CNN: Southern California Wildfire forces hundreds to evacuate

[DeepModem Mom]

Wildfire forces hundreds to evacuate
Only 5 percent of 17,000 acre fire under control, officials say
Thursday, September 29, 2005; Posted: 6:31 p.m. EDT

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- A fire in Southern California has more than quadrupled in size in 24 hours, forcing hundreds of people to evacuate Thursday, officials said.

So far, only 5 percent of the blaze has been contained.

The fire, which started Wednesday afternoon near Chatsworth, northwest of Los Angeles, already has scorched at least 16,975 acres and threatens Simi Valley to the north and Thousand Oaks to the west.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Although dry conditions provided additional fuel to the fire, winds were weaker than forecast Thursday morning, enabling firefighters to directly battle the blaze, said Kevin Nestor, a battalion chief for the Ventura County Fire Department....


http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/29/california.wildfire/index.html

[kahleefornia]

1. it's a biggie

about 10 miles from my house. There's ash falling all the way out here, and my eyes & throat are itchy from the smoke.

I don't think many homes are in danger, because they are mostly designed to be easily defended. But some of my favorite hiking areas are scorched now!! :(

[Carla in Ca]

19. I'm in Orange

Let me know if you need anything.

[kahleefornia]

22. thanks!

That's so nice - but I'm in no danger. Just hacking a bit from the smoke!

[Spinzonner]

2. We've been having Disaster Envy in SoCal

:sarcasm:

Firefighters have been doing incredible work. SOme coming from Northern California as Mutual Assistance.

Only a few houses burned and one reported injury: Fire Captain hit by a falling rock. They let the brush burn and defend the buildings.

They were flying the water dumping helicopters last night, which can be dangerous.

[slackmaster]

5. Don't worry - Tropical Storm Otis just might change all that for us

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/storm_graphics/EP15/refresh/EP1505W5_sm2+gif/204543W_sm.gif

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov

[kahleefornia]

7. haha - it's true, though!

We can only go so long without being the focus of attention.

My house smells like burning tires.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

3. OH NO! thousands of Republicans lose their homes!

FEMA is about to send 10,000 gold cards to each family unit in the valley, and offer deals on humvees and three weeks on a cruise ship (1st class only) while it rebuilds their porches. The President is hunting for a local golf course for a photo-op and Laura is putting superglue on the bourbon caps on AirForce 1.

(breaking news- George has his own supplier)
----------
I wonder just how quickly the feds will respond to this event compared to Katrina.

[Gormy Cuss]

4. The president will show up all right,

and point to how well a Republican governor manages his own disaster relief.

W stands for 'Washing machine stuck on the spin cycle.'

[Athame]

29. Well, one president is already here

This is Reagan Presidential Library country.

I'm 40 miles north, but we are seeing and smelling the smoke and the allergies are kicking in big time.

[Dr Batsen D Belfry]

6. so FEMA orders 10000 12" steel rods

1600 bags of marshmallows, 2000 boxes of graham crackers, and 4000 Hershey bars, at a cost to taxpayers of $2 billion

</SARCASM>

DBDB

[Spinzonner]

10. Don't be a weenie

roaster

[LibDemAlways]

8. I'm less than a mile from

one edge of the fire. Fire departments from throughout the state are here, and the past hour or so have been lighting backfires in my area to keep the fire out of the neighborhoods. Considering the scope of this thing, the firefighters have done a great job.

[cliss]

13. Yikes. Hang in there, Lib.

I enjoy reading your posts, wouldn't want anything happening to you:smoke:

[LibDemAlways]

14. Thanks for the kind words.

The fire departments are taking good care of everybody. I hope the republicans whose homes have been saved realize that this is their tax dollars at work!

[pitohui]

20. oh god be careful

i was trapped in san diego during a big fire season, it was scary beyond belief, almost everyone in the hotel besides silly us (we didn't even know of such a thing as fire season) was an evacuee, ppl were in shock, some given only minutes to leave their homes forever

this crap has to end, it just goes on and on like a bad movie

[cascadiance]

23. I just got off the phone with my sister...

She's only a few miles from the fire across the freeway from where she is in Agoura Hills. She feels relatively safe with also a golf course as a buffer between her and the fire too. Her area is under voluntary evacuation and across the freeway it is under mandatory evacuation now.

Hope they get this thing fixed up soon!

[seasat]

9. This wasn't supposed to happen...

I thought Shrub Inc's "Leave No Tree Behind" initiative was supposed to prevent forest fires.

