San Diego fire

Old Oct 27th, 2003, 09:08 AM
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San Diego fire

Hello, guys,
just got an e-mail from our management regarding our San Diego office, want to share part of it.

An unfortunate combination of circumstances - unusually warm temperatures, hot and strong Santa Ana winds, a wet Spring followed by 6 months of dry weather, and the deployment of much of San Diego's fire fighting force to San Bernardino earlier last week to help on fires that threatened that area - have led to a sudden and severe fire emergency in San Diego. In the course of just a few hours this morning the City burst into flames in several different geographic regions, and the fires have swept across many residential areas.

Early this evening the Mayor asked all SD employers to close for the day on Monday (10-27), so as to keep people off the roads and facilitate the movement of emergency personnel and vehicles. Most elementary, middle and high schools in San Diego also will be closed.

This is as much as i can share. Scared just to think about being there now.

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Old Oct 27th, 2003, 01:35 PM
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go to http://www.signonsandiego.com/
they have some very vivid pictures. lived in san diego for 10 years and never experienced the fires so close to the city. one picture shows i-15 & claremont mesa blvd - fires right there.
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Old Oct 27th, 2003, 02:07 PM
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Just got off the phone with my sister who lives in Escondido. They were evacuated last night (15 minute warning) but managed to get back into their neighborhood this afternoon. She told me that one of the fires (Paradise/Valley Center) is currently about five blocks from their home and there are no firefighters available to battle it.

They just feel so helpless...and so do I.


Strive
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Old Oct 27th, 2003, 03:25 PM
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There are currently over 500 firefighters at the Paradise/Valley Center fire. This particular fire seems to be especially unpredictable as the wind keeps changing and there are miles and miles of unburned chapparal and trees.

The Governor announced a couple of hours ago that he has arranged for additional fire trucks from Arizona and Nevada. Nevada is also sending two helicoptors. All this help is coming to San Diego and we are all very grateful.

Schools will be closed again tomorrow.

itt, yesterday, the fires got all the way to I-805 and the merge with I-5.

This is the scariest fire in the 26 years I've lived here. The sky is completely brown and ashes are falling everywhere. We are warned to keep windows closed to keep the polluted air out and to prevent embers from flying in and setting the house on fire. Everything is so quiet. Apparently the ash has a similar effect to snow. I must say, snow would be highly preferable!
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Old Oct 27th, 2003, 05:09 PM
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Barbara: Our thoughts and prayers are with you from Northern California!

Our small town has already sent 1/3 of its firefighters with fire engines down south! Hope they can help!

Jason
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Old Oct 27th, 2003, 05:27 PM
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There are many fires going on. Air quality outside of the fire areas are poor. We have been instructed to drink a lot of fluids and minimize physical activity outside.

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Old Oct 27th, 2003, 05:32 PM
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What a terrible time for you. My thoughts are with you. What brave people these firefighters are. They need nature on their side not against them. Let us hope that the winds die down and the rains come.
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Old Oct 27th, 2003, 05:32 PM
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Sending prayers. Be safe.
 
Old Oct 27th, 2003, 07:09 PM
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Sending all my prayers from here in NYC. Can't even begin to imagine what it must be like over there, even after dealing with 9/11.
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Old Oct 27th, 2003, 07:45 PM
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When I stepped outside yesterday morning it was so dark that it almost looked like an eclipse. Ash covers everything and is fluttering through the air like snowflakes. There are evacuation centers all over the county.

Thank you to all of you for thinking of us.
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Old Oct 27th, 2003, 08:27 PM
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Jason, thank you and everyone else for your kind thoughts - and your firefighters. I and my family are lucky-we are only inconvenienced by ash and polluted air. And believe me, that is a small, trivial thing compared to the trauma many others have gone through and which is continuing for a new set of people every few hours.
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Old Oct 27th, 2003, 09:09 PM
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Praying for you all in Southern California from here in Asheville, North Carolina.

