I live in Val Verde, in the north end of L.A. County, where one of the fires originally started.
Although the fire has been burning pretty well away from us to the south, we still worry. There’s plenty of brush fire to be seen just a couple miles south of us, and those winds are very unpredictable!
I just heard on the news that the entire town of Cuyamaca is gone! :eek:
Did I hear that right?
I just heard on the news that the entire town of Cuyamaca is gone! :eek:
Did I hear that right?
17 people are now reported as dead.
522,000 acres (211,246 hectares) have been burned.
815 square miles (2,111 square kilometres) have been burned.
1,552 homes have been lost.
Ummm, doubtful. First off, I am not entirely positive, but I don’t think there is a town of Cuyamaca. There are a small number of homes and businesses that are right at Lake Cuyamaca, but I would personally not call it a town.
What I have been hearing and reading today is that several communities that are in the mountains that Lake Cuyamaca is also in have been evacuated today as the fire advances on them. Haven’t seen or heard anything at all about an entire community being destroyed.
Did just hear on local TV news a few minutes ago from a CDF spokesman that the fire has entered Julian (one of the evacuated towns) and destroyed a few structures, but firefighters are making a stand against it there.
i just read on cnn.com that they think they will be able to get the cedar fire under control by nov. 5th if all goes well. nov. 5th???!!??
good heavens. i hope all of y’all, no matter how far away the fire seems to be, are ready to go in a moment’s notice. this is eerily reminding me of the peshtigo fire. fires this size create their own weather, they go where they want to go.
Last Nov - Jan, a man spent 71 days sitting in a tree that was dubbed Old Glory by the neighborhood children. It’s at least 1000 years old oak tree. They were somewhat successful in their attempts to save the tree. The developer decided to move the tree instead of taking it down. It’s in the path of the Simi Valley Fire tonight as it moves into Stevenson Ranch.
More importantly, Rico’s sister lives across the freeway from the current evacuation area. She didn’t even know it was that close when Ric called her to reinterate our invitation to her and her family.
Kathy
I’m watching channel 7 right now… odd for me since I almost always watch channel 4 news but that’s not important. Anyway, they are reporting that “the entire small town of Cuyamaca has been destroyed”. Word for word, that’s what Jaie Avlia just said.
They are also saying that they are concerned that two fires in San Diego will merge and cut off exit routes.
Kathy
I heard them say it on KNBC 4, so that makes two stations that are making the claim.
Incidentally, I worked the commercial accounts receivable for Cuyamaca Bank when it was a new account. I guess they won’t be sending any data to my former employer any time soon.
Oops. I take back what I wrote earlier. Just found this on the Union-Tribune web site:
There’s been a lot of coverage about the fires up here.
On the six o’clock news, they were saying Texas and Louisiana were having a terrible time of it too. Anyone know how that’s going? I know we’ve got more than a few Texans on the board.
I’ve been thinking about and worrying over, all of you today.
I’m about 10 or 12 miles west of Claremont and not in a fire-prone area, so we’re okay here. I just keep the windows shut and put on a mask if I have to go out at all. I’ve never seen anything like it.
I’m sending $ to the Red Cross special fund for this.
Stay safe, all!
For anyone in a danger zone…
Someone on another discussion board had a brilliant idea. He got evacuated from his house, so he packed up - and turned on his webcam, so he could check on his house over the net!
I know lots of evacuees have been straining to catch sight of their neighborhoods/houses on the news to see if they’re still standing, so I thought I’d mention this for anyone who might still get evacuated. Brings at least some peace of mind, IMHO.
Alive, and the fire missed us by about 5 miles. The university has been closed for 3 days now. It’s like living through an extended version of 9/11. The orange glow over the past three days has been eerie. I keep thinking I’m in a movie about what happens after the apocalypse.
Esprix
I’m finally back at work today - we’d been shut down because the ventillation in the building was not up to snuff.
It looks at this point that most densely populated areas in San Diego are safe. But apparently the fire is still spreading out east in the rural areas.
:: cough ::
Thank goodness you guys are ok and thank you for checking in! I’ve been very worried about you, Esprix, as well as all our other San Diego dopers. Have you heard anything from jkusters or thomasm? Please keep us posted.
Spiny Norman and I have decided to go to Costco on Friday afternoon when I get off of work and load up the car with as many cases of bottled water as it’ll hold. We’re going to don our CERT gear and head out to the Simi Valley/Chattsworth area on Saturday morning to volunteer to help in any way we can. We don’t expect to be put anywhere near the fire lines, but we are trained and capable of assisting with search and rescue and evacuations (particularly going door-to-door and ensuring that the elderly and/or infirm are safely out of evacuation areas), freeing up the firefighters to actually fight the fires. Hopefully they’ll let us help, even if it’s just manning the staging areas and assisting with disaster psychology (which we’re also trained in).
I watch the news and the footage of the burned out communities makes me want to cry. I’m glad you all are safe!
I’d love to send you guys some of our rain. The irony in one coast burning to the ground while the other one floods has not been lost on me. May they catch the morons who started those fires.
I do believe that jkusters, thomasm and Esprix all share a house. So if Esprix checks in okay, the other two should be good, too.
It’s good to read Doper names I recognize and know that you are all okay. My employer has an office in San Diego, and similar to scout’s office, they’ve been shut down so far this week.
My son wants to donate all of this New England rain to you guys out there. He tried to suggest something involving collecting it in a giant tarp. His heart’s in the right place. (Not sure about his brain.)
Nothing but ash and smoke here in Laguna Niguel. I’ve got friends in San Diego that I have not heard from yet and also some friends in Santee that I haven’t been able to contact (I think I heard there is a fire in the Magic Mtn. area?).
The temps have definately cooled down today and I can see some blue sky for the first time in awhile. I heard on the news that in Las Vegas they are seeing smoke from our fires.
They are also saying that we might have some rain in the next week, which will not be good for those burned out areas. I remember 10 years ago, after the Laguna Beach fire, the rain brought even more disaster and death with the mud-slides. 
~praying for California~