Thousands flee new fire in San Bernadino

[i have issues]

http://www.nbc4.tv/index.html
This new fire is bad, over two hundred homes burned with 0% containment...2 dead. Now there's a new fire in Simi Valley, 6800 acres burned, looks like all these fire were started by arsonists, headind towards being the worst fire season in the states history... Holy Crap!

[proud patriot]

1. This is horrible

:-(

[i have issues]

3. It really sucks being a Californian these days...

:(

[PartyPooper]

2. I hope pippin is okay.

Along with everyone else, of course!

pippin reported in on another thread. Things were a little 'dicey', to say the least.

And, arson is so awful...can't imagine why anyone would do such a tragic thing. People and livestock die! Property is destroyed!

I think I'm going to bed now. Thoughts and prayers to everyone in Southern California!

O8)

[lebkuchen]

4. The new governor will think of something

after he's figured out how to balance the budget.

Davis can head out and bag rays in Hawaii. Good timing for him, when you think about it.

[i have issues]

5. Pardon the spelling,

in the original post, I was watching the news and typing at the same time. Now the evening news is over, no extended local coverage... Move along, nothing to see here folks...Sheesh, I hate this place.

[Blue_State_Elitist]

6. I am near LA

And I can barely breathe from the smell of smoke. Everything is covered in ash and this afternoon it looked like a nuke went off. Crazy times.

[Nottingham]

7. This disaster is Horrible. Its out of control

:bounce:

[GAspnes]

8. the idea of arson makes my skin crawl

no one can set off a flood, or a tornado. But some idiot is always willing to light a match and drop it just to see what happens.

I hope there are no more deaths. Loss of property and a lifetime of memories is bad enough.

Minnesota sent three forest-fire fighting planes out, ahead of crews, to CA tonight. I hope they do a lot of good.

[nolabels]

13. Thanks, the way things look we will need all the help we can get

Earlier today the planes were grounded because of the heavy winds, hopefully they will die down enough tomorrow so they can use them again

[alexwcovington]

9. Ugh.... must.... contain.... city planning rage....

Take that, suburbia!!!!!!!!

Sorry, sorry. People losing homes and lives. That just plain sucks.

Maybe they could have fled faster if their neighbourhoods weren't designed with only one way in and out!!!!!!

Ugh.... must.... contain.... city planning rage....

Edit: Took out the chortle.

[joshcryer]

10. What a stupid and horrible thing to say.

Seriously, that's not remotely funny.

[alexwcovington]

11. Damn straight it's not funny

It's criminal how they develop these days... they pay no attention to safety... building in woods and stuff... and with the windy roads and stuff... just not right.

[joshcryer]

14. This problem is not related to 'city planning.'

This is a bunch of arsonist asshole motherfuckers. If I see them starting a fire, I will shoot their fucking heads off.

[alexwcovington]

16. Whoa, contain the rage!

I would knock their heads too.

But city planning is a factor, definitely. Those developments wouldn't even have been there if people actually lived in the city...

There are always a lot of angles to look at a situation from. City planning just happens to be the one I'm seeing now.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

19. No he is correct. Developers are building in dry wooded areas

where they are NOT making sure issues such as water are handled.

It is nothing to laugh about and yes many fires are startes by arsonists, but the risks where these homes are sprouting up are well known. They are an arsonists wet dream.

[doubleplusgood]

23. not related to city planning ?

You are so totally wrong ! In a region where Santana winds and brush fires (and arsonists) are a FACT OF LIFE, it is absolutely CRIMINAL for cities & counties to give developers carte blanche to build non-fire-resistant homes in fire-prone areas. (Years ago, rabid pro-growth GOP L.A. county supervisor Mike Antonovich vehemently fought against a ban on wood-shake roofs. Developers - his constituency - were opposed to the ban).

This was a disaster waiting to happen, just like idiots who approve construction in flood plains, etc.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

12. It's very awful here. Over 50,000 acres so far

Basically there SEVERAL hot spots, some with the ability to connect and they encompass a HUGE area. The fire in Camp Pendleton is quite large as well and there is a fire up in Simi Valley to the north and the fires in Lyttle Canyon to the east and the Big Bear fire now makes the entire LA Basin COMPLETELY engulfed by black thick soot. Ashes are raining everywhere in Orange County and a thick coat of ash covers everything.

I am 25 miles north of one fire and 40 miles west of another (the Simi one is over an hour away, and the air smells like the fire is right here in town. YOu cannot look up to the sky without getting eyes full of ashes (unless you wear glasses, then I suppose it's not an issue)

The color of the sky reminds me of the atmosphere in the movie Escape From LA...it is very sad and you just KNOW, the damage when all is said and done is going to be severe.


We have all the makings of a fire storm. This is going to be quite devastating. It's the last thing we needed, and it COULD get very much worse.

With the winds kicking up, the fire in the Simi area and another fire further north in Ventura could connect.

It is miserable air quality. Your nose and throat burn and it is quite dry with the Santa Anas kicking up. The gustier they get, the nastier those fires will be since they are in areas near passes that would pick up the winds ten times worse.


Here's a news update:

LOS ANGELES, : Wildfires threatening the Los Angeles suburbs doubled in size, consuming at least 15 houses and forcing thousands more people to flee, officials said.

Some 3,500 homes were threatened as the fire zone grew to 27,000 acres (10,000 hectares) in just 12 hours, as the winds drove the flames towards outlying parts of the second largest US city, officials said.

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Hot desert "Devil winds" fanned the flames from the slopes and ridges of a mountain range further into residential areas about 60 miles (100 kilometers) northeast of dowtown Los Angeles.

