View Full Version : Fires in San Diego
poutismalakas
10-22-2007, 06:00 PM
My Dad was asked to evacuate this morning!!!:sad:
SAN DIEGO, California (CNN) -- Authorities in Southern California pleaded with residents Monday to follow evacuation orders and stay off cell phones, warning that rapidly spreading wildfires were proving more "extraordinarily dangerous" by the hour.
Fire guts a home in suburban San Diego on Monday morning as winds push wildfires into neighborhoods.
Fires have scorched 70,000 acres and killed one person in Southern California, officials said.
A smaller fire that merged with the Witch Fire -- one of the biggest in the region -- entered the San Diego city limits Monday, said Mike Mohler with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
San Diego County Sheriff Bill Kolender said at a news conference the Witch Fire "will probably be the worst fire this county has ever seen -- worse than the Cedar Fire." See photos of the fires »
The notorious Cedar Fire killed a dozen people south of Ramona four years ago this week as it moved swiftly through the hilly terrain, eventually consuming more than 280,000 acres near the town northeast of San Diego.
Mandatory evacuations are expected to spread as the fires move rapidly, Kolender said. "Please, when you are called, when you are notified, do what you were instructed to do," he said.
Crews that could be fighting flames have been tied up helping residents who didn't evacuate promptly, Metcalf said.
"We've been unable to do any suppression effort because, in most cases, the fire resources are being used ... to do rescues," said Metcalf, chief of the North County Fire Protection District in Fallbrook.
Authorities said cell phone lines are often clogged, which hurts rescue efforts. They're also asking people to hold off on 911 calls unless there is clearly an emergency.
Poway declared a local emergency Monday as the Witch Fire expanded to the northeast section of that town. Officials asked some residents to leave their homes and opened emergency shelters.
The winds driving the flames are expected to stay strong, coming out of the northeast, at least through Tuesday, according to CNN meteorologist Rob Marciano.
A long line of vehicles streamed westward out of Ramona early Monday in response to a mandatory evacuation order as the front-line flames of the Witch wildfire swept rapidly closer to the San Diego County community.
The Witch Fire was one of several major wildfires to ignite Sunday around Los Angeles and San Diego, fueled by hot, dry conditions and pushed by fierce Santa Ana winds. See where fires burn across Southern California »
Large fires also bore down on Malibu and Santa Clarita north of Los Angeles as thousands of firefighters worked into Monday morning in the struggle to protect lives and homes.
About 1,400 firefighters battled the Malibu fire that started Sunday morning and had spread more than 2,200 acres, destroying 25 structures -- including five homes, a glass company and Malibu Presbyterian Church. Officials ordered the evacuation of several hundred homes -- including those of James Cameron, director of the movie "Titantic," and singers Olivia Newton-John and Tanya Tucker. Watch damage done to one Malibu church »
"All my stage clothing, boots, belts and wardrobe is in that house," Tucker said. "I have so much memorabilia since I just moved from Nashville to Malibu."
The Pacific Coast Highway remained shut down in Malibu.
A larger fire, fueled by wind gusts up to 80 mph, has spread more than 12,500 acres around Santa Clarita about 35 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles.
Officials deployed at least 400 firefighters to battle the fire, which destroyed an estimated 17 buildings and threatened 3,800 Santa Clarita Valley homes. Authorities ordered mandatory evacuations for several communities.
Los Angeles County fire officials said the intensity of the blazes was staggering.
"You do not expect something to stretch our resources to this magnitude," Los Angeles County Fire Inspector Sam Padilla told The Associated Press. "To try and staff something this big, you cannot predict it." E-mail to a friend
Copyright 2007 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
dannymex
10-22-2007, 07:50 PM
alright so shit is getting out of control. We're burning up here.
Calif
10-23-2007, 12:58 AM
Yeah I heard that theres a fire also in Orange County Danny ***k you are burning also! Theres also a fire neary by here where I live....lol...is gettin hot in here..:lol:
poutismalakas
10-23-2007, 01:35 AM
There are reports of homes burning down by my dad's house :( I hope his house is spared!!!!
Bosanac
10-23-2007, 02:21 AM
It's raining in Portland, Oregon :)
poutismalakas
10-23-2007, 02:36 AM
It's raining in Portland, Oregon :)
I know your joking but I have a hard time finding the humor in it. Monday 2 weeks ago my cousins' step-father Died, My beloved Dog died this past Friday in my arms and now My Dad's house my have burned down! I am NOT mad but I have hard time finding humor in things lately!
