blackdog~ 0 Posted October 26, 2003 At the moment, more than 200 homes have been destroyed and burnt to the ground, and more are burning right now. 6 wild fires are in Southern California alone, and we sent all of our air support and many of our ground crews to the north to help with the fire in Los Angeles. I live maybe 50 miles from the fires, but the smoke is covering our small city of Encinitas and ash (not a whole lot, but you do see it) is falling from the sky. Wind in the mountains is at least 20mph, and coupled with high temperatures (80 degrees +) it is devestating the whole community. A state of emergency has been declared for the whole state (see http://www.kfmb.com/topstory19313.html), and no relief for SoCal is in sight. I'll post pictures if I can find any, it's pretty bad. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
blackdog~ 0 Posted October 26, 2003 Quote[/b] ](AP Photo) Calif. Towns Evacuated As Wildfires Rage Thousands of Southern Californians Ordered to Evacuate As Firestorms Destroy Scores of Homes The Associated Press SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. Oct. 26 — Entire towns were evacuated Sunday as wind-driven firestorms destroyed scores of homes, devastating neighborhoods scattered from San Diego County to the mountains east of Los Angeles. Between 40,000 and 50,000 people were ordered to leave their homes over a mountainous 30-mile stretch from Crestline to Big Bear, just northeast of San Bernardino. They were being evacuated north into the desert because flames were leaping over roads leading to the valley below. Another wildfire forced the evacuation of a Federal Aviation Administration control center, disrupting air travel across the nation. In all, more than 350 homes have burned in two days, most in a blaze that began Saturday in the San Bernardino suburbs. Fire incident commanders on Sunday raised their damage estimate from that fire to 300 homes destroyed, up from 200 estimated late Saturday, fire spokesman Greg Cleveland said. They couldn't get close enough to confirm all the losses, he said. That wildfire and another raging in the suburbs of San Bernardino, a city of 185,000 about 60 miles east of Los Angeles, appeared to merge Sunday into one long fire front 35 to 40 miles long, U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Carol Beckley said. At the western end of that front, more than 50 homes burned Sunday in a canyon at the edge of Claremont. Officials were going street to street in the town ordering people to evacuate immediately. "Our priority of the moment right now is structure protection, not containment," said Los Angeles County fire Inspector Edward Osorio. Gov. Gray Davis declared a state of emergency for San Bernardino and Ventura counties late Saturday. His administration also gave an emergency briefing to Gov.-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger. "We are taking every possible step to support the firefighting effort," Davis said. He said he called on President Bush to issue a disaster declaration to free up federal loan money for people who lost homes. The wind had died down as the temperature dropped over night but it picked up again early Sunday, sending authorities rushing to evacuate hundreds more homes in the resort areas of Crestline and nearby Lake Arrowhead. About 100 miles to the northwest, in Ventura County, other wildfires raged early Sunday in the hills above Simi Valley's Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and near Piru, where 300 homes were threatened for a time. The Simi Valley fire had burned 47,000 acres by daybreak, damaged 14 homes and was threatening as many as 2,000 structures. It also shut down Highway 118, the main route connecting Ventura County to Los Angeles. In San Diego County, three wildfires were burning, including one that had destroyed seven homes in a neighborhood near Ramona, Sheriff's Department spokesman Chris Saunders said. The fire, which forced hundreds of people to evacuate, started when a lost hunter set a signal fire to get attention, Saunders said. The man could face charges. Two people believed to have been trying to escape a San Diego County fire were found dead in a car, said Alice Contreras of the California Highway Patrol. Lisza Pontes and her family ran through flames to escape the fire near Ramona after the roar of flames woke them at 3:45 a.m. As they drove off, they saw a neighbor's mobile home explode. "We were literally running through fire," said Pontes, 43. "I was grabbing wet towels. Fire was at our feet. It was blazing over our heads and burning everywhere." One San Diego County fire, on the Marine Corps' Miramar Air Station, forced evacuation of the FAA's Southern California Terminal Radar Approach Control. The center's functions were transferred to one near Palmdale that normally handles high-altitude traffic. Aircraft scheduled to fly to Los Angeles International Airport, San Diego's Lindbergh Field and other regional airports were ordered held on the ground for varying lengths of time, said FAA spokesman Paul Turk. The most devastating of the wildfires started Saturday in San Bernardino's Old Waterman Canyon. Fierce Santa Ana winds propelled the flames across 12,000 acres within hours as erratic winds gusting to 40 mph pushed the blaze in constantly changing directions. By Sunday morning, officials estimated, 300 homes had burned. The fire forced the evacuation of the San Manuel Indian Reservation's casino and the campus of California State University, San Bernardino, where flames damaged two temporary classrooms and a temporary fitness center. Patton State Hospital, which houses about 1,300 mental patients, also had to be evacuated. Two firefighters suffered second degree burns, and at least three others suffered minor burns or smoke inhalation Sunday. The San Bernardino County coroner's office blamed the deaths of two residents on stress caused by the fire. A 70-year-old man collapsed while evacuating his home and a 93-year-old collapsed as he watched his house burn. As many as 1,000 people gathered at one evacuation center near San Bernardino International Airport, including about 50 people in wheelchairs who were taken from a convalescent home. Sharon Robinson, 62, and her daughter Kim Robinson, 46, left with their clothes and other belongings in the back of their truck. "We've lived in our home for 35 years," Sharon Robinson said. "Fire has always stopped in the foothills. I never thought it would reach our home." Associated Press writer Alexandria Sage contributed to this story. