Well, what a weekend! Sunday night, my wife drives off to work, then calls me on her way, "Honey, I can see fire on the hill just above our house."

"No problem, they'll put it out before it comes too close. We're fine. Thanks."

Well, we were fine. Never really in any sort of danger. But, as the evening progressed, the air traffic grew, with those huge helicopters roaring right over our house. Then, we could see the fire from our house, coming down the hill. They must have been going right through the richer neighborhoods. Amazing.
http://www.hometownstation.com/images/stories/scvfire2.jpg
Still, it would have to go through alot of homes before it got to us.

The kids and I eat a quick dinner (PB & J and Doritos...yumm). The smoke is starting to come near us and the business district just in front of us.
http://www.hometownstation.com/images/stories/scvfire1.jpg
Finally, the smoke is too much. So we pack up a few things. Everyone in the neighborhood is doing the same. Computers, important paper files, wallets & money, dogs, dog food, a couple pillows and a blanket. Throw on a jacket and shoes...Hah! bet you thought I was going to say bicycle or something!! Nope, just the essentials. It hurt, but I left my bike behind :(

The fire swept from east to west across our upside-down Santa Clarita triangle. A couple houses a block or two just north of us did burn down. We're located by the right-edge of the 'y' in Sunday in this pic:
http://www.hometownstation.com/images/stories/pathoffire.jpg

So we end up staying overnight with some friends across the river. Unfortunately, we weren't able to return to our home until about 2pm on Monday. But, at least everything was fine. No burns even close to our home. Just smoke.

Worst part? I missed the Monday morning group ride :( And, with these winds, I probably won't be able to ride Tuesday, either.

Now, I'm off to class. Wish you all coulda been here :)

Mark, first of all, glad everyone and everything is safe. Any smoke damage? I imagine, at the least, your house/yard are covered in ash?

We were driving in Santa Clarita on Sunday and saw the early stages. Seemed like a very small brush fire, at first, but as we got closer, and saw a constant stream of air drops, it was apparent that the winds were going to have their way with the fire.

You didn't miss anything -- I was the only one who showed up. Dead calm in Sherman Oaks all day today, but it was quite blustery up in Northridge. Odd.

You didn't miss anything -- I was the only one who showed up. .

Vance? On a solo ride?! :rolleyes:

Glad to hear you're OK, Mark! :)

Hey Mark, good to hear you are safe. How close are you to Stevenson Ranch? I am here in Simi and it looks as though the flames will be cresting the mountain any time.

DBD

Mark, I hope everything is ok. My son lives just off of Rainbow Glen and Soledad Canyon, he said it was quit an event last night. He called me about 2 hours ago, 3:00pm, to say as he stepped outside his bank branch at The Old Rd. and McBean he could see a huge plump of smoke due west in Stevenson Ranch, about a mile away. I hope this fire doesn't take aim on Santa Clarita from the west.

Damn, I'm glad I didn't go up I-5 last night. I didn't realize the fire would get this bad. Hope everything works out for everyone there ...

Whew that was close Mark! Glad everything worked out ok and your family is safe. Next time call me, I'll pick up the bike and even provide the P&J sandwiches. We can leave my Huffy frame in the char for insurance purposes!:p

I just saw news coverage of Stevenson Ranch. The fire is literally right next to a bunch of houses.

I saw a couple people leisurely walking out of their house into their cars with a massive blaze less than 50 feet away from them. People are nuts for not running.

I really hope this fire wasn't arson.

Thanks, all. Yeah it was wierd. A couple house burned down, but all the others around them were fine. Just those floating embers I guess.

The Stevenson Ranch fire is west of us about 7-8 miles. Assuming the wind keeps blowing westerly, we're fine. It's also a separate fire. That makes three up here in SCV. I hope it doesn't go to Simi. Those hills would be hard to put it out.

Thanks for the offer Beanz :)

My girlfriends dad is fighting one of those fires