Bosanac
10-23-2007, 02:40 AM
I know your joking but I have a hard time finding the humor in it. Monday 2 weeks ago my cousins' step-father Died, My beloved Dog died this past Friday in my arms and now My Dad's house my have burned down! I am NOT mad but I have hard time finding humor in things lately!
Portland is relatively close to San Diego. I guess I was trying to point out the irony. I'm sorry for your loss, poutis.
poutismalakas
10-23-2007, 02:48 AM
Portland is relatively close to San Diego. I guess I was trying to point out the irony. I'm sorry for your loss, poutis.
Actually Portland is like 700 miles north of San Diego;) Also thanks even though I heard homes were burning down in my Dad's area, I still doubt his house was affected??? At least I pray it isn't. As far as My Dog, It is VERY RARE I shead any tears but that Dog meant so MUCH to me!! Put it this way I cried Friday, and Saturday, while getting legendary drunk!!!! The only thing that affected me more was when my Grandmother died in 2000!!!!
Sorry for you Loss Poutis.
I saw the news of the fire on tv this evening in Australia
Apparently you can see the fire from space! Thats amazing....
Wabbit
10-23-2007, 07:11 PM
Well if USA does not sign the Kyoto treaty, and start paying attention to the global warming then this things unfortunatelly will keep affecting the americans
What gets on my nerves aswell is that some of these fires can be delebratley lit by little thugs trying to have "fun"
dannymex
10-23-2007, 07:30 PM
Yeah I heard that theres a fire also in Orange County Danny ***k you are burning also! Theres also a fire neary by here where I live....lol...is gettin hot in here..:lol:
yeah actually theres a fire going on like 20 minutes away from my house. Its crazy!!!
dannymex
10-23-2007, 07:33 PM
Well if USA does not sign the Kyoto treaty, and start paying attention to the global warming then this things unfortunatelly will keep affecting the americans
no mames guey eso no tiene que ver nada con los fuegos. I'm with you though, america in general doesnt really give a shit about global warming
I'm sorry for your loss Poutis. Life is hard..
poutismalakas
10-23-2007, 10:24 PM
My dad called this morning and he said that he snuck in to see if his house was ok..... AND IT WAS OK!!!
He said that the mountains around his house are all burned and several houses where burned to the ground! over 1000 homes have burned to the ground in San Diego and over 300,000 people displaced!!!
Fenerliyim
10-23-2007, 10:25 PM
great news pout hope it stays that way
poutismalakas
10-23-2007, 10:33 PM
The toll so far: 1,250 homes & 241,000 acres BURNED
Calif
10-24-2007, 03:07 AM
Damn I just heard theres a total of 16 fires across California is crazy I thought there was only like 10 or so!
geez dude, this is crazy. Nature is such an unpredictable force of epic proportions.
poutismalakas
10-24-2007, 07:03 PM
SAN DIEGO, California (CNN) -- More San Diego County residents faced orders to leave their homes Wednesday, but others got permission to return as wildfires swirled through smoke-choked Southern California for a fourth day.
http://i.l.cnn.net/cnn/2007/US/10/24/fire.wildfire.ca/art.cal.fire.wed.02.ap.jpg
http://i.l.cnn.net/cnn/2007/US/10/24/fire.wildfire.ca/art.witch.tues.gi.jpg
A firefighter walks along a backfire in Jamul, California, in San Diego County on Tuesday.
Officials ordered residents out of communities in inland north San Diego County, while evacuees from areas closer to the coast got to go home.
People returning to their homes, and those who had never left, were warned Wednesday morning to conserve electricity.
Officials said fires severed key connections to the regional power grid, creating what San Diego County Supervisor Ron Roberts called "a precarious situation."
An estimated 950,000 people have sought refuge from the fires in shelters, hotels and at friends' homes.
President Bush on Wednesday boosted federal aid to the fire-ravaged area by signing a major disaster declaration. The move will speed federal dollars to people whose property losses aren't covered by insurance.
The cost of homes destroyed by the wildfires is likely to top $1 billion in San Diego County alone when the accounting is done, an emergency official said.
The possibility of further losses was real Wednesday.
