J.4knee Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 Things are getting pretty dicey out here. I am off work today as my routes to my office were blocked and the City and County Governments has asked people not evacuating or not involved in firefighting activities to stay off the roads. There are 8 fires burning throughout San Diego County. Two in my town San Marcos but they are not an immediate threat to my development and surrounding area. We are in severe Santa Anna conditions with no break in the weather anticipated for at least a couple days. The current assessment of these fires, is combined they have the potential to be the worst the area has ever seen. These types of fires thrive in these types of conditions, extreme winds, and humidity below 10%. They are often preceded by extreme dry periods and there is an abundant fuel source. Once the fires start they feed themselves creating their own wind sources and extreme oxygen supply. The current fires are spewing flames up to 200 ft high and the fires are leaping over entire highway systems Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.4knee Posted October 22, 2007 Author Share Posted October 22, 2007 A couple pics. Front yard looking North Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.4knee Posted October 22, 2007 Author Share Posted October 22, 2007 Front yard looking South Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.4knee Posted October 22, 2007 Author Share Posted October 22, 2007 Back yard looking South Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigStewMan Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 i work in santa ana and the wind is really blowing hard here. the sky to the east is smokey. feels like we're surrounded--go one direction and malibu is on fire, go the other santa clarita, go another san diego county. there is one pleasant alternative--the remaining direction is the pacific ocean--anyone got a boat? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J.4knee Posted October 22, 2007 Author Share Posted October 22, 2007 Some things are going better than our Cedar fire 5 years ago. Our county wide reverse 911 system is making calls by the 100K's to keep people up to date on fire and evacuation status as they are affected. The problem with these fires is they not contained at all, the fire fighting resources cannot stop them and most of the effort is saving structures where they can and ensuring people get safely evacuated. They cannot fly fixed wing assets to drop fire retardant but they do have a couple rotary wing assets in the air but the winds and visibility limit their effectiveness. With the wind unpredictability the current assessment is the Witch Creek fire will likely reach the coast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piranha Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 Jim, I wish you the best of luck. Lake Arrowhead is now on fire now and a lot of their resources are down the hill fighting the other So Cal fires. Man, oh man it sure is smokey around here with all these fires. It's been raining ash. I am very thankful that my house is not currently threatened, but I'm extremely concerned for all my family and friends whose homes are. There's a new fire which just broke out in Devore near the I-15/215 split. This is a really horrible situation for many Southern Californians, and it appears to be getting worse. [] My family and friends could use a bit of luck over the next few days. Hopefully the weather will cooperate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Amy Posted October 22, 2007 Moderators Share Posted October 22, 2007 Tom and Jim (and all So Cal friends), Definitely thinking of you, and your family and friends today. Take care, and be safe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbflash Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 good luck you guys. take care and i hope it all works out for you. danny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigStewMan Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 NOT GOOD NEWS FOR THE FIREFIGHTERS...From the weather service STRONG SANTA ANA WINDS WILL CONTINUE TODAY AND INTO TUESDAY. AREAS OF NORTHEAST WINDS 25 TO 35 MPH WITH STRONGEST GUSTS TO AROUND 85 MPH WILL OCCUR NEAR AND BELOW PASSES AND CANYONS. THE STRONGEST WINDS AND WIND GUSTS WILL BE BELOW THE CAJON PASS AND NEAR THE COASTAL FOOTHILLS OF THE SANTA ANA MOUNTAINS. WINDS WILL REMAIN STRONG AND GUSTY BUT ARE EXPECTED TO BE SLIGHTLY WEAKER FOR TUESDAY...AND THEN WEAKEN RATHER SIGNIFICANTLY ON WEDNESDAY. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arky Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 Good luck guys. My brother is in the area also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flannj Posted October 22, 2007 Share Posted October 22, 2007 One of my favorite parts of this country. With some of the nicest people I know. My thoughts are with you. - Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel Posted October 23, 2007 Moderators Share Posted October 23, 2007 Good luck out there, with winds like that and humidity below 10%, it don't sound good. Y'all need some of what we had today 6.5 inches of rain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islander Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 Here on Vancouver Island we have the two Martin Mars flying boat water bombers, the world's largest. The owner of the planes is in hourly communication with the California authorities and one is ready to lift off almost immediately when the call comes. Hopefully the fires will be brought under control soon. http://www.orpheusweb.co.uk/vicsmith/mars.html http://www.gotofino.com/sproatlakemarsbombers.html http://www.martinmars.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 Jay, Hoping this is controlled soon. Read an article this a.m. stating that 500,000 folks have been evacuated. That's huge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacksonbart Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 Pictures from my sister in Irvine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Groomlakearea51 Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 It's one of those times where I wish we could send them the rain we've been getting the last couple weeks. I was watching it a litle bit on CNN this morning. Bad scene, very dangerous. I guess we should all make a prayer that the damage is limited to things not people. JB: Did they evacuate your sister and her family yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islander Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 NEWS UPDATE: just announced on CBC Radio a few minutes ago: one of the Martin Mars water bombers will be in San Diego tomorrow. Its support crew left Vancouver Island a while ago and has already crossed the border. Hopefully, this will be a big help to the hard-working fire crews already onsite. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skonopa Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 As one of my cousin's lives in San Diego, I am definitely wishing the best for you guys. That picture from the Irvine area looks really ominous! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piranha Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 Jim, are you guys OK? Were you evacuated? I sure hope things are going well for you and Michelle. Post and let us know about your well being when you can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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