this morning fox news was reporting that a helicopter crew doing surveillance spotted a man on a motorcycle start a fire. they radioed ground support and the man was apprehended! i hope this is true and that this is the culprit who caused all this devastation and loss and all californians will be able to rest easier.

I heard on the news (don't remember which station) that they knew what caused the Pendelton fire but they didn't say anything else about it.

The animals at the zoo are not in any danger. The Wild Animal Park is near Escondido, and has been closed for several days. They have a large fire break around the Park (it's the kind of park where the majority of the animals are in natural enclosures and you ride on a tram or a small bus to see them.) But they did evacuate some animals on Sundayto the zoo.

Many many people in San Diego county live on ranch properties and have horses etc. A friend has an alpaca ranch just a few miles from me...she was evacuated Monday. The Target parking lot by my house is full of horse trailers and RVs belonging to people who had to leave the back country areas.

The highways have not really burned but some are closed to help the firefighters get where they need to be. We are being urged to stay home and all schools are closed this week.

[rant]If I hear one more thing about celebrities homes being in danger I’m going to kick my TV in.[/rant]

Yeah, it is really hard to hear that multi-million dollar homes have been burned when I know that there are a lot of houses that belong to regular people that have burned to the ground, so many more than ridiculously expensive ones. It is everyone's memories, but you can't help feeling more sorry for the regular folk.

People in San Diego are really coming together, though. We have more people wanting to volunteer than we have places for them to do so, and some of the evacuation sites have too many donations. The Greek Community went out to the surrounding neighborhood yesterday asking for donations of needed items, and people gave sooooo many things. It was really amazing. :D

I just saw this posted on another website:

Wild Animal Park reports loss of only 2 animals
Posted @ 12:21 PM

Of the over 3,500 animals that reside at the Wild Animal Park reports that of the 3,500-plus animals in its enclosure, two animals (a clapper rail and a kiang) were lost due to complications from the fire. More than 600 acres surrounding the Wild Animal Park were burned. These were open buffer zone areas and not exhibit space.

The California condors and other endangered bird species, as well as other mammals, have been returned to their homes while others are in the process of being moved, the Park reports. The rest of the animals remain safe, secure, and have weathered the firestorm well.

The Wild Animal Park did lose one of the empty condor breeding facilities to the fire as well as a storage facility containing Festival of Lights event materials.

Winds have damaged trees throughout the Park, but again the animals and exhibits have weathered the storm. A core group of employees is on hand to care for the wildlife. Other employees and some contractors are currently assisting with clean up and restoration efforts.

The Wild Animal Park is closed today (Wednesday, Oct. 24). The current plan is to re-open on Thursday, Oct. 25. Pre-purchased tickets can be exchanged for admittance to the San Diego Zoo by visiting the Zoo’s Guest Relations window.

Just a few threads to look at if one cares to:
today's papers: A summary of what's in the major U.S. newspapers.
Reign of Fire

By Daniel Politi
Posted Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2007, at 6:10 AM ET

http://www.slate.com/id/2176551/nav/fix/

http://www.calfires.com/

http://www.fire.ca.gov/

http://www.oes.ca.gov/Operational/OE...4?OpenDocument

http://www.icess.ucsb.edu/resac/resac.html

http://www.cagle.com/news/CaliforniaFires/main.asp

http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2007/new...res/index.html

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,304623,00.html

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21452510/

http://www.reuters.com/article/topNe...40455820071025

Update: I got into my neighborhood last night and my complex is fine! :D The only thing damaged, that I saw, was part of the fence around one of the tennis courts. It looked like it was blown down, not burned. The hill is charred 75% of the way down. Further in some parts. I told my parents I should make cookies for the firemen. Then I wondered if Rancho Santa Fe firemen would have to have Godiva chocolate. :p

So glad to know that your place is fine!

You have to have to have to make cookies for the firemen. Firemen love to eat, and they'll totally love you for it!

That would be a great gesture.

Glad your complex survived.

I've been to Southern California many times. I know that there is a life style that is very compelling for those who live there. However, considering fires, mudslides, hurricanes, earthquakes and all -- I have to wonder...would I ever find it worth it?

It is totally worth all of that to live here, DA. California is so beautiful and our major urban areas are also filled with gorgeous nature with the hills and ocean and natural geography of California. Living in Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego and San Francisco is like having the best of both worlds--city and nature.

And I still think all we have here in terms of earthquakes, wildfires and mudslides is a chance I'll take as opposed to winter every single year. LOL

They will appreciate your gesture...just be mindful that there may be lots of people donating!

(LOL..today, In-n-Out brought a huge box full of double-doubles w/ cheese, french fries, chips and a crate of shakes to our fire station!)

.....Kelly :)

PS - I'm still on duty...tomorrow will probably be my last day!

Can I suggest that you wait like maybe a month before you take them something. Only because they will probably be inundated with "thank yous" right now. But if you wait a month, they won't have any other thank you gifts and it will be apreciated even more. A police officer friend of mine gave me that advice after a cop here was killed. Lots of people were bringing donuts, coffee, gifts to the police station for the first couple weeks and they had so much that they would donate the stuff to other places. About a month after it happened and the gifts had stopped someone brought them donuts and coffee as a belated thank-you and that was the one that everyone at the station remembered!

However if it is a seasonal fire crew that won't be together in a month, then ignore advice above.

Thank goodness! I am very happy for you! :)

I think it would be great to make some cookies for the fire fighters ASAP! Many of them are probably not from your area, so this might be the only chance to thank them. I know there are fire crews from all over the state, and even other states here in So. Cal. right now.

I love my CA. I will probably never move out of the state. Any challenges we go through are worth it, and we always pull through. :)

Again, thank you for what you're doing for the people!!!! ((hugs))