All of this is really hard to deal with for anyone in or related to anyone in the SoCal area. My ex has had to help evacuate 3 aunts, an uncle, his grandmother, and his own home up in the San Bernardino area. I was there this past weekend and last night and his house had a perfect view of the Grand Prix fire as it came around into Lytle Creek (right by Devore) and from his backyard, you could see the Old Fire only about a mile away. It's terrible- none of his family member have lost homes yet (his grandmother and mom lost their homes in the Del Rosa area in the Panoramic fire in the 80s), but his best friend's home has burned to the ground.

CntryZta, is it true that the parkings structure for the stadium at CSUSB burned down? That's what I heard, but since it's nearly impossible to see anything right now with the smoke, I'm not sure. And have they allowed students back at CSUSB yet? I know they evacuated the dorms.

I really hope all this gets better soon, although I think it will be at least another week to get it more contained in every area. The Grand Prix fire has been going for a week now... so scary.

My thoughts are out with anyone and everyone who is affected by this right now...

so i just found out that one of aour pledges, rick, one of the nicest guys. someone who is not here for th eparty, but is really a quality guy, lost his parents house, the new house they were building as well, and his grandfather dies as well. i am at such a loss for words for him. it is like 3 slaps in the face for him, and it just is not cool. my roommate is a member of out national ecexutive board, and he said they are gonna try to help out.
the last thing i want to see is any pledge have to drop because of any financial issue due to these fucking fires. i serioulsy dontn think i have been more effected by a disaster as this one

For those of you near the fires....my heart goes out to you. I hope things get back under control very very soon.

With all the stuff the US has been through lately....major blackouts, fires, hurricane......ever wonder if someone is trying to tell us something? Even if it's not a "someone" talking....is Nature sending us a message?

If any of you are taking any pictures of the fires, please post them here. It's one thing to edited news reel, but I like seeing "amateur photos" that people have taken.

God Bless....
PsychTau

The smoke and haze from the fires has reached Las Vegas. The smell is pretty strong and visibilty is down. They have asked everyone to stay indoors because the air quality is so poor. I can't even imagine what it's like there, but we are at least 150 miles away and we are being affected.

The smoke and haze has been clearing up here in Irvine but I'm wondering how it is back home in San Diego. Luckily the fire is just around Escondido and Poway for now. A couple of my high school teachers already lost their homes and one of my new member Tau Beta Sigma sister almost had to evacuate from her house in Poway.

Good thing I didn't go home for the weekend cuz I might have been stuck there since they closed the main interstates.

NO!!!!
it better clear up by friday! my fraternity is having our formal in vegas this weekend, and we get there on friday!!!
and the sky was blue today uin sd....it was so nice

I work in Irvine and I would agree with your assessment about the clearing up. I spent Monday in San Diego (my fam is in the south part of the county). They'd shut down 15, but 5 was open. I didn't return here until yesterday.

It seems worse in LA today to me. The smoke, white now though, is hanging low over the whole city. As I look out the window of my high rise office, visibility is less than a mile.

Its looking very likely right now that the ENTIRE Lake Arrowhead community will be lost.

:( When is it going to end? I love my beautiful state, when is it going to end?

Hopefully the end is in sight....Hang in there

I haven't been able to get online for the past few days because of the Wildfires here in San Diego, but I thought I would post and say that I am okay.

The Cedar Fire began here in MY hometown, so ever since Saturday night when I was coming home and able to see the glow of burning land, I've been a little on edge. The fact that this fire was begun by a hiker either shooting off a flare or building a fire to send a fire signal because he was lost is a little disheartening. As of this moment, the winds shifting have caused my hometown to be back on alert for evacuations as the fire is beginning to move back toward Ramona.

I feel sorry for everyone who lost their homes, but I am a little frustrated that more of the San Diego coverage (that I finally have been able to see since we got cable back yesterday after it went out Sunday afternoon) has focused on the Scripps Ranch area and the high dollar homes and not on the other areas that have lost just as much and have had the devastation. I know they are doing their best to cover everything they can, but it's alittle frustrating to see areas such as Scripps Ranch being deemed more important than other areas of San Diego county.

With the possibility of the Paradise Fire and the Cedar Fire merging together and the Otay Fire burning down in the South Bay, air quality is horrendous and everyone's nerves are on edge. Hopefully, they will be able to get a handle on these fires and everyone will stay safe.

God bless all the firefighters risking their lives to save peoples homes, memories, and lives.....one has already lost his life today here in the San Diego area.

**will be trying to monitor Greekchat as much as I can, but with the threat of evacs hanging over us and the possibility of cable going out again, I don't know when I'll be able to post again.

polarpi,
you are in my thoughts and prayers.

Polarpi, thanks for this post. I, too, thought the Scripps Ranch stuff a bit much, but then again, I think that perhaps the anchors, producers, etc. may live in that area and sometimes the media is very guilty of navel-gazing (I'm from closer to where the Otay Fire was).

I just read that a firefighter died and that a couple more were injured.
Very Very Sad!!

This occured up in the Julian area as the firefighters are fighting to save the historic town. They've down an outstanding job ever since the fire began and saying "thanks" just isn't enough for all they do!

