified...

killer_asian_Dax · 10-24-2007, 06:46 AM

The fires around the SD area so far have had ZERO % containment.

Quallcom Stadium is housing most of the SD area evacuees and there is a station somewhere in that stadium where people can check and send emails.

That's all the info I know about that area so far. Hope this helps, even if it's not about your family exactly, but then again, knowledge is power and a great anasthetic when things have gone awry.

Hope your family's safe thedoll. And everyone else who lives down there for that matter.

HumanePain · 10-24-2007, 08:28 AM

thedoll:

Rancho Bernardo was one of the hardest hit areas. I have several coworkers who lived in that area and it is still evacuated. Cell phone coverage is spotty.

Send a text message to your family down there, so that the next time they happen to be in an area with good cell phone coverage they will see that you are trying to contact them, and then you won't have to try repeated calls.

Some areas have the evac orders lifted today, and people have been allowed back to their homes, even late yesterday afternoon.

If you want to send me a private message with contact info (just their street name) I can find out if it is still closed and let you know.

I'll pray for your family.

Crying_Crimson_Tears · 10-24-2007, 12:19 PM

Aw Humane I am so sorry to hear your home state is in such state of despair. And that thing with you almost bleeding to death. Oh my gosh. I hope everything will be okay.

thedoll · 10-24-2007, 03:59 PM

I actually just received an email from my mom, she was only facing voluntary evacuation and my sisters are staying with my grandmother in Orange County. Thank you for the support and information.

raggedyanne · 10-24-2007, 04:02 PM

I hope everything turns out okay for them, doll. I need to call my cousin, he's down there for college.

Beneath the Shadows · 10-24-2007, 05:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thedoll

I actually just received an email from my mom, she was only facing voluntary evacuation and my sisters are staying with my grandmother in Orange County. Thank you for the support and information.

OC isn't all that much better. In some areas, anyway. I can walk up the road from where I live and see the flames at night. Or, at least, I could last night.

Steppenwolf · 10-24-2007, 05:34 PM

I wonder if that may help anyone (angelenos) ...

http://www.dailynews.com/ci_7243279

HumanePain · 10-25-2007, 08:24 AM

The Santiago fire is now 12 miles away from my house (I am due East of the fire), and we can see the smoke coming over the ridge. I am now officially concerned.

Fortunately the temperatures are down, the humidity is rising, and the air is still. This will give the firefighters a chance to put that fire down. It was 50% contained last night.

(starts packing...)

Wormboy · 10-25-2007, 12:43 PM

Dude I know how you feel. I'm in Encino in the San Fernando Valley. I'm a good distance from the fires, but if they don't get stopped, I will literally be TRAPPED by fires. We're surrounded by hills on all sides. My friends live near porter ranch and chatsworth and such and the fires are getting entirely too close for comfort. My friend just came home from UCSD because of "the witch" and while we are happy to see him, we didn't want him back under these circumstances. I wish you the best HP!

Drake Dun · 10-25-2007, 02:12 PM

Ugh. Things do not look good for Silverado. Two of my relatives have been on the news. One of them, my stepfather Anthony, has disobeyed a mandatory evacuation order and is staying behind to defend the house. He has been wandering around the canyons rescuing critters, taking photos of houses, and even putting out spot fires.

Anthony has fire fighting experience and has been preparing the house for an event like this for years. I'm hoping I don't have to find out whether his efforts are enough to do the job.

Drake

MaverickZero · 10-25-2007, 02:15 PM

Now this is interesting... A radio show I listen to all the time, has been talking about this. CNN reports that the fires were started deliberately. I heard on this radio show that he went back in his archives, back about 3 years when the police made a crackdown on an Al Queda terrorist, they seized a bunch of plots, one of which included setting mass fires to forests.

I'm going to go look to see if I can get more info about this, but it seems strangely coincidental.

MaverickZero · 10-25-2007, 02:18 PM

http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniont..._1n11plot.html

Aspiring terrorist considered wildfires in Calif., official says

ASSOCIATED PRESS

July 11, 2006

NEW YORK – The Lebanese man accused of plotting to destroy and flood Hudson River train tunnels also discussed the possibility of setting wildfires in California to inflict harm on the United States, a federal official said yesterday.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing, said wildfires were “only part of their planning discussions. No steps were taken to carry it out.”

Advertisement
The official also said Assem Hammoud “raised” the possibility of using backpacks on New York subways to carry explosive devices and attack the transit system.

The possible fire plot and backpacks were among several new allegations to emerge in recent days about Hammoud, 31, who was arrested in Lebanon in April.

Hammoud – an alleged al-Qaeda loyalist who was said to have visited California six years ago – and seven others are accused in the tunnel plot, which authorities say was disrupted in its early stages.