"It's been a very bad day indeed," said Robin Renteria, fire information officer for San Bernardino National Forest, where the blaze is raging.

"The fire has spread dramatically because the winds have been driving it hard and were also strong enough to prevent us from flying firefighting aircraft, allowing it to spread further."

The blaze was so intense that it sent a thick haze of smoke over Los Angeles which lies miles away.

The fire was only 23 percent contained as 2,200 firefighters battled to control it, up from 1,400 fighting the flames a day earlier.

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world/view/54112/1/.html

[alexwcovington]

15. How's the water situation?

Do they have enough to fight the fires?

Do you have enough to try and saturate your walls and lawns to try to stop it from reaching you? Hmmm, they'll probably just evacuate you and if it gets to your place. Sucky.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

18. I have not gotten to watch coverage as of yet.

the winds are kicking up and it's growing. Another complication is that some of the fires could connect, there are apparently a couple more I hadn't followed. The one in Santa Clarita (Simi Valley) has the potential to connect with the one in Ventura.

I am not clear of the water issue yet. We are well into a draught. I don't know if they are relying on ocean water and scoops for any of it yet.

Here is an update from the LA Times:

Wildfires Destroy More Than 200 Homes
Thousands Evacuate as Flames Scorch 50,000 Acres

Wildfires driven by winds and high temperatures burned out of control Saturday in the San Bernardino Mountains, triggering firestorms that destroyed more than 200 homes in foothill suburbs and forced the evacuation of thousands of residents from San Bernardino to Rancho Cucamonga.

Stoked by Santa Ana winds that knocked firefighters off their feet and grounded water-dropping helicopters and airplanes, scattered fires covered more than 50,000 acres from Ventura to San Diego counties and raised a ceiling of thick black smoke that spread ash for miles. In all, more than 4,000 firefighters were deployed and more than 13,000 homes threatened.







Two San Bernardino men were reported dead, apparently from heart attacks, Saturday—one as he tried to evacuate and another as he watched his house burn. They were identified as James W. McDermith, 70, and Charles Cunnigham, 93. Firefighters searched smoldering homes overnight for residents who might have failed to escape.

Firefighters, who had already labored for days in triple-digit temperatures, faced their gravest challenge Saturday in the foothills of the San Bernardino Mountains just east of the 215 Freeway.

Cyclones of embers tore through the historic San Bernardino neighborhood of Del Rosa, setting dozens of houses ablaze. Flames leapt from building to building along cul-de-sacs on the edge of the foothills, as palm and pine trees exploded in flames. As residents fled, some homeowners ignored the order, wrapped towels over their faces and attempted to save their homes with garden hoses.

"Today we have bad news and worse news," San Bernardino County Deputy Fire Chief Dan Worl told a group of fire evacuees. "We just don't have any place to contain this fire."

The blaze, 50 miles east of Los Angeles, spread rapidly along two fronts and late Saturday threatened to burn explosively dry forests devastated by drought and bark beetles. By 9:40 p.m., a separate fire in Crestline had prompted mandatory evacuations of Twin Peaks, Blue Jay and Crestline communities and closed Highway 330, the route to Big Bear, to all traffic. Federal officials Saturday closed the San Bernardino National Forest to all visitors.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-fires26oct26,1,4891037.story?coll=la-home-headlines

[Nottingham]

17. This is so bad for asthmatics the hospitals are gonna be overan

Poor California :bounce:

[drfemoe]

20. dupe

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=183837

n/t
eom

[SoCalDem]

21. I hate to say this, but I had this horrible thought when the fires started

A few years back a FIREMAN was found guilty of setting fires.. The coincidental nature of all the fires right as the Santa Anas arrived, tweaked my radar..

My husband and I were just commenting last week about how lucky we had been to have had no fires..

Firefighters would be very aware of the exact timing of the Santa Anas for the most devastation.. I suppose others would too, but that other case flashed in my memory..

I hope I am wrong.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

22. I was just discussing it with someone tonight

Some of these communities use volunteer firefighters (they DO get paid) and many contract out prisoners. It results in extra funds to many and lots of overtime. There have been several large fires started by firefighters..the most recent in Arizona last year but there were a spate in Elsinore a few years back.

It's an awful thought but with so many breaking out it does make one wonder.

[Melsky]

24. Sky is pink in the west

I'm in the desert in San Bernardino county. It looks like we are having sunrise and sunset at the same time, a very weird effect. I think it's just the sunrise reflecting off the particles in the air from the fires to the west.

These developments are designed so badly, it's almost as if they are designed to make any fire as bad as possible. They want to limit street trafic so they have few roads going out of these developments. The houses are so close together and built like cardboard boxes. They are built in areas with frequent wildfires. It's bad planning, plain and simple. And lets not forget greed, I'm sure some company made millions putting these houses in where they should never be.

I think the idiot governer should don some fire fighting clothes and get out there. This is about the only way I could think of that he could do some good for our state, he is a big strong guy and should be real good at dragging hoses up hills and stuff like that.

[oceanpoetry]

25. yes its bad

I am in Orange County and the sky is a reddish brown, smells like smoke and there are little ashes falling everywhere. I have never seen anything like this before - it is really eerie.

I am surprised there haven't been more widespread warnings about Air Quality? this has certainly got to be unhealthy.

[Whoa_Nelly]

26. Take a look at this radar image

http://www.weatherunderground.com/radar/radblast.asp?ID=SOX®ion=d1&lat=34.15554047&lon=-117.58973694&label=Rancho%20Cucamonga%2c%20CA

on edit: C & P the URL to get the radar image