[kahleefornia]

16. ah - but this is a brush fire

Like providing freedom to people who live near oil, the Healthy Forest initiative only protects trees that can be logged later.

[seasat]

24. 'Zactly

It drove me nuts that the Repugs used the previous California fires as justification for that crappy gimmie to the timber industry. I'd point out to them that California has scub trees and it wouldn't make a difference. The timber companies wouldn't even try cut in those areas.

[currents]

11. Westlake Village here... Lots of smoke, no danger

Sky is orange and brown,

[LibDemAlways]

12. Welcome to DU....

I'm in Oak Park. "Voluntary" evacuation last night in my hillside neighborhood. Lots of smoke. No flames close by.

[Pithy Cherub]

15. Las Virgenes is under a serious fire threat right now.

The wind shifted and its off to the races right now.

[kahleefornia]

17. I hope the oaks survive

but they have before...

I hiked up around Lasky Mesa on Tuesday. So pretty. I hope it recovers quickly.

[henslee]

18. I know this area well. Windy roads. Hard to access Some canyons, espec.

the ones that have not burned in years are a tinderbox.

[sweetheart]

21. Its time to fight the fires with nuclear weapons

If they launch simulaneously 100 nuclear weapons from space-based
platforms in to a 5x5 mile grid pattern over the burning area of
the fire, they can create a backfire that will stop the fire and
save los angeles from burning.

We need more people thinking about how to help fight natural disasters
with nuclear technology. Think of the possibilities. ;-)

[SoCalDem]

25. We have ash all over our roof & sidewalk..(chicken fire) poor things

from our very own fire..I think they have it under control because the air was not brown today :)

video of our fire
http://ktla.trb.com/news/local/ktla-092905morenovalleyfire-wmv,0,1158168.wmvfile?coll=ktla-news-1&track=hpcenter

[BeHereNow]

26. BHN checking in from Burbank area-

We had a bit of blaze on the local foothills-
Smells like hell without the neocons.
Perhaps the planet is giving us a hint as to where the neocons, hypocrites and liars are headed?
LOL-
Seriously though- I hate the thought of all the poor
animals running for their lives right now.

There is no excuse for fires like this-
Only the assholes who are carelss can be blamed.
Some dumb fuck probably flipped a cigarette
out the window of their Porsche...I see them do it
all the time in our canyons. Dumb fuckers!

Damn.
Saying a prayer for any four leggeds out there-
You can come to my house if you need shelter, fur friends.
BHN

[onager]

27. West Valley looked like the Fundie Apocalypse...

I work in Warner Center. When I left work this afternoon the sun was blood-red and barely visible thru all the smoke. We could clearly see the smoke from the canyon fires billowing up, across Topanga Canyon Blvd. Heavy ash and debris falling constantly, all the way across the Valley into the Winnetka/Reseda area.

Mean and Ugly!

[BeHereNow]

28. Yikes- I have friends out there!

SO sad to hear it...
That is such a beautiful area and SO many helpless
fourlegged and winged critters-
BHN

[EFerrari]

30. I'm sure the catlady troops have mustered.

There's a huge rescue network in HelLA and many of them trap every week. And that was my first thought, too. All the ferals. :(

[BeHereNow]

31. One of my best friends is a "catlady"

I won't tell youhow many kitties she has in her
house at the moment...
LOL!
BHN

[EFerrari]

32. I'm five over my two cat limit. And just had to develop an

emergency plan. I ordered enough carriers to lash to a handcart -- we're in quake and tsunami country. I just CAN'T WAIT to have to evacuate 7!

And my dear catlady in HelLA has so many, she wouldn't let me go to her house. I don't judge. She's helped me so much with my guys, and also got me to foster 300 adoptees in one year! Taught me how to weigh and vaccinate and do all kinds of stuff I didn't know how to do. (Thank you Antonia, my hero.)

The upside is, I know we're in L.A. in force. And I'm sure the network has been activated.

:)

[EFerrari]

33. And we are all grateful to her.

One of my best friends is a catlady as well. We shared everything except her address.

Here's to hoping that "catladys" get more support in the future, so they don't have to endanger their lives or homes just to keep kitties alive.

I should judge her? I don't think so.

:)

[Starbucks Anarchist]

34. I work in Burbank.

I could smell the smoke the other day.

[Tiggeroshii]

35. At least it's not so close to me anymore..

The last couple fire seasons I would sleep with my window open and end up having breathing problems. I learned from that, and slept with it closed, but the fires make he air so friggin unbreathable when they're nearby. It's a real bitch...