Posted on 10/21/2007 9:48:36 AM PDT by Ernest_at_the_Beach
UPDATE: The city of Malibu is advising residents in Puerco Canyon to begin evacuating due to a wildfire driven by powerful winds. This area is north of Pacific Coast Highway and about 1 mile west of Pepperdine University. Residents along the beach on Malibu Road may soon be evacuated. Pacific Coast Highway is closed between Kanan-Dume Road and Topanga Canyon. Residents are advised to head to the west. Evacuation centers are being set up in the Zuma Beach area.
A wildfire driven by powerful winds in the Malibu Hills this morning threatened a university, destroyed at least one home and forced the evacuation of hundreds more, authorities said.
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| - | Wildfire burns 500 acres near Interstate 5 |
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| - | Santa Ana winds are sweeping the region |
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Thank you!
Worst wildfires in recent California history
AP | Monday, Oct 22 2007
http://www.bakersfield.com/119/story/266246.html
Some of the worst wildfires in California this century, based on deaths, destruction or acreage burned.
- October 2003: Cedar Fire, near San Diego, 273,000 acres, 4,847 structures, 15 deaths. Accidentally started by a hunter in the Cleveland National Forest, it was among 15 wildfires that killed 22 people, destroyed 3,640 homes and blackened 750,000 acres of Southern California during a two-week period.
- November 1993: Topanga Fire, Malibu area of Los Angeles County. 18,000 acres, 323 homes, three deaths. Cause: Arson. The fire was among more than 20 that killed four people, destroyed more than 1,000 homes and consumed 193,814 acres during a two-week period.
- October 1991: Tunnel Fire, Oakland hills of Alameda County. 1,520 acres, 3,276 homes and apartments destroyed, 25 people killed. Cause: A flying ember from a fire believed contained ignited a tree.
- November 1980: Panorama Fire, San Bernardino foothills. 23,600 acres, 325 homes destroyed, four dead. Cause: Arson.
- September 1970: Laguna Fire, San Diego County mountains. 175,425 acres, 382 structures, six dead. Cause: Power lines.
- November 1966: Loop Fire, near Angeles National Forest in Los Angeles County. 2,028 acres, 12 firefighters killed. Power line.
- November 1961: Bel Air-Brentwood Fire, Los Angeles County. 6,090 acres, 484 homes, 21 other buildings. Cause: Believed to be accidental.
- July 1953: Rattlesnake Fire, Glenn County. 1,300 acres, 15 firefighters killed. Cause: Arson.
- October 1933: Griffith Park Fire, Los Angeles County. 47 acres, 29 welfare workers clearing brush killed. Cause: Undetermined.
October 22, 2007
PE.com - Daily News Digest
http://www.beloblog.com/Pe_Blogs/#a142445
Pentagon will send six firefighting aircraft to state
United States Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced tonight that the Defense Department will send six aircraft with Modular Airborne Fire Fighting Systems to help fight the wildfires raging throughout Southern California.
Gates made his announcement after he received a letter from Gov. Schwarzenegger asking the federal government to send all planes possible.
“The federal government has informed me that they will commit six aircraft with MAFFS units that will arrive in the state tomorrow. Their support will provide us with additional firefighting capabilities that will help save lives and property,” Schwarzenegger said in a statement.
—The Press-Enterprise
Posted by PE.com at 6:18 PM
Governor asks military for firefighting aircraft
Gov. Schwarzenegger has called on the Pentagon to provide special firefighting aircraft to help battle the wind-driven blazes in Southern California.
“It is only with the full support and assistance of your office that we can bring the fires under control and protect Californians from even more despair and destruction,” Schwarzenegger wrote in a letter to United States Defense Secretary Robert Gates.
The modular airborne fire fighting systems requested by Schwarzengger feature a pressurized 3,000-gallon tank installed on a C-130 aircraft. In his letter, he asked for all available aircraft to be sent.
— Jim Miller
Posted by PE.com at 5:50 PM
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071023/ap_on_re_us/california_wildfires_123
Raging Calif. fires burn scores of homes
ALLISON HOFFMAN and GILLIAN FLACCUS, Associated Press
SAN DIEGO - Wildfires blown by fierce desert winds Monday reduced scores of Southern California homes to ashes, forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee and laid a hellish, spidery pattern of luminous orange over the drought-stricken region.
