Pray for SoCal - the place is burning

[Skull]

Pray for San Diego ...come day break round two. Just ran out to the drug store for sleep pills ..I noticed the planes are landing from the west @ Lindberg ...that is not a good omen! Santa Ana's are reaching the Bay ...was hoping it was the late returning USCG patrol plane which usually lands from the west...instead it was a Southwest Airlines.

 

[joystershell]

Mike took D_B to Ft Lauderdale airport this morning, for a 6:10 am flight to Dallas, then a connection home to San Diego. Hopefully, he'll be able to get in. He was counting on someone to pick him up at the airport. That looks debatable at this point. He thinks that since the stadium where they were sending evacuees is near his home and work, that he should be okay once he is home. Wish him well!

 

[RonDawg]

Eastern San Diego County is absolutely taking the brunt...over 500 homes lost so far. Entire neighborhoods went up in flames simply because there weren't enough firefighters to go around.

300 THOUSAND people have been evacuated...that's 1 out of 10 people in the entire county.

Lake Arrowhead is threatening to eclipse even the horrific San Diego County losses. Over 150 so far and the firefighters aren't anywhere near having a handle on it.

 

[Skull]

The Witch Creek fire is up to 164,000 acres and has breached Fair Banks Ranch and burned thrue Rancho Santa Fe all night. This fire is approaching the Del Mar area through Via de la Valle. Saw some footage of several houses exploding along Via de le Valle ...sad.

As of 7:45am the Harris Ranch fire is 75,000 acres and is breaching the east end of Bonita, Chula Vista and National City. Otay Ranch is burning unabated right up to Donovan State and George Bailly Prisons.

All military bases are closed till thursday and basicaly the entire public facilities i.e. fed, state, county and local are evacuation stations. Qualcomm is home to 20,000 folks this morning. There are no vacancies in any hotel from San Ysidro to Orange County.

SDG&E have lost several distribution and a couple transmission lines ...no power means no h2o / well pumps in the east county as well as no HVAC for the east county which will hit the high 90s to low triple digit temps today ...Have several buddies who are linemen and they told me they are at the mercy of the fires but more importantly the Santa Ana's ...a CDF fireman on the Harris fire got hit trying to crawl under a fence which was energized by a downed 12kV distribution line. Pray for that man ...please! 12 kVolts offers no mercy to a human body.

Air quality is very poor today which is troublsome for the retired and folks with respitory problems.

Sounds like the flights departing are heading over head toward the pacific which is a good sign concerning wind direction...there is hope!

 

[Dash]

Check out the following maps for SD and LA

Google Maps

Los Angeles County Fire Department - Temporarily Down for Maintenance

(scroll out or go east too see all the LA fires

 

[drbill]

I've only heard back from one of my friends in the San Diego area. Their house was threatened and they evacuated yesterday at 4:00 AM but are back home. All those whose homes are in danger are in my thoughts... especially since I nearly lost mine in May during Catalina's big fire.

 

[jonix]

been following this on the news. my prayers to all affected. i hope no sb member gets injured.

 

[Kayla]

The new updates tonight look scary you guys!! Be careful down there!! If you guys need a place to go... I know its a pretty long drive, but my house is always open. Good luck down there!

 

[ShakaZulu]

I was evacuated, but moved back last night....woohhoo, where is the marshmelloes?

I think the hole firefighting thing needs to be revised. In a area known for fires, this is BS. I saw miles and miles of fire burning the night before last night, with no firefighters in site. I think those trucks are 4x4, but no, we'll wait till the flames get to 45ft and burning down houses before we do something....oh, and the news video with Arnold giving a speech with a firetruck in the background? Shouldn't it be putting out fires? Don't get me wrong, this was and still is one hell of a challenge for our firefighters, and they are doing a great job.

On the otherhand, San Diegans have united and everyone has been very positive and helpfull. Thank god for Arny, cause he is the reason for getting the bigger planes down here. Now Bush is waiting till the fires are under control before he comes to support the citizens . Thankfully Qualcomm Stadium, used as an evacuation center worked out well, and the horrors of Katrina wasn't repeated.

It's not over yet, thanks for everyone's concern and support. Feelings of frustration and sadness and hope....

 

[Teamcasa]

I live nestled up to the mountains as well. Fire is a real big deal to us. However, I also know that when the wind is blowing that hard with tons of fuel to burn, all the firefighters, tankers, aircraft and bulldozers in the state won’t stop it. We have all seen fire apparatus trucks brunt as a result of getting to close (in an effort to save a single house) and some brave firefighters have sadly perished trying to save people houses.

Recriminations are the natural fallout of our media driven society. It’s just too bad they rarely get all the information and thier facts straight before they start broadcasting.