My best friend from high school lives in Irvine and works in Marina del Rey but isn't answering email... would the fires be preventing her from getting to work?

Info much appreciated!

Dee

my thoughts go out to everyone affected by the fires. hopefully this will all be over soon.

HI AGDee,

You're friend should be okay. She's probably just gotten really hit with smoke but nothing with the fires. If she's like a lot of us in So. Cal she's probably watching all the news about the fire and isn't answering her phone.

The news said last night that a CNN reporter almost got caught in the same area as the firefighters who died/were injured. She actually crashed in to a couple of cars trying to get away from it.

The good news is that they have the Simi Valley fire pretty much contained as of this morning but the way the fires are going who knows if that will continue to be the story by the time I get home from class.

Everyone keep praying (it might be working) - they are talking about an onshore flow coming on and providing a little drizzle here which has helped out with the Simi Valley fire. However the onshore flow has messed up the Old Fire up in the mountains (where everyone is evacuated) because of all the winds it's bringing. Everytime they think they've got an area beat and the area is safe the winds shift and the fire comes straight back to them and burns areas that were missed before.

So far 625,000 acres have burned among all the fires in So. Cal. To top it all off Simi Valley had a string of earthquakes the biggest being a 3.7 - not what they wanted to feel last night.

Carolyn

Oh good! I'm glad to hear it!!!



I'm not sure I understand what you mean here. Have you been watching only one news station? At our house we've been flipping between them all (well, 7/39, 8, 9/51, and 10). Maybe the fact that your cable went out and you missed a few days worth is contributing to your viewpoint. :confused:

In the very beginning, when Scripps Ranch was on fire, there was a good percentage of coverage on it. Then again, it was also a relatively heavily populated suburban community (as opposed to say, Cuyamaca). Some 350 of 960 houses which have burnt down in SD County were in Scripps Ranch - that doesn't seem like unfair coverage to me.

Plus, some places like Cuyamaca didn't burn until waaaay after the Scripps Ranch one was put out. Anyway, as soon as Tierrasanta caught fire, there was a good amount of focus there. When the Otay areas caught fire, there was a fair bit of coverage on that one too.

At the moment, the coverage has shifted to reporting on the "outlying" SD County areas like Ramona, Cuyamaca, Mt. Palomar, Julian and the other little country places here and there.

hehehe.... PS,
no, I'm not from Scripps Ranch. :)


Ditto on that one! Over this whole disaster, I've been watching homeowners in various areas complaining that the firefighters aren't all gathered around their individual houses or something. Those fire crews have had to be spread thin....come on, this is a huge mega fire. There is no way they could cover everything. They're tired and in danger themselves. I for one applaud them, especially the earlier crews, for doing the best with what little resources they had.

Hooray for the fire crews! We are grateful!

.....Kelly :)

Kelly,
My viewpoint probably was a little skewed....on Sunday before the cable went out here, it was focused on the Scripps Ranch area....that's all we saw for the fire coverage all morning. I think a lot of my frustration came from the fact that it seemed like the coverage was painting a picture that this was the first community heavily hit by the fire....when I know that Ramona and the Country Estates were hit hard way before Scripps Ranch lost even one home. Because SR is so heavily populated, I can understand why so many houses were lost and the number seems huge, but then you also look at the community of Crest, which is a much smaller rural community, and they lost over 200 homes in the same fire. It's terrible when anyone loses a home, and I think I was just a little upset that the newscasters were making such a big deal out of Scripps Ranch (even though at the time that was the biggest area (number wise) affected).

And maybe it's just my hometown pride coming out in me that feels a little slighted by all the coverage in the first few days of areas other than Ramona, even though it was kinda difficult to get up this way in the first few days of the fire. {I'm not trying to say that Ramona is anymore important than the other areas affected by the fires going on around the state, but it's frustrating to see this news coverage about the fires going on and they're broadcasting from Lakeside or other areas of the county that weren't as heavily hit and weren't the "point of origin" for the fire. I had the chance to drive down the 67 to Poway for the first time today since the fires began, and it's absolutely devastating to see the amount of damage that occurred between Ramona and all the way down toward Scripps Ranch...I can't even imagine what the areas around Miramar, Tierrasanta, and Clairemont look like that were burned.

I'm siding with Kelly on this one. I don't feel that the coverage was skewed really. Scripps Ranch is heavily populated and a large number of homes that were lost in the fires were in Scripps Ranch. Plus it was the first place where the fire was within the city and a danger to people. I don't blame SD reporters for barely covering fires in Riverside and I don't blame LA reporters for barely covering the fires here in SD. They need to concentrate most heavily on stories that affect the greatest number of their viewers. Why spend too much time for an area out of your territory?

eta: After thinking about it some there probably should have been some more coverage at first if the Cedar fire started in Ramona. I thought it had started outside the county. Ramona isn't desolate. There's lots of people there. Their just not all on top of each other like in SR. Also, does anyone know what's going on with the hunter that got lost? He better be charged with something! He was completely negligent.