At least one person was killed in the fires, and dozens were injured. Nearly 130 homes had burned in one mountain town alone, and thousands of other buildings were threatened by more than a dozen blazes covering at least 310 square miles.
“The sky was just red. Everywhere I looked was red, glowing. Law enforcement came barreling in with police cars with loudspeakers telling everyone to get out now,” said Ronnie Leigh, 55, who fled her home at a mobile home park as smoke darkened the sky over the nearby ridge line.
Firefighters — who lost valuable time trying to persuade stubborn homeowners to leave — were almost completely overwhelmed as gale-force winds gusting to 70 mph scattered embers on the dry brush. California officials pleaded for help from fire departments in other states.
A pair of wildfires consumed 128 homes in the Lake Arrowhead mountain resort area in the San Bernardino National Forest east of Los Angeles, authorities said.
At least 14 fires were burning in Southern California, said Patti Roberts, a spokeswoman for the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.
From San Diego to Malibu, more than 150 miles up the coast, some 265,000 people were warned to leave their homes. More than 250,000 were told to flee in San Diego County alone, where hundreds of patients were moved by school bus and ambulance from a hospital and nursing homes, some in hospital gowns and wheelchairs. Some carried their medical records in clear plastic bags.
A 1,049-inmate jail in Orange County was evacuated because of heavy smoke. The prisoners were taken by bus to other lockups.
In San Diego, more than 194,000 reverse 911 calls — calls from county officials to residents — were made, alerting residents to evacuations, county Supervisor Ron Roberts said.
Many of those told to evacuate ended up at Qualcomm Stadium, home to the NFL’s Chargers, where thousands of people huddled in eerie silence on the bleachers, staring at muted TV news reports of the wildfires. A lone concession stand served coffee and doughnuts.
Many evacuees gathered in the parking lot with their pets, which were banned from the stadium.
The sprawling Del Mar Fairgrounds on the coast was also turned into an evacuation center, along with high schools and senior centers.
At least one of the fires, in Orange County, was believed to have been set. And a blaze threatening the homes of the rich and famous in Malibu might have been caused by downed power lines, authorities said.
Mel Gibson, Kelsey Grammer and Victoria Principal were among the celebrities forced to abandon their homes over the weekend, their publicists said.
Another blaze was started by a car fire. Flying embers started new fires at every turn.
San Diego County fires were burning so fast that authorities did not have an accurate count of how many homes had been destroyed.
“It was nuclear winter. It was like Armageddon. It looked like the end of the world,” Mitch Mendler, a San Diego firefighter, said as he and his crew stopped at a shopping center parking lot to refill their water truck from a hydrant near a restaurant. Asked how many homes had burned, he said, “I lost count.”
Tom Sollie, 49, ignored evacuation orders in Rancho Bernardo to help his neighbors spray roofs on his street with water. His home was untouched, but he watched a neighbor’s house reduced to nothing but the remnants of a brick chimney. “The house went up like a Roman candle,” Sollie said.
He added: “If we weren’t here, the whole neighborhood would go up. There just aren’t enough fire trucks around.”
The blazes in San Diego County and elsewhere erupted one after another over the weekend. Things got worse Monday, when several new fires erupted and other fires merged. Parts of seven Southern California counties were ablaze.
All San Diego police officers and detectives were ordered to return to work to help move people to safety and handle other fire-related emergencies.
Firefighters complained that their efforts to stop the flames were delayed when they were confronted by people who refused to leave their homes.
“They didn’t evacuate at all, or delayed until it was too late,” said Bill Metcalf, a fire boss. “And those folks who are making those decisions are actually stripping fire resources.”
As flames, thick smoke and choking ash filled the air around San Diego County’s Lake Hodges, Stan Smith ignored orders to evacuate and stayed behind to help rescue the horses of his neighbor Ken Morris.
“It’s hard to leave all your belongings and take off, and the bad thing is you can’t get back in once you leave,” Smith said.
“I heard the cops come by, and I just ducked,” Morris said.
