Frustration & Fires in California

Post by **AnneM** » Thu Oct 25, 2007 7:24 am

Hi Sheila

Was hearing about this on the radio this morning. Hope all is still OK with you. At least the authorities seem to be well prepared to help people out with this disaster, though that's scant consolation if you've had to flee your home.

Anne

Post by **Merlot** » Thu Oct 25, 2007 7:52 am

Hi Shiela,

I was watching the news reports this morning, how awful, the reporter was (I imagine) near where you are. Camp Pendleton was behind her. I hope you are ok and don't have to evacuate.
Best wishes,
Merlot

Currie · Post by **Currie** » Thu Oct 25, 2007 12:46 pm

I know just how you feel Sheila. I live right next to the bush surrounded by large Australian Eucalypts, beautiful trees but they burn like the blazes. I believe you now have millions of them in California. I dread the Summer and the school holidays as it’s almost a certainty a fire will start somewhere. The worst days are when we get the hot winds, where I am they come from the west.

We had a deliberately lit bushfire a couple of weeks ago, and a house was burned down about a mile away. I had things all worked out in case I couldn’t get away in time. Financial and Insurance documents in the bottom of the cat carrier, cat in the top. All my computer backups in another container I could easily carry. The fire would probably crown into the treetops and be directed at the front of the house. The safest place would be in the small laundry at the back of the house.

I filled the washtub with water and got a large blanket ready. I planned to stay in the burning house for as long as I could, soak myself with buckets of water, drape the wet blanket over myself and the things I had to carry and leave the house as late as possible into an area the fire would have passed over and had slightly cooled down.

Fortunately it all went in the other direction and only the one house was lost. I don’t have a family to worry about and I’m really no longer into fighting bushfires, I’m too old for all this, and it’s still only the middle of Autumn.

I think I’ll build a kayak and paddle off to Iceland.

Do what Marilyn suggested, get all your irreplaceable stuff together and loaded in the car so you can evacuate if the need arises. Keep your most important items, including insurance papers, in an easily carried bag in case the car option becomes unavailable. Make sure you have a battery powered radio, with good batteries, in case the power fails. Fill up the bathtub, buckets, garbage bins, anything else with water in case the mains fail and you need it for whatever reason. Have buckets and containers handy.

If the authorities want you to evacuate do so. Don’t stay with the house unless you have a real capacity of fighting the fire, if you live in hilly terrain don’t even consider it. If you do get stuck, and if you don’t get better advice from elsewhere or you don’t have a better idea yourself, you could try what I had in mind.

Very important also is that if you’re going to be anywhere near a fire situation to wear appropriate clothing if available, heavy woollen, trousers not skirts, avoid synthetics, make sure your hair is covered, strong boots, the less skin exposed the better.

Don’t take risks, make sure you follow any advice given by the authorities, don’t panic, don’t drive into smoke situations where there is no visibility unless you have good reason to believe it is safe to do so. Prepare yourself and home for the worst case scenario and then avoid that scenario by whatever means are possible.

That’s all off the top of my head and I hope you need none of it.

All the best,
Alan

Thrall · Post by **Thrall** » Thu Oct 25, 2007 7:02 pm

Currie wrote: I think I’ll build a kayak and paddle off to Iceland.

Welcome, Allan, and anyone else fleeing fires. You might like to bear in mind that here in Reykjavík it has been raining for the past eight weeks, more or less, (mainly more), and we had the most precipitation in a September since records started, and it looks like October is all set for a record too!

On the brighter side, June and July were fabulous, bright and sunny and warm too, so one can´t really complain. If only our country would live up to its name and have snowy winters again, like in the "old days" before global warming; the last decent snow was in 2000, and skiers are getting desperate.

On a more serious note, I hope all goes well, Shiela. The thought of the unfortunate people who have lost all, even their lives, is appalling.

Thrall

sheilajim · Post by **sheilajim** » Thu Oct 25, 2007 8:17 pm

Hi All,

Things at the moment are getting better. There is no wind at all at the moment and the sea breeze is expected to return. The biggest fear was that some burning embers, from Camp Pendleton, would land in San Clemente and start new fires. Windblown embers can travel several miles, up to five miles, I have been told.

There were a lot of rumors yesterday that a voluntary evacuation was called in San Clemente. I don't know how this rumor started, but thankfully it turned out to be false. The Mayor had to make an announcement, that there was no evacuation plans, here, at this time.

