Southern California - SO CAL FOLKS AFFECTED BY FIRES - Please Check In

Not close last I checked, but fires there have a nasty tendency to reach Claremont. Claremont's last line of defense is Baldy Rd and Pomello Rd. My parents are the second house south of Pomello Rd, and many a fire has reached Pomello Rd. Four years ago, the fire station on the corner of Pomello Rd and Mills Rd burned.

Your parents' house is in a scary location. :eek:

It seems in a climate like this, you never know if/when some yahoo arsonist is going to start something just for the heck of it. :mad:

We're used to it. The fire fighters at that station do a good job of protecting northern Claremont south of those two roads, sometimes at the expense of their own station (which is on the wrong side of their line of last defense).

Even though I don't live in SoCal anymore, I still consider myself an Angelino. It is horrifying to hear all the devestation. Thanks, or maybe no thanks, to the Internet, I can still keep up with what's going on with the fire. But then again, this does have national attention. Hearing the reports that the big fires won't be contained till Saturday or Monday, is depressing. I just hope and pray everyone makes it through okay (and I'm not typically a praying man).

I live in Chula Vista but along the coast. Sky is red and everything covered in ash. My daughter lives in Rolling Hills and has just been evacuated

Sorry to hear, Pockets. :( San Diego is really getting the brunt of it.

Sorry to hear, Pockets. :( San Diego is really getting the brunt of it.

Again. :(

The fire has reached Mt. Palomar

:cry: It just keeps burning.

went to my dad's this morning in Oceanside, all smoky there. Dropped off some thing and came back to the clearer skys here in Esco. Winds have died down there so I'm assuming there is a breeze coming off the coast causing the smoke to come back on shore. Now I just heard there ar two fires that broke out on Camp Pend. When will it END!!!!

Wifey is napping so I'm gonna head over to high school to give a hand.

At last some positive news. Winds have taken a westerly direction in Malibu.

My Dad and I were able to get back to Rancho Bernardo (his house) and Rancho San Pasqual (my house) today.

Good news: My house has (so far) been untouched. The hills surrounding it were burned, and some houses in the development were singed a bit, but all are still standing. Now the area is being threatened by the Lake Wohlford fire.

My parents and in-laws houses in RB are still standing. We met up with three neighbors on the same street, and needed to check in with SDPD to get a police escort into the Westwood area of RB. They were only escorting people who needed to pick up medications, and were giving them just 5 minutes to check. I'm sure there are some people hoping against hope...there's something like 100 homes destroyed. On the street just below my parents, about 10 houses are burned...on the next street over, over 20 are just gone. A house three-doors-down from my parents was being renovated, so it didn't have stucco on the addition...it burned. The truck in the driveway was a scorched hulk.

Unreal...just unreal the devastation and loss of lifelong memories those people will need to endure. I'm really glad that, so far, it isn't me. Things could change.

I hope everybody is still doing okay.

I hope everyone is doing OK. Our home has been turned into a mini-evacuation center over the past two days. Our friends in Scripps Ranch hope they will be able to go back home today.

I know this sounds petty considering what others are going through, but it totally sucks not to be able to ride.

Your poor neighbors, Mo. :( Glad to hear yours and your dad's homes are OK, tho!

Paul, I hope you and your family continue to be fortunate enough to not suffer any major losses.

I know this sounds petty considering what others are going through, but it totally sucks not to be able to ride.I saw a guy riding through Oceanside today wearing a full kit and a white particle mask.

I saw a guy riding through Oceanside today wearing a full kit and a white particle mask.

Did the mask have corporate logos on it? :p

My Dad and I were able to get back to Rancho Bernardo (his house) and Rancho San Pasqual (my house) today.

Good news: My house has (so far) been untouched. The hills surrounding it were burned, and some houses in the development were singed a bit, but all are still standing. Now the area is being threatened by the Lake Wohlford fire.

I hope everybody is still doing okay.

That is good news, Mo. Hopefully, but yet sadly, the vegetation around your house has burned to where it no longer is a fuel source for the fires. I heard that today on the news. Areas that have been burned where houses were spared are still fragile, but at least the dry brush immediately surrounding the homes is lessened thus making the situation more combatible.

Did the mask have corporate logos on it? :pMaybe it's that stormtropper looking mask someone posted a month or 2 ago?

I know this sounds petty considering what others are going through, but it totally sucks not to be able to ride.

Like I said to Dan yesterday, I'm with you on this one. We are all humans, after all, and it does suck! Not to mention the damage being done to areas where we ride that were so beautiful. This doesn't make us petty or callous. It's simply understandable and part of the loss, IMO.