Besides, said Smith, “Lots of time the fire doesn’t ever come. It’s come really close before. I’ve seen it so bad you couldn’t even hear yourself talk over the flames and ash blowing everywhere.”
Black smoke blanketed much of northern San Diego and nearby suburbs as flames hopscotched around homes in Rancho Bernardo, a community with many elderly people, destroying one of every 10 homes on one busy street.
Highways, canals and other features normally act as firebreaks. But the towering flames and flying embers rendered them useless this time.
Dozens of motorists gathered on an Interstate 15 overpass in San Diego to watch flames race up a hillside and engulf at least a half-dozen homes. Witnesses said they watched flames jump west over the 10-lane freeway.
“The flames were like 100 feet high and it moved up the hill in seconds. It was at the bottom, it was in the middle, and then it was at the top,” said Steve Jarrett, who helped a friend evacuate his home in nearby Escondido.
Fire near the San Diego Wild Animal Park led authorities to move condors, a cheetah, snakes and other animals to the fire-resistant veterinary hospital on the grounds of the park. The large animals, such as elephants, rhinos and antelope, were left in irrigated enclosures.
The world-famous San Diego Zoo was not immediately threatened.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in the seven affected counties, opening the way for government aid.
“Its a tragic time for California,” he said in Malibu, where a church, homes and a mansion resembling a medieval castle were destroyed over the weekend.
White House deputy press secretary Scott Stanzel said in an e-mail that President Bush called Schwarzenegger to make sure the state is getting the help it needs.
One person died in one of the fires near San Diego. More than a dozen people were hospitalized with burns and smoke inhalation, including four firefighters, three of whom were listed in critical condition, officials said. Some of the injured were hikers, while others may be illegal immigrants.
San Diego County spokeswoman Lesley Kirk said fire crews were stretched thin and were anxiously awaiting reinforcements from other parts of the state.
“The winds are up, it’s very, very dangerous conditions,” Kirk said. “Fires are popping up all over the place.”
Flames forced the evacuation of the San Diego community of Ramona, which has a population of about 36,000.
Christine Baird, 42, was ordered to evacuate her apartment in the Rancho Bernardo area at 5:30 a.m. She moved to California from Canada earlier this year.
“Instead of snow we had ash all over the car,” she said. “This is all new for me. We’ve got no family in the area, so there’s really nowhere else to go.”
In late October and early November of 2003, 15 fires in many of the same areas killed 22 people and destroyed 3,640 homes. Ten years earlier, in October and November of 1993, 26 fires in those areas killed four people and damaged or destroyed 1,200 structures.
___
Associated Press writers Chelsea J. Carter and Jeremiah Marquez in Los Angeles, Jacob Adelman in Santa Clarita and Elliot Spagat in San Diego contributed to this report.
I don't understand admin moderator.
Sorry.
http://www.californianonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071022/NEWS01/71022013/1002
Mutual aid from Monterey County. After Charley is was really nice to see all the out of County PD units we had here. It made you feel good to see the response. These SoCal fireman will be beat. Fighting fires is hard work. Have you seen oher reports of distant mutual aid coming in?
I’m watching that feed as well. It must be terrifying to be in the path of all of that fire. I pray for all that are in it’s path.
VirginiaMom
NP. Dittos.
(((Hugs)))
(((kisses)))
Thanks. I’ve never been to California so am not at all familiar with the area. My boss has kids and grandkids in Sylmar...I hope this doesn’t spread there. My boss would have heart failure if that happened.
VirginiaMom
Yeah, and you sit in a traffic jam when everyone splits at the same time.
>>>Reverse 911 systems are in effect for those with landlines with the local phone system, they’ll call when you need to evacuate, but nothing replaces looking, seeing your situation, and judging for yourself.
I know. It’s a cliche, but it really does look “alive” and as though it’s doing some kind of evil dance. Very, very spooky and scary.
VirginiaMom
Sorry I missed it. Colmes got shot down bad last night on the post debate show.
My comment was, “Alan is going to rip MediaMatters a new one for the horrible prep they did for him.”
Eek, that is the first confirmation of arson that I’ve seen, but I am just getting caught up on the situation having been out on business for 5+ hours...
Santiago Fire = arson fire = bad news...:(
I hope you’re doing alright since you last wrote.
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