California Wild Fires 2017

[Aloha]

Hey all my Cali brothers and sisters.  Hope you are all doing well.  I also hope none of you are in the areas these fires are.  Please be safe and listen to whatever instructions are given for your area.  The Santa Ana winds are picking up and with less than 10% containment on these fires we have a ways to go. 
  

[ducttapetech]

Stay safe gents!

[Grant Lamontagne]

How is there anything left to burn in California?  It seems they lose half the state every year to wildfires, and trees don't grow that fast!   

Stay safe everyone!

Def

[Etherealicer]

How is there anything left to burn in California?  It seems they lose half the state every year to wildfires, and trees don't grow that fast!   

Stay safe everyone!

Def

In the desert they use camel turd to make fire... just saying... I mean, trees are not the only thing that burns

Stay safe guys

[Aloha]

Marijuana farms up in flames in the emerald triangle.  High winds knocking down trees all over the county.  45 mph gust fanning flames.  Those firefighters have one heck of a battle going on.  Just got an alert on my phone regarding high winds with gusts to 75 mph and another fire north of my city.  No containment and already 500 acres burned.  2 building and 12 structures burned.  This Santa Ana wind is wreaking havoc.  We're ready here in case we get the call to evacuate.  So far the fires are about 75 miles from me.  Last night we were issued purple warning which is the highest level threat and the first time issued since I've know about the levels. 

   

[SteveC]

Stay safe !   

[Syncop8r]

Stay safe Aloha and other Calis. 

[kaput]

And this is in December... climate change is real folks. Stay safe

[Blackbeard]

damn, be safe guys 

[ToolJoe]

Stay safe all out there! Looks bad from I've had someone at work has shown me (they are from there)

[Poncho65]

Sorry to hear this guys My thoughts and prayers to you all Stay safe and be prepared to evacuate if need be

[ThundahBeagle]

"Angels and ministers of grace defend" you all out in Calif.

Aloha, please keep us updated as to your condition

[Aloha]

The fire is at 4000+ acres and still out of control.  Its heading north of me and towards the Pacific Ocean.  The winds have slowed a bit but we've got a long way to go.  I can be ready to go at a moments notice.  Unless the winds shift I believe I'm good.  I heard on the news we've got some Canadian air tankers helping and the Navy and Marines will join in the morning.

We'll see what the morning brings.  I sure hope no lives are lost.  I did hear some people lost animals which is just sad.
Thanks guys and for the other Californians in the wild fire areas please dont hesitate to evacuate.     

[sir_mike]

The fire is at 4000+ acres and still out of control.  Its heading north of me and towards the Pacific Ocean.  The winds have slowed a bit but we've got a long way to go.  I can be ready to go at a moments notice.  Unless the winds shift I believe I'm good.  I heard on the news we've got some Canadian air tankers helping and the Navy and Marines will join in the morning.

We'll see what the morning brings.  I sure hope no lives are lost.  I did hear some people lost animals which is just sad.
Thanks guys and for the other Californians in the wild fire areas please dont hesitate to evacuate.     

Wow man, that is unbelievable!  Stay safe and I hope they get it under control soon! 

[ironraven]

Remember, if you can see the flames, it's close enough to eat you. If you have a doubt about it, there is no doubt- run.

Just think- you could have an earthquake at the same time. All kinds of adventure then!

[GuacamoleBay]

Remember, if you can see the flames, it's close enough to eat you. If you have a doubt about it, there is no doubt- run.

Just think- you could have an earthquake at the same time. All kinds of adventure then!

Two brothers...

[getahl]

I'm in Simi Valley, which is kind of in the eye of the hurricane. The Thomas Fire up in Ventura is the big one, with 136k acres and zero containment, last I checked. A KOA I've stayed at a couple times is JUST inside the perimeter of the fire, up by Santa Paula (a little east from Ventura).

The closest one to us is the Rye Fire in Santa Clarita. It's a few miles to the N-NE, and was at 7k acres.

The first one for which I saw smoke was in Tujunga Canyon, the Creek Fire. I drove into the San Fernando Valley at 6:30 Monday morning, and the whole sky was smoky. Not really sure how big this one is.

Then there's the Skirball Fire, which was right across the freeway from The Getty Center (beautiful art museum in the Santa Monica Mountains, with free admission, awesome rose garden, and a commanding view of Los Angeles proper). Comedian Joe Rogan had a video on his Instagram driving down the 405 S, at night or early morning, and the whole hillside is on fire. It was surreal. This is the one threatening a bunch of really expensive homes, and was fortunately on the opposite side of the freeway from the Getty. Not sure of the containment level.

There's also one that popped up a day or two ago near Murrieta, which is closer to San Bernardino.

That's the fun of living in SoCal. All is awesome until fire season starts, usually around August or September when the Santa Anas really pick up. This is super late in the year to be having these kind of fires. Not sure if there's been anything about causation. Arson? Downed electrical wires? Carelessly flicking a cig out the window? All it took was a spark, and the wind blew the embers all over the place.