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Consigliere 0 Posted October 26, 2003 It's Southern Europe, Summer of 2003 all over again (although not as devastating) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mister 5 0 Posted October 27, 2003 It seems as though there has always been a wildfire burning somewhere in the states since the mid '90s... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SKULLS_Viper 0 Posted October 27, 2003 Yikes! Kind of reminds me of the fires we had in Colorado. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cloney 0 Posted October 27, 2003 Quote[/b] ]Unfortunately Blackdog was not harmed in the wildfires -AP Damnit Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jester983 0 Posted October 27, 2003 Yup its pretty crazy over here. Its almost snowing you could say. With ash i mean, and im pretty far away too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tex -USMC- 0 Posted October 27, 2003 Wildfires are a bitch, but a common occurence when people don't take the time to maintain their property (the federal government included). In brush country, as in forests, dead vegetation is the major catalyst for fires- of course dry weather and high winds don't help. There should be universal regulations on keeping rural property up to code in terms of fire hazards, unfortunately they are too rare in America; and even when they are in existence, they are loosely enforced. This is a topic near and dear to my heart, as my family's place in New Mexico is situated in an area that is far overdue for a large forest fire. The co-op of cabin owners across the river from us refuse to keep their property clear of dead brush- their land is a goddam tinderbox. The first step in the right direction is to educate people on wildfires- they are a natural occurence that serve a specific function, and if wooded lands are properly maintained and cared for, the incidence of fires (and the severity of those that do occur) will be greatly reduced. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theavonlady 2 Posted October 27, 2003 You can make of this what you want. From Debka: Quote[/b] ]A June 25 FBI memo alerted law enforcement agencies to warning from detained al Qaeda terrorist of a plot to set off devastating forest fires around the western US. This was revealed by Arizona Republic and confirmed by National Interagency Fire Center in relation to terrible wildfires raging in South California. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
-TU--33ker 0 Posted October 27, 2003 German News say that some dumb hunter who got lost fired a flare in the forrest... He's supposed to be under arrest now. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theavonlady 2 Posted October 27, 2003 $33ker @ Oct. 27 2003,17:36)]German News say that some dumb hunter who got lost fired a flare in the forrest... What a brilliant disguise! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GoOB 0 Posted October 27, 2003 What is the governat... Err governor doing about this? I bet he is really cranky. "I'm a politician you idiot!" But forest fires are sometimes useful for nature, if they are natural that is. They say a forest fire can make forests grow more quickly. And that it gives way for new healthy trees. But firing a flare in a forest is just plain idiocy. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
blackdog~ 0 Posted October 27, 2003 A lot of overseas news agencies are getting the info completely wrong.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BraTTy 0 Posted October 27, 2003 How sad, whats the status blackdog? You said one day ago they were about 50 miles from your house...getting closer? Don't these fires happen every year and you guys are not prepared to put them out? Sorry to sound so dumb about it, but I am so lucky coming from a state that has no natural disasters really. Even tho we are wooded mountains we don't get wildfires,we have a short summer. Only natural disaster really is the fact you could hit a cow,moose,deer or even a bear while driving. We have had a few earthquake tremors in recent years but don't have a history of that. Had a ice storm a few years ago,a ice storm doesn't sound dangerous as fires for sure,but trees and power lines fall down from the weight of ice and block roads and could be stranded without power (town next to us was for over a week) So of course no heat,food and such Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
blackdog~ 0 Posted October 27, 2003 They upped the house destroyed or damaged count to 585 and there have been 11 deaths (24 being investigated), and I have no school tommorow... again Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cloney 0 Posted October 28, 2003 God I hate you. I wish wildfires engulfed the state of New Jersey during quarterly exam week. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
hellfish6 7 Posted October 28, 2003 The results of urban sprawl and the subdivision mentality. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
crewcutkid reincarnated! 0 Posted October 28, 2003 Not trying to rain on anyone's parade, but isn't this too offtopic for this forum? A few months ago I tried to post a couple of topics about the enormous amounts of snow in colorado (10 ft+) and Denoir shut it down faster than you can sneeze. Gotta ask folks: wtf? -Crew Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tex -USMC- 0 Posted October 28, 2003 Did you create a new member name just to bitch about how the forum is moderated? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
waffendennis 0 Posted October 28, 2003 OMG: I feel sorry for all those people...But here in the netherlands it's snowing and it's just under the 0 so ....you see how many difrence in the world is. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
blackdog~ 0 Posted October 28, 2003 http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Natural....lrg.jpg Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ran 0 Posted October 29, 2003 come on baby light my fire ...... come on baby light my fire dududududu lalala sorry , i'm back from Paris , i've been at the PÄre Lachaise cemetary and i've seen the Jim Morrisson's tomb .... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
-TU--33ker 0 Posted October 29, 2003 A lot of overseas news agencies are getting the info completely wrong.. What do the american media say? Who started it? Al Quaeda? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
