Posted on 10/22/2007 8:06:14 AM PDT by Sleeping Freeper
SAN DIEGO -- With fire spreading quickly westward, San Diego County officials ordered the evacuation of a huge area east of Interstate 15 between Del Dios Highway and Highway 56 early Mon"This is the worst fire this county has ever seen -- worse than the Cedar Fire [of 2003]," Sheriff Bill Kolender said.
At a news conference shortly after 6 a.m., officials said fires had spread dramatically overnight, whipped by fierce Santa Ana winds. They said fire had jumped Interstate 15 at Lake Hodges and was burning in parts of Rancho Bernardo. Because of the explosive and unpredictable nature of the blazes, all residents living between Interstate 15 and Interstate 5 from Del Dios Highway in the north to Highway 56 in the south were told to begin evacuating.
"This fire is moving very quickly," San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders said. "Watch TV, listen to the radio and have your car prepared to leave."
Among the communities in the evacuation area are Rancho Sante Fe, Carmel Highlands, Rancho Bernardo, Del Mar Heights and Fairbanks Ranch and parts of Rancho Penasquitos.
Officials have opened Qualcomm Stadium in Mission Valley to handle the large number of evacuees.
Sanders asked everyone in San Diego County to minimize the use of cell phones to leave the airways free for the use of emergency personnel.day.
(Excerpt) Read more at nbcsandiego.com ...
Malibu looks bad.http://media.myfoxla.com/live/
I see, thank you. So it's the Witch Fire that's caused the area with the square of I-15, I-5, Lake Hodge, and the Ted Williams Parkway to be evactuated?
Direct link to San Diego NBC station (avoids the picture box that comes up on their website):
http://mfile.akamai.com/12901/live/reflector:34023.asx
Where are you?
Right now the fires in San Diego County are moving east to west and are being driven by the Santa Ana winds. Once they reach the coast their westward movement will stop. When the winds stop blowing, there is the danger that the fires may then move in random directions. So even when the winds stop there will still be dangers for a few days for those areas within the fire zone that did not get burned. Gonna need a lot of out of state help to put out all the embers deep within the burned out areas.
I surely hope they get the person who did this.
They’re different fires. The University fire is on the hills above it... started about 3:30 this morning. Funny thing is, I just saw something on the tube to the effect that residents of the area could return so I’m really confused now.
~~~
Confused here too,,,that area has changed so much since
I left(’91)
FOX showing RB area now,,,over 100 homes burned,,,
This may burn rite over that ridge north of Del Dios Hwy...
Oh, boy.
I feel helpless up here. If I still lived down in SoCal I could throw open my home to refugee FReepers, but there’s not a lot I can do from here other than pray.
No kidding.
This from the guy who attacks a city for less.
Go cry to the admins some more.
Are you in a safe area?
I see, thank you. So maybe my brother's house, being just south of the evac area, will be safe. At least he doesn't seem to be directly in the path of the fire, though I do understand what you said about the embers.
((((Hugs))))Stay safe.
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