The Anaheim Hills fire is to the north of us and now they are showing the equestrian center at Irvine Regional Park is on fire, about 3-4 miles upwind. The water dropping helicopters and jets are passing right overhead.
Our area is now under mandatory evacuation, and I have the car loaded and ready to go. They can’t make you leave, but if you do, they can keep you from coming back. It’s wait and see now!
http://abc7.com/anaheim-hills-fire-explodes-to-2000-acres-burns-homes/2512065/
Having been on the other side of that coin most of my professional career I really bite my tongue on that level of wisdom.(https://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-cool.gif)
I understand hanging out if you can really seriously protect your house, i.e. pumps, a full swimming pool, generators and off road vehicles to escape.
Few people have this capability, or the experience to do this. Biting tongue on rest of the thread.
Greg
I agree with David. Being on the end of fighting fires, 3-4 miles is not a buffer at all. Between you and your possessions only one can be replaced.
Chris
Here’s wishing luck and safety to y’all and to the rest.
We evacuated to a friend’s house, at least for the night. They’ve been showing our neighborhood (Cowan Heights) on the news, and so far, it appears that my house still stands. They always take extra care of Cowan Heights, but I’ll probably have a house coated in red gooey phos-check.
Wish us luck.
Good Luck and be safe.
I traded baranca fires for fast moving grass fires … I hate burning season!
Meanwhile, up in Northern California, the 73,000 acres of fires in the Sonoma and Napa County wine country is resulting in massive evacuations and destruction, as well. My daughter was evacuated earlier today and is safe but there are others, including some BAGRS and Redwood Empire GRS members, who may still be in jeopardy. We can smell the smoke 50 miles away in Martinez and my wife and others with asthma are suffering, too. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected by the OC and Napa/Sonoma fires.
I hate fires! Good luck to all who are affected!
Be safe Todd. The smoke finally reached Burbank this afternoon and we could just barely see the sun at sunset. And we’re fifty miles from you! From our back porch, the smoke trail goes almost to Conejo Valley and Oxnard. This one’s a bad one!
Isn’t Vic somewhere near there?
Tim said:
Isn’t Vic somewhere near there?
No I’m in Pasadena, a good distance away. But we have friends who are in the NW corner of the evacuation zone, I haven’t heard anything from them other than that they were in a mandatory evac zone. Todd don’t take any unnecessary chances. As bad as this has been, Santa Rosa up north got it 1000x worse, over 1500 buildings burned, thousands evacuated, terrible day for California.
PS this recalls vivid memories of the Station Fire, which is as close as I ever want to get to another fire. We had fully carbonized twigs and bits of trees falling in our yard. Really scary being downwind of this.
A related distraction: “They return to Watson, passing through unincorporated West Carson as smoke from the Anaheim Hills fire obscures the setting sun over the Palos Verdes Peninsula.”
http://www.railpictures.net/photo/633715/
Which brings to mind a question about current air quality where you are.
and then back to serious stuff,
“It is possible that many or most of the missing are safe but simply can’t be reached because of the widespread loss of cell service and other communications.”
http://abc7.com/10-dead-100-reported-missing-as-fires-ravage-ca-wine-country/2511052/
I always felt that the anxiety of Hurricanes was a lot of stress. Our recent travels West brought the threats of “Wild Fires” to the same level. I wish you all the best. Please stay safe.
Todd and others, be safe. I fully share your concerns. Wild-land fires are nasty and unpredictable.
God Bless our wild-land fire fighters and watch over them too.
They’ve revised the evac map looks like my friends house is now outside of the evac zone, still haven’t heard from them, probably wont until all this is settled.
Todd,
if you are insured, grab documents and old family pics and just get out!!!
as civilian you can do next to nothing against that fire, but while staying you add another liability to the firefighters.
as local firechief i love civilians that get in the way, when we are firefighting!
Boomer K MOGWAI said:
God Bless our wild-land fire fighters and watch over them too.
Indeed. That is not a job to be taken lightly.
Or perhaps it isn’t a job, but rather a calling.
And you don’t choose it, it chooses you.
It seems that way in firefighters I know.