I think that one of the reasons for these wild rumors is that San Diego and LA Counties each have their own media outlets. Orange County, where I live, does not, and is mostly ignored.

San Clemente is not big, and is almost all hills and canyons. I live on one of the hills. The City has cleared out most of the dried out vegetation on a ridge where I live. Two years ago, in the complex where I live, most of the Eucalyptus trees were removed,( they had some kind of disease) but there are still many other kinds of trees. I really don't want them removed, they are so beautiful.

I have been informed that one of my neices, and her husband who live in Fallbrook, a small town, in San Diego County, had to evacuate. I am not sure where they are at the moment. Not only their home, but the restaurant that they own, which is also in Fallbrook, in danger.

I am very thankful that my home is safe, at least for now. Once upon a time, I used to think that living on the coast would keep you safe from fires. Fires in Laguna Beach some years ago changed that notion. The worst thing right now is this awful pall of smoke that seems to be everywhere.

Alan, your story was very scary. Thank goodness the fire went the other way! If I was told to evacuate, I would be go immediately. I am not one of those brave , or foolish, types of people.

I would like to thank everyone for their advice and concern. Talking Scot is made up of wonderful and caring people.

Regards

Post by **Ina** » Fri Oct 26, 2007 1:39 am

sheila, Glad to hear that the winds have died down, and that they are starting to contain some of the fires.

The smoke from the fires is now over the desert. Our sky is bright orange right now, and the smell of fire is in the air. I can only imagine how bad the smoke must be in San Clemente.

Glad to hear that you are safe.

Kind Regards,

Ina

wini · Post by **wini** » Fri Oct 26, 2007 10:44 am

I am very glad all is well with you Sheila.
Bush fires in summer are part of the Australian landscape and unfortunately like you some fires are started by ARSONISTS.
I see on our news tonight that it has been confirmed that one of your worst outbreaks was deliberately lit. The report also said it was someone with some knowledge of how the fire would burn and the weather conditions.
I should imagine if they are ever caught they will be severely dealt with. I hope so.

wini

sheilajim · Post by **sheilajim** » Sat Oct 27, 2007 1:10 am

Hi Ina & Wini,

The smoke here is much better today than it was even earlier this morning. Unfortunately for you, Ina, you are getting some of it now. The sea breeze is pushing a lot of the smoke inland.

Later on tonight the land breeze will probably send more of the smoke back to us here.

It seems that many of the fires, if not out are at least under control. I am so glad that the worst of it is over.

I still haven't heard any news of one of my nieces who was evacuated from Fallbrook. I understand that the fire is still going on there.

Wini, it is really hard to understand the mind set of people who start these fires. They must be deranged. Yesterday, the police arrested two more men, one of them a juvenile, who were caught starting another fire.

Luckily it was put out quickly.

Tomorrow afternoon. I am going to join the Halloween party.

Cheers

Post by **joette** » Mon Oct 29, 2007 4:06 pm

We have been watching a part of the world we all love to visit go up in flames.
All the talk has off course been centred around all the Hollywood stars losing their homes & I didn't shed many tears for them but for folk with few resources or help it has been a disaster.

I have packed a 72 hour survival pack.It's in a back-pack & it has clothing,torch,first-aid kit,food(power bars etc)bottled water,important papers & documents etc & then there is my seperate family history one with all my most precious things & discs etc.Just pack one for each family member & then stow somewhere safe & readilly accessible.

It pays to be prepared & is great when you move house as you can survive for a few days without having to unpack too much.
I would also include any prescription drugs,medication,painkillers.Money especially loose change & a wind-up radio.Oh yes a pen/pencil &
notebook.Address book-your mobile may not work.

Hope that not too much damage has been done to all those beautiful hills & trees.
Glad you escaped unscathed & as to idiots who do this deliberatlety well I can't say what I would do with them-make tham work in a Burns unit for a week is one of my more generous ideas.

Post by **Ina** » Mon Oct 29, 2007 4:40 pm

Hi Joette,

Like you we keep a packed bag handy. We live a few miles from the San Andreas fault, and always have to be prepared in case of earthquakes.

The sad thing about these fires, is that if we have heavy rainfall this winter there could be mudslides. Now that all the trees and brush have been burned, there is nothing to hold the ground together during heavy rainstorms.

Let's just pray that we have a dry winter.

Ina