[Syncop8r]

I don't know about your area, but in some parts of the world bush fires are a natural occurrence. There are even plants whose seeds require the heat from a fire to open so they can germinate.

[kaput]

I don't know about your area, but in some parts of the world bush fires are a natural occurrence. There are even plants whose seeds require the heat from a fire to open so they can germinate.

Oregon. We had huge fires this year too. But almost entirely drop dense forest. Still a bummer, especially being set by kids with fireworks in the dry summer... but part of that is a cycle and environmental. We get big forest fires yearly, but caused by lighting and natural causes typically.

Being California and heavily populated these fires are devastating. The Northern California fires especially. Hope these down south subside soon, sound like they are turning the tide on some of those fires.

Hope everyone remains safe

[gregozedobe]

Stay safe everyone. 

And based on what happened in my town when we had a fire go through several years ago, don't leave evacuation too late.  Many people got stuck and couldn't leave because the fire  and associated strong winds dropped lots of trees which blocked many roads completely.  "IF IN DOUBT, GET OUT, NOW !  "  Pack early and be ready to go as needed.

[Alan K.]

Aloha, you say you're ready to go and I hope that is so, but I also hope that you never need to find out.  I used to be a Red Cross disaster services volunteer and a shelter manager, and I know that most people aren't prepared to evacuate even with as much notice as we get here before a hurricane and I understand that when a fire is coming you may get as little as 10 minutes notice but typically around 30 minutes.  Because folks weren't prepared to evacuate they would panic and show up at the shelters with ridiculous items such as pots and pans.  You don't need to grab the pots and pans when ordered to evacuate but you do need to make a list and have as much as possible ready to go on short notice.  I came up with a short list which has been helpful for a lot of people.

1 Family members and pets.  Gather everyone.  If family members are not home make sure they know where you might be going and that they have the means to contact you or the family's emergency contact person. Pets preferably in carriers or cages with a collar and tag for identification and some food and water for them. Most shelters are now allowing pets because so many people refuse to evacuate without them, but they may be segregated in an area separate from their owners in a cage or carrier, so it's best to have your own which also will prevent them from running away while you're trying to pack the car.
2 All of your prescription medications.  and don't forget to have copies of the prescriptions and your doctors' phone numbers in case something needs to be refilled during the duration or aftermath of the calamity if your regular pharmacy is not available.
3 money and jewelry.  If power is out ATMs won't work and you may need cash to buy necessary supplies.  Grab your Jewelry because it also has value and could be traded for items of need as well, and also because jewelry would likely be lost if your home were destroyed.
4 irreplaceable documents and photos.  Make sure you have your ID, but also your credit cards, banking and insurance account information, documents such as mortgage information, wedding and graduation photos, licenses and degrees, birth certificates, etc.
5 a complete copy of the hard drive on your computer. you might be able to bring a laptop or tablet, but it is harder to evacuate with a desk top computer, so copy everything on a separate external drive or thumbdrive because if your computer is destroyed you can still load all your stuff on a new computer when you're safe.
6 food and water and snacks for 3 to 5 days.  If you end up in a shelter they may be able to feed everyone but they may not be able to do this until the storm or calamity has passed and perhaps not for a day or two at least, longer if the power is out or if they are waiting for food to be delivered and the roads are still unsafe, and they will certainly not be able to make anything special for restricted diets or medical needs.
7 Miscellaneous items. including cell phones and chargers, flashlights and batteries, a portable radio, a first aid kit, pillows, blankets, and towels, books and games, a multitool, just to name a few.

During storm or fire season you can pre-position a lot of this stuff so it is ready to go such as by putting all your photo albums, food supplies, and miscellaneous items in stackable plastic totes.  Make sure your family all knows where you will be going and have a friend or family member in another area that everyone can call to check in with in case your family becomes separated. If you have kids it is good to involve them in preparations.  Giving the kids a job helps them focus on doing something useful instead of getting scared, but be sure to keep track of them and don't let them wander off.

[kaput]

 

[pomsbz]

Stay safe! Been evacuated before with a forest fire that came within 50 yards of the house before finally contained. Not fun at all.

[Aloha]

Checking in.  The local fire never got close enough to me to evacuate.  The winds gave the firefighter a break and they got it under control.  We are always ready to leave when we feel threatened.  There is nothing at home that we'd die for.  We've been thru this before and California goes thru this yearly.  There are still fires burning and I do hope they get them 100% under control soon.  The Thomas fire is still burning, over 1/4 million acres already burned.  While fires regenerate areas its still pretty devastating to see homes lost not to mention any lives lost.  The firefighter have done an amazing job.     

[Chako]

 

[Alan K.]

I'm glad you made it through without any damage or injury.  The firefighters are earning their paychecks this year for sure.