The National Weather Service said a red-flag warning for extreme gusty winds was in effect for San Diego through 6 p.m. PT (9 p.m. ET) Wednesday.
Forecasters said firefighters should see an end to the Santa Ana winds that have fueled the fires by Thursday.
"It's all dictated by the weather," said San Diego Fire-Rescue Department spokesman Maurice Luque. He called the combination of the driest conditions in 200 years and the Santa Ana winds "a recipe for disaster."
Some residents won't have to wait till Thursday to go home. People who evacuated earlier this week from Scripps Ranch and Del Mar Heights can go home immediately, San Diego emergency spokeswoman Lynda Pfieffer said Wednesday morning.
More than 20 fires have scorched 400,000-plus acres from the Mexican border to northern Los Angeles County and inland into the San Bernardino Mountains since the weekend. Almost 1,500 homes have been destroyed.
The blazes have killed one person and injured at least 70 more. Thirty-four firefighters have been hurt, authorities said.
Firefighters received help from Mexico, the state and federal governments and even inmates from California's prisons. About 7,000 firefighters were battling the blazes, including 2,300 inmates from California's Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, according to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Officials have evacuated nearly 350,000 homes in San Diego County alone, where the worst of the fires are blazing. Based on numbers from the 2000 census, as many as 950,000 people may have been affected.
Among the evacuees are more than 4,000 military personnel from area bases.
As the fires burned, stress took its toll on evacuees, according to a U.S. Navy medic at Qualcomm Stadium, now a shelter to more than 12,000 people.
"A lot of people are watching TV while they're here -- they're watching their houses burn," Petty Officer Daniel Brautigam said. "People are just worried sick. That phrase alone explains it all." Video Watch the plight of Qualcomm evacuees »
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Christie Williams, who lost a ranch in Ramona, said she takes strength from her 4-year-old daughter, who repeats after her mother: "We're strong people."
"So we're going to make it," Williams said.
And she said she'd rebuild her ranch, called Shangri La.
"It's my home. My kids took their first steps there. I can't just leave it," she said as tears filled her eyes. "I can't just walk away."
Bush is scheduled to visit the area Thursday, the White House said. Chertoff arrived in San Diego on Tuesday afternoon for a look at the devastation.
Chertoff called federal efforts "phenomenally better" than the 2005 response to Hurricane Katrina "because we have been preparing and planning and training together for the last 2 ½ years." Video Watch the Federal Emergency Management Agency's take on helping evacuees »
Schwarzenegger said he was "heartbroken" after touring the Lake Arrowhead area, where the Grass Valley and Slide fires have burned 5,000 acres and destroyed more than 200 homes. Video Watch firefighters battle flames on mountain home »
The combination of dry terrain, searing heat and hammering winds created "the perfect storm for fire," the governor said. Photo See photos of the fires »
Chertoff said cots, blankets, water and other supplies have been moved where they are needed, and more are coming. FEMA delivered 25,000 cots to Qualcomm early Tuesday. See where the fires are burning »
In San Diego County, the Witch Fire in the north, which has grown to 200,000 acres, is a priority because of its significant threat to structures, said Ron Lane, the county's director of emergency services.
Also in the county, a utility spokesman said the Harris Fire expanded and damaged a 500,000-volt transmission line, which will be out of service until at least Wednesday. Other transmission lines have been destroyed.
In Los Angeles County, the fire situation was improving Wednesday. As of 9 a.m. PT (noon ET), state officials reported containment between 40 percent and 94 percent on the county's five active fires.
Cihangir
10-24-2007, 07:25 PM
What the ***k's up with fires and Greeks Poutis? Greece was burning too, just like Turkey. Man it's horrible. And it seems that the shit went beyond the point where you can just say I wish it would stop. :/
Bosnian Unit
10-24-2007, 07:46 PM
poutismalakas,
Im sorry for what is happening to you(your family) and all those people there. Its crazy man......:sad: !
But its clear there is a lot of help there, and you see people buying food for their dogs,cats etc....but you could not see that in New Orleans.There people didnt have enough food !
Just one thing is same........Bush is waithing too long to visit the place :mad2: ! As a leader of a nation he should do that first or second day, its not like he is doing anything better !
poutismalakas
10-24-2007, 07:51 PM
poutismalakas,
Im sorry for what is happening to you(your family) and all those people there. Its crazy man......:sad: !