Like I said to Dan yesterday, I'm with you on this one. We are all humans, after all, and it does suck! Not to mention the damage being done to areas where we ride that were so beautiful. This doesn't make us petty or callous. It's simply understandable and part of the loss, IMO.

+1

Plus, having now ridden over many of these burned areas, I feel a much greater appreciation for the loss. Had I not been a cyclist, many of the affected areas would have been mere names and statistics.

I'm back at home. Scripps Ranch evacuation lifted. Everything's cool here. I hope everyone is as lucky as me. I'm chilling some beer.

I hope all is well with all of you and you guys stay safe. I was thinking about all of you at work last night as my crew and I were watching the news. I said a prayer for all of you and your families. I'm glad to see you are all ok so far. Please be careful and stay safe.......

The view from Mt. Wilson:
http://www.astro.ucla.edu/~obs/towercam.htm

Good to see all of you checking in and staying safe. I wonder how/where Bill (nosra451) is!

Wow, Tiff. You are so right...I hope he's okay as I'm sure he is one of the brave fire fighters out on the line.

The evacuation is lifted in Topanga, so I'm going home tonight. I'm relieved but it's hard to be too happy. One of my best friends parents live north of San Diego. The fire went through their neighborhood and they're still unsure about the condition of their house. Ugh.

Well, I'm happy you get to go home, Ron.

News from Mt Palomar :(

Posted @ 5:17 PM

The Poomacha fire, which started as house fire on La Jolla Indian Reservation, is burning up South Grade Road on Palomar Mountain.

Firefighters are setting backfires and making a stand at State Park Road, near the top of the mountain, to prevent the fire from reaching homes on Crestline and elsewhere up the mountain.

The Palomar Mountain Store is at State Park Road, where it intersects with South Grade.

As an update to Palomar. My girlfriends parents live on Crestline at the top of the Mt. They were evacuated this morning @ 4AM. Thankfully this was plenty of time to get people off the mountain.

The bad news is last we heard the fire burned up South Grade and is on it's way to the top. The firefighters had taken up position around crestline (the fire station) and further up the mountain to make a stand.

Last we heard the fire had reach the "top" of the mountain which is hard to determine where but it certainly is threating the state park, the observatory, the fire station, and crestline rd.

lets hope that they can save the homes in that area.

Things are okay here in Point Loma. Lots of friends and family were evacuated from all over the County. In my office of twenty, there were only three of us present. Downtown was like a ghost town.

just a quick word to y'all (my best transplanted texan) to keep safe and thanks for checking in.

For the time being I'm going to sticky this thread to make it easy to find.

Marty

Thanks, Marty. :)

My thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected. Stay safe. You're all far too valuable to lose.

Be Safe.

:(

I thought we were pretty safe at our place in Lake Forest, but the fire map at the OC Register site shows the fire got to within less than a thousand yards, down a brushy corridor interrupted only by a single road where firefighters stopped it. A bit unsettling; I hadn't realized we were quite so exposed..

The latest update is that the Santiago fire is 50% contained, so the worst may be over for OC. Whiting Ranch is completely gone, as are many of the best mountain bike/hiking trails in the nearby forests.

Not to mention the damage being done to areas where we ride that were so beautiful. This doesn't make us petty or callous. It's simply understandable and part of the loss, IMO.

I know what you mean. So many of the routes I take on long weekend rides have been effected. My heart goes out to people that have lost their homes. Even those that have not been effected will have quite a mess to clean up over the next couple of months. Not to mention how their views and landscapes will be scarred for some time.

The latest update is that the Santiago fire is 50% contained, so the worst may be over for OC. Whiting Ranch is completely gone, as are many of the best mountain bike/hiking trails in the nearby forests.

:(

And next...the floods when it rains.

I thought we were pretty safe at our place in Lake Forest, but the fire map at the OC Register site shows the fire got to within less than a thousand yards, down a brushy corridor interrupted only by a single road where firefighters stopped it. A bit unsettling; I hadn't realized we were quite so exposed..

The latest update is that the Santiago fire is 50% contained, so the worst may be over for OC. Whiting Ranch is completely gone, as are many of the best mountain bike/hiking trails in the nearby forests.

You must be real close to where a good friend that just moved up there is. Talked with her yesterday and she said that on her way home the previous evening, the flames were appeared to be within about a 1/2 mile of the friend's place she is staying at. Fortunately the firefighters stopped it and they did not have to evacuate.

We have a lot of narrow strips of brushy wildland intermingled with relatively new tracts of homes in this area. Guess I'm no genius, but it had never occured to me that these amount to brushfire highways. Our roads tend to be four laners even in quiet areas, though, so firefighters have great access and fires have a tough time making the jumps. I imagine that's why there are a lot of folks here who were physically quite close to the fires but in little actual danger.