I went to Fillipi's last night with my dad and brother, the one in Mira Mesa/Scripps Ranch. There were so many people there that were effected by the fires. One man was having a birthday party. He looked so happy. His friend turned to us and told us how he couldn't believe how he can be smiling. He had just redone his house after his pipes flooded. Then it burnt to the ground. I know I'd never be able to do that! I'd be balled up somewhere crying my eyes out.


The city and county schools start back up on Monday for students. At work HR has been running a temporary day care. One hundred plus kids stuck inside a giant block building all day. Our volleyball court is going to waste. Heeheehee. HR is finally really earning their paycheck. ;) Tomorrow it'll be even better. The kids will be in costumes and pumped full of sugar. It's gonna be great!

So are you saying the fire wasn't a danger to the people in Ramona? It went through a number of neighborhoods and burnt down their houses before the sun came up on Sunday morning and the fire went down toward Scripps Ranch. The fire in Ramona became the fire in Scripps Ranch....they weren't separate fires. Maybe I'm just misunderstanding what you were saying? :confused:

This isn't meant to be an attack on what you're saying. I just don't understand how Ramona isn't heavily populated (we have over 30,000 residents) and the fire wasn't a danger to people? I know that at least four people who have died in the Cedar Fire died here in Ramona, when the fire first broke out.

And I will admit, my view of the newscasting was skewed by what little I was able to see before the cable went out on Sunday. My point is that the way the news was portraying it was that the fire was only in Scripps Ranch, that it hadn't already wrecked havoc in Ramona and devastated families living in this area of San Diego County.

ETA: SoCalGirl, I just noticed your edit to the post....I'm sorry that I just kinda jumped on what you said. :( In regards to the hiker, I guess he was in custody and was going to be charged, but a woman inthe doctor's office today said she heard there were posters out looking for him like he had escaped. There's a lot of fishiness about everything with the "start" of the fire, and I know on KUSI (Channel 9) they've started piecing together a timeline of the events of the start of the fire....it's going to be a BIG investigation on this one.

Polarpi is on the ball!
 

As I was editing my post I kept thinking, "I hope Polarpi doesn't read it before I'm done editing." :D For some reason my brain kept getting Ramona and Riverside backwards. :o I had thought the fire had started in Riverside, which contributed to my confusion. :(

I'm glad you're okay!

Well, it's starting to look a little better, at least in terms of getting the fires contained. My dad's best friend works for SoCal Edison and has been working 12 on/8 off shifts for the past few days. His crew has been able to restore power to a lot of the areas hit by the fire, meaning they have it almost completely contained in those areas. He doesnt' expect to be off his schedule anytime soon either.

The sky out in Riverside county was a lot more clear of smoke today. We even had a little bit of rain in the morning, the weather has been a lot cooler (from 90s to 60s today), and the smoke and ash have died down. Today was the first day I didn't have to use my eyedrops- and we were able to sweep the ash off the patio without having it pile up again in a matter of minutes. The conditions in Riv. County are similar to those in San Bernardino and sort of similar to those in the Lake Arrowhead area (of course, it gets a lot colder in Arrowhead), so it's starting to die down there a tad bit, too.

Re: Polarpi is on the ball!
 

It's okay....Ramona and Riverside are pretty similar, and most people don't even really know Ramona exists unless A1) you've lived there at any point of your life or B2) you've driven to Julian up the 78.

I'm glad we're okay, too! :) Hopefully everyone else can stay okay until the fires are all out!

Thank goodness for the rain and I heard it's supposed to rain here and there for the rest of the weekend. Even though the rain is helping a lot with controlling the fires, it's causing a lot of fog to form and choppers cannot see what's below them to know where fires need putting out.

Re: Re: Polarpi is on the ball!
 

hehehe...I'm not sure about that! Speaking as a "city girl", I don't see why San Diegans would "not know Ramona exists". :) It's a well-known and loved community!

I've always liked Ramona myself - I used to attend summer camp at Rancho del Cielo every summer! :)


.....Kelly :)

Re: Re: Re: Polarpi is on the ball!
 

Kelly,
Believe me, you're one of the few who know where Ramona is or that it even exists :)

Ramona doesn't usually get a lot of coverage unless there's a fire or something going on in town (like the rodeo)....but usually, it's a pretty quiet area and we kinda like it that way! :D

I love my hometown, and anyone who wants to come see what it's like, come on up! :)

edited to correct a spelling error :)

Something else I just thought of to post...can't believe I didn't post it yesterday.

I'm proud to be a San Diegan (okay, an outlying San Diegian countywise :D) based on the amount of support that poured out to help those affected by the Wildfires in the county.

One of our radio stations (Star 100.7) and tv stations (Local 8 - KFMB) teamed up to sponsor a fundraising drive held yesterday morning at the Sports Arena. Over the course of four hours, they were able to raise over 1.25 million dollars that will all stay here in San Diego to help those families who lost things in the fire....not to rebuild their homes, but to help rebuild their lives by buying a teddy bear or other small things.....and they haven't completed counting all the money that came in yet!

Here's a link to the story: http://www.kfmb.com/topstory19511.html

Great job, San Diego!!! :)