I've only smelled the smoke and seen it drifting in from distant forest fires here, and that was frightening enough. I can't imagine what you must be going through.
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Old Oct 27th, 2003, 09:18 PM
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Barbara: I'm certain there are lots of good people across the US thinking and praying for all of you in SoCal.

I've been on the phone most of the night with family and friends down south. We know people who are not very mobile, but are assured that the fire is not close to where they live and that they will be taken care of, in an emergency.

One relative told me that the firefighters are unable to really get a handle on the fires because the Santa Ana winds shift direction so suddenly that it's impossible to predict which way the wind will be blowing. It appears that all of Los Angeles has been warned to evacuate at a moment's notice.

Originally I was going to drive down and try to help in whatever way I could, but it appears that we amateurs will only get in the way, so all we can do is wait and pray for all of you.

Be brave! And hope the powers that be remember to make more firebreaks in the future!

Jason
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Old Oct 28th, 2003, 10:37 AM
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Hi everyone: We live in Sabre Springs, next door to Poway. On Sunday, we packed a bag in case we had to evacuate as there was a fire in Poway and one in Carmel Mountain Ranch. We didn't have to leave, but the air is terrible, even in our house. We've got 2 air cleaners running and my eyes are still watering. I feel so terrible for those who have lost their lives or their homes. It's just devastating.
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Old Oct 28th, 2003, 10:44 AM
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I'm sending best wishes from up the 5/405-- and hopes that you get through this well and whole. The ash problem has been unusually bad up in Long Beach-- stuff drifting up from SD, over from Temecula and San Bernardino, down from Simi Valley. But the Santa Anas will be going away soon! It should be downright cool by this weekend, so relief is only a day or two away!!
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Old Oct 28th, 2003, 01:39 PM
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Certainly hope so!

rjw - happy for you that you are on the coast, but hear that the ash is like snow. Hot snow!

On TV, just saw a man who had lost everything crying - heartbreaking!

Take care, SoCal! Still praying for you all!

Jason
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Old Oct 28th, 2003, 01:48 PM
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jason: Yeah, we're lucky to be out of the directly affected areas. The ash is very annoying, but I'll take hosing the car off over digging for my insurance and mortgage paperwork under smoking rubble.

I don't know how I'd react to losing everything. It's always a possibility during an earthquake, I suppose. But at this point in life, I'd probably shed a tear or two and then just start over, as long as I was OK and my loved ones were OK. Still, I'd rather not have to find out how I'd react.

Hang in there, San Diegans!! We're all sending good thoughts!
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Old Oct 28th, 2003, 02:07 PM
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Hi everyone. the sky is wo weird today. It looks as if it's going to pour rain any minute, but it's not. It's a huge pall of smoke over the whole area, dropping ash all the time. Driving on the freeway evryone had headlights on and visibility is very poor. There's much more traffic today, though.The smell is much worse today.

I saw sevral Marine helicopters making water-drop runs, but I think the overall poor visibility is severely impeding any help from the air.

A couple of hours ago a mandatory evacuation order went out for the mountain town of Julian and neighboring hamlets. I hope the firefighters - who are absolutely heroic! - are able to stop the flames from reaching the apple orchards.

Sunshine, PUSD schools are closed tomorrow too. I think they'll be closed all week because the air is so bad.
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Old Oct 28th, 2003, 02:10 PM
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My sister lives in Scripps Ranch, the hardest hit neighborhodd in SD. Their house was spared by inches and they have been let back in, but MANY of their friends and neighbors have not been so lucky.
My sister says it is like nuclear winter. They can hardly breathe and it was pitch dark at 2 in the afternoon.
If you want to see some really terrifying pictures, to understand what it was like to be there, go to www.scrippsranch.org. Send prayers to those who lost so much.
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Old Oct 28th, 2003, 02:22 PM
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Also, Palomar Mountain is being evacuated as the Paradise fire heads in that direction. The Cedar fire, which is threatening Julian, has a second branc further to the south which is now causing evacuations of Descanso and Pine Valley. I-8 is closed in both directions.
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