An entirely different story with the folks living up in the canyons, of course...

I know it's been asked earlier, but anyone have any clue how Nosra451 is doing?

Hey thanks for the thoughts. I'm kinda fine. It seems that I tore a muscle in my lower back the day before the fires started, go figure! I will be off duty for a while trying to rehab. This will be the first fire storm I have missed in 23 years, and I'm bummed. Pass the Vicodin. My heart goes out to the friends and neighbors who aren't so lucky.

Well, Bill, personally I'd rather you be in rehab than out in that, but I understand your desire to be with your guys too. My heart and prayers go out to those guys. I can't even imagine the heat and smoke they have to contend with.

Hey thanks for the thoughts. I'm kinda fine. It seems that I tore a muscle in my lower back the day before the fires started, go figure! I will be off duty for a while trying to rehab. This will be the first fire storm I have missed in 23 years, and I'm bummed. Pass the Vicodin. My heart goes out to the friends and neighbors who aren't so lucky.

Sorry to hear that Bill...hope you are better soon!!
My brother-in-law is retired Monterey Park, I know he misses it...wont admit it...
He did say it brought back memories of 93 ..he had a strike team in Topanga at that one...

The unfortunate thing is, it looks like his brother lost his house in Running Springs....

Another NorCal denizen sending out tons of good wishes to all of you in SoCal who are in the front lines of this. If the NorCal BF contingent can do something to help, let us know.

Seriously.

Meanwhile, please stay safe. Your lives are far more important than any stuff you may have.

Thanks for checking in guys. So far, breath held, everyone seems to be coming through okay and that's a good thing to hear.

Mission Valley is all OK. Unfortunately my RV is in Ramona. I heard from owner of the lot that they didn't sustain any fire damage but all the RV's are very dirty and possibly smoke damaged. Trying to arrange somewhere in Yuma to bring it to so the insurance guys can look at it. Down here for Uncle Sam and supposed to leave next week. I'll be on my own dime after next Wednesday if I try and do insurance stuff here. Can live free in Yuma at the folks if I can get someone to open on a Saturday.

I flew into LAX from London on Monday night and all I can say is that on the approach it looked like a war zone....even the flight crew were taken aback.....we'd heard what was happening back in London it still shocked us all.....

My heart goes out to all affected and the beautifull state of California....

Take care everyone.....

Vanessa

As an update to Palomar. My girlfriends parents live on Crestline at the top of the Mt. They were evacuated this morning @ 4AM. Thankfully this was plenty of time to get people off the mountain.

The bad news is last we heard the fire burned up South Grade and is on it's way to the top. The firefighters had taken up position around crestline (the fire station) and further up the mountain to make a stand.

Last we heard the fire had reach the "top" of the mountain which is hard to determine where but it certainly is threating the state park, the observatory, the fire station, and crestline rd.

lets hope that they can save the homes in that area.

One of my best friends grew up in Crestline and his family still lives there. I called and found out his parents and his sister lost their homes (and are now staying with him in Aliso Viejo). They can't really say what has been saved and what has not and they are waiting to hear from their firends to see if everyone is OK. Thankfully those folks have been through this drill before so knew to get out and away from the fire.

Been watching the fire coverage here on CNN while I've been down with a case of the flu. Even as bad as I've felt over the last 48hrs, seeing and hearing all this makes me realize it could be a lot worse. I also hear that they've arrested one man accused of starting at least one of these fires. But there are other fires which are possible arson that they don't have anyone yet. Thoughts are with you all still displaced by these fires.

I have to stop reading the news. It is heartwrenching to read about those who lost everything. I heard some comments made on Tuesday at the gym about how most of those who lost their homes could "afford the loss and pick up easier than if 'they' were poor." I was shocked by it, but didn't open my mouth as usual to say anything and just moved to a different piece of equipment.

There are many people who lost their homes in these fires that cannot simply rebuild or buy another home. That is absolutely untrue. Many of those folks worked for years to build, buy and/or design their homes that went up in smoke and have been reduced to rubble. And many of those people didn't have a chance to remove much more than essentials when they were told to evacuate. I don't understand humans sometimes and this "rich vs. poor" mentality. I feel just as badly for the million dollar home owner as I do for the five member family who scraped money together to buy a home. Human loss is loss, period, and no one should have had to suffer the tragedy of having their world, memories and home taken from them.

Thought I would share a story from the wildfires the wildfires that may generate a smile or two.

On Monday morning as the fires were really raging, I was at work getting some things while my wife was at home packing the back our car with all our essentials. She went though an emergency checklist and gather important documents, pictures, change of clothes and the like.

When I returned home my bike was on the back of the car. I guess my ride is essential :D