Originally Posted By oc_dean I hope people are avoiding the DLR today .. and for the next couple days ..... the smoke from the Yorba Linda fires is terrible. My mom who lives due west of DL on Ball Road said the smoke and the smell reached her by mid day, yesterday. As the smoke from this north east section of Orange County is carrying itself West/southward ... it is filling up the entire area of smoke, a burnt smell .. and is raining ash. Within a couple of hours since I talked to my mom .. those same burnt smells and smoke reached where I live (the Hollywood Hills). I'm less than a 1/4 mile from the Hollywood sign .. and it's a hazy sight all day today. An orange haze covers the entire basin ..... So ...other than the poor CMs who have to endure this .... I wouldn't go near Anaheim .. and if you live between the Yorba Linda and Sylmar fires ... I hope you staying indoors. It's awful! I just walked outside ... and it's raining ash like snow. So .... this will be going on for the next couple of days .... so if anyone wants to avoid respiratory troubles .. I would save that trip to the DLR for the end of week .. when the fires have died down. And the temps go down.
Originally Posted By fkurucz We were there last year in October. Our first day was a Sunday, and because of thr Santa Ana's they canceled both F! and the fireworks. The air was smoky and once cancellations were announced the park emptied fast, and there were no lines right up until closing. Once we got back to the hotel I checked my hair. i was covered with ashes. Most of the following week was very windy and smokey. Crowds were very light. Quite an unusual trip that one.
Originally Posted By oc_dean Unfortunate we go through this danger every year about this time. Combined with the lack of rain all year round ... with the Santa Ana wind condition .. and bingo: fire danger. Nothing new ... imagine the indians living here hundreds of years before us ... and cooking up their meals on open flames .. and the fires that erupted then. I remember at least one occasion in my Anaheim high school years .. and walking from class to class in the late 70s/early 80s .. and ash coming down then from nearby fires .. around Sept, Oct, and November.
Originally Posted By oc_dean I held my breath .. as I took these about 20 minutes ago ........... <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/ocdean/SmokyHazeFromTheSoCalFiresOfMidNovember2008" target="_blank">http://picasaweb.google.com/oc...mber2008</a># And this is from the Orange County/Chino Hills fires. Not Sylmar. That smoke is blowing north of Malibu.
Originally Posted By melekalikimaka Fantastic. I have pneumonia (and have had it for the past 7 weeks) so I am really dreading going down there. I figured I'd be spending a lot of time resting (recovering) at the parks but I will be very bummed if there are no fireworks next weekend. :-( (Partly because I love the snow but mostly because we're bringing a 10 year old girl with us who has never been to DL before.)
Originally Posted By gottaluvdavillains Last year even if the fireworks were cancelled they did the snow...
Originally Posted By oc_dean Providing the fires are under control within a day ... I'd say it's safe to go to the DLR by Thursday - at the earliest. Even Friday or Saturday to be safe. It will be cooler too. By 20 degrees, roughly.
Originally Posted By oc_dean At 4:16 .. the sun is just getting to set .. and I took 2 more pics ... <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/ocdean/SmokyHazeFromTheSoCalFiresOfMidNovember2008#5269413736565212306" target="_blank">http://picasaweb.google.com/oc...65212306</a> <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/ocdean/SmokyHazeFromTheSoCalFiresOfMidNovember2008#5269413736853101522" target="_blank">http://picasaweb.google.com/oc...53101522</a>
Originally Posted By DyGDisney Unfortunatly that's not do-able for people who've had reservations at DLR for several weeks/months, and even have purchased air fare. Because my kids go to a year round school, I know several families who will be at DLR this week, and a couple who are there today. But yeah, definately for locals.
Originally Posted By oc_dean I feel bad for those who have vacation plans. Problem is ... they are not going to get very far on their day adventures .. when they start having breathing problems. Just now .. I thought I'd dust off the ash on my car ... Just outside for a minute ... and I'm my chest was feeling aches! And anyone he decides to push it .. they have more than respiratory troubles. Try skin, eye, and nose troubles to add to it.
Originally Posted By DyGDisney Ugh, how awful. I have a friend who went