But its clear there is a lot of help there, and you see people buying food for their dogs,cats etc....but you could not see that in New Orleans.There people didnt have enough food !
Just one thing is same........Bush is waithing too long to visit the place :mad2: ! As a leader of a nation he should do that first or second day, its not like he is doing anything better !
Thanks
BUsh is too busy think up ways to make more money for himself and his friends ie.. Iran invasion and artifically boosting the price of oil to over $100 :mad2: :mad2:
He will go down as one of the WORST US Presidents EVER!!!!!
poutismalakas
10-24-2007, 07:53 PM
What the ***k's up with fires and Greeks Poutis? Greece was burning too, just like Turkey. Man it's horrible. And it seems that the shit went beyond the point where you can just say I wish it would stop. :/
MY dad is back home but other Greeks friends of mine are still at their in-laws homes!!! Also a buddy of mine lost the home she grew up in!:sad: SHe lives in MISS. and she was unable to help out her mom! REAL SAD SHIT GOING HERE GUYS!!!!!! It is WORSE than the Cedar fires of 2003!!!!!!:sad: :sad:
Man, this is horrible. But its a good thing the people at the refuge places are getting good food and supplies.
I'm not 100% sure on this but this morning I was watching the news and they said that police caught a man on a motorcycle. He was making fires on hills near a highway. So they are thinking that it might be the work of an arsenic. Do you know anything about this Poutis?
poutismalakas
10-24-2007, 08:04 PM
Man, this is horrible. But its a good thing the people at the refuge places are getting good food and supplies.
I'm not 100% sure on this but this morning I was watching the news and they said that police caught a man on a motorcycle. He was making fires on hills near a highway. So they are thinking that it might be the work of an arsenic. Do you know anything about this Poutis?
NO I have not heard anything like that here! I've heard of piece of SHIT looters being caught trying to steal from the evacuated homes!:mad2: My cop buddy had to beat one of them down for resisting while at the jail! I say that guy had it easy cause if he was caught by the home owners the cops would be picking up the guy in pieces!!!!:mad2:
poutismalakas
10-24-2007, 08:33 PM
I heard that a group of illegals got arrested today here in San Diego! After a bunch of people bitched about the INS picking up illegals at this time, it was determined that these A$$HOLES can down to a evacuee area from MIra Mesa (AN area that is OK!!!) to get free shit to turn around and sell to people who needed it!!!!! After they got caught it was determined that they where illegal aliens!! I'm GLAD these A$$HOLES got caught!!!
Cihangir
10-25-2007, 01:17 AM
That doesn't surprise me, these types of assholes looted the debris' after the 99 quake in Turkey.
There's just no border for them!
valdanito_10
10-25-2007, 03:51 AM
Wow poutis im really sorry for everything. and i know it sounds cliche but i know what its like to loose a dog u really love.
Centarfor9
10-25-2007, 09:38 PM
I hope they find the jerk who started this fire!
Cihangir
10-28-2007, 04:22 AM
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a2/AERONET_La_Jolla.2007297.aqua.250m.jpg/800px-AERONET_La_Jolla.2007297.aqua.250m.jpg
Cihangir
10-28-2007, 04:23 AM
I hope they find the jerk who started this fire!
I hope it turns out to be you.
valdanito_10
10-28-2007, 04:51 AM
not that funny cihangir
ahmad193
10-28-2007, 05:40 AM
is OC ok?
Cihangir
10-28-2007, 11:40 AM
not that funny cihangir
If i was trying to make you laugh i would only try.
:lol: I found it funny :D
Centarfor9
10-28-2007, 10:21 PM
I hope it turns out to be you.
esselamu aleikum
why such hatered?
Cihangir
10-29-2007, 06:56 PM
esselamu aleikum
why such hatered?
Lol what? :P
I was bored. Nothing serious.
FR Sloboda
10-29-2007, 07:50 PM
Look How Big This Is Reported Whilst The Fires In Balkans Never Got That Much Coverage
Centarfor9
10-29-2007, 08:33 PM
Lol what? :P
I was bored. Nothing serious.
http://www.antiquark.com/entropyzone/wallpaper/no_bullshit.jpg
when bored ;)
Look How Big This Is Reported Whilst The Fires In Balkans Never Got That Much Coverage
Because if you told people here there are fires in Greece, they would scratch their heads and ask where Greece is, so whats the point.
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