Plastic pipe to run gas? Sheesh.
I was oblivious and worked as a sprinkler installer. I could get the 1/2" black plastic for free and my dad had no idea. Worse, it ran across a garden only 6" down. Lucky it never got a spade hit.
That’s t-shirt and thong weather in PA however the police tend to frown on wearing your thong backwards here but you might be able to get away with it out there.
As for the water you could fill some large pots with water and put them out in the sun for the day to help with warming up some water. Or keep the garden hose full of water for the day? Only a thought.
Once again thinking of all out there. The images are stomach churning and really beyond comprehension for a roosters brain.
I’ve ordered a camping solar water heater and a storage battery. Should have the water heater in a couple of days. I’ve also found out a few places where they are offering showers. We did a load of laundry yesterday and tried using the dryer on air dry, let’s just say it’s the laundromat from now on.
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Vic, are the Santa Ana’s looking bad in the forecast for you?
Maybe with so much burnt off, not as much a threat for your area but big time for nearby ones…
Any thought on when your power will return? Maybe not, if things are all in a stressful limbo for the city.
Prayers and thoughts still going your way,
Cliff
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The worst winds are predicted to go around us through the canyons in Santa Clarita and Cajon. We have electricity, in fact we never lost it. The lights flickered a few times. They had just gone down our block upgrading the infrastructure not too long ago. It’s the gas thats been cut off, this is so they can cap houses north of us. According to my neighbor there’s a possibility of that work being completed in a few more days, which is a hellova lot better than weeks. We shall see what happens on that front. Right now we’re using the microwave to heat water, works but its tedious.
Thoughts and prayers for you guys.
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Thanks for explaining, Vic. I’m glad you at least have power.
I heard on the radio that the SA winds will are picking up again, 50-70 mph, sheesh…
Even though I was raised in CA, and spent years in Altadena, it always gave me a weird-spooky feeling when hot evening wind blew west from the inland desert areas. If the Devil wanted to spread a fire, that region-wide blow torch would, and did, do it.
This Christmas, we a white elephant gift was a large thick plastic bag with a valve and tap , that when placed in the bath tub and attached to the faucet and filled gives you up to 100 gallons of potable water. We all Laughed about it, but now seeing people could really use it now.
Our power was out from ~9:15 AM until 10:15 PM on Mon.
When a new battery arrived Mon afternoon for my generator, it wouldn’t start. I’ve been trying to track the problem to no avail (maybe a fuel solenoid or fuel stepper motor or ???) and the shop is supposed to pick it up on Mon or Tue. for repair.
Still, better to be without power than without a home.
Update: Red Flag Warning cancelled, Evac warning zone cancelled. Gas Company has 50% restored gas service, the bad news is they’re going from east to west and were on the far west end. Almost back to normal, we might even get some light rain this weekend, let’s hope so. I’m still very mentally exhausted. The MIK challenge has given me something positive to focus on.
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Vic,
This came across my feed this morning. Thoughts?
I haven’t heard of it survived, most of Christmas Tree Lane was spared, but I don’t know what individual house this was in. The area is under the curfew zone so no none residents allowed. I’m glad to read it survived. It was really scary how one house would be destroyed but the one next would be untouched.
After reading the stress you’ve been under and watching the news, I was hit with mixed feelings that they and their community came together and returned after deciding to evacuate to attempt to save something important to the group. And I was very glad to hear the railroad was saved without loss of life.
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This fire ran hard. Seems like every record wind event they get stronger. Glad you made it through. My thoughts are with the folks that perished and lost their homes. The brave young men and women did the best they could under the circumstances. I knew the moment I arrived at the point of origin, that this fire was going big.
John
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I’m glad it survived amongst the destruction. We’d just all come together as a community in December for the Christmas Tree Lane Lighting ceremony and the RR is open to the public. Now, a month later our town is devastated so I’m glad to see one special thing survive.
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Update: Gas co guys were on our street yesterday, so we finally have heat and hot showers, but the water heater serving the kitchen couldn’t be turned on because the vent flue set up wasn’t up to their current standards. Its been like it is for probably 60 years. The guy even said there’s nothing technically wrong with the WH, just that THEY cannot turn it on and told us to have a plumber come out and look at it. It probably just needs a short vertical section added outside but oh well. We had an instantaneous WH installed for the front bathroom so thats why we can take hot showers now. Sheesh but cold water is better than no house so being philosophical about it.
House standing, Yard trashed, most of neighborhood destroyed but the town of Piso Mojado is ok. Spent some time cleaning and tending to one small element of peace in a very chaotic environment.
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We burn natural gas and have an instant HW heater for the master and guest baths. We get electrical black-outs but they haven’t shut off the gas. Our main WH is a 50 gallon tank for the rest of the house.
The other day I got a Jackery 1000V2 power station (1,500 watts continuous/3,000 watts surge/1,070 amp hours) for blackouts. I’ve tried the fridge (28.5 LG with all the bells and whistles) and it powers it without problem, only drawing ~390 watts on start-up instantly dropping to nearly nothing. I have a whole house generator, but this is nice so I can keep food cold and not run the generator unattended all night when we are sleeping, saving fuel and wear and tear.
If there is a blackout, I can now power the instant WH for the master and guest baths because they burn gas and need very little electricity for the system to operate. It’s just a matter of going outside, unplugging the WH, and plugging it into the power station. One could easily run a garden railroad from a power station without the need for an extension cord.
For a prolonged blackout, the power station can be recharged from the generator, the car, or optional solar panels.
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Patrick that’s good news in a land of sadness.
Update I had a plumber come out, checked the vent, he said it was clear, no blockages, and relit the WH so we’re back to full status. Once the WH was relit and running for 5 minutes the vent worked just fine. He’s going to come back next Friday and extend the vent to make it kosher.
BTW I’m still digging out leaves from everywhere. It’s going to take weeks to clear out everything