It's burning in Southern California.......

[josh8o]

Originally posted by sueali
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.

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

[Steeltrap]

Originally posted by PandaOnProzac
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.

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.

[Pink&Blue]

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.

[Pink&Blue]

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?

[adpialumcsuc]

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

[polarpi]

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.

[Pink&Blue]

polarpi,
you are in my thoughts and prayers.

[Steeltrap]

Originally posted by polarpi
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, 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).

[adpialumcsuc]

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

[polarpi]

Originally posted by adpialumcsuc
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!

[AGDee]

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

[mu_agd]

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

[phisigduchesscv]

Originally posted by AGDee
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

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

[navane]

Originally posted by polarpi
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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

[polarpi]

Originally posted by navane
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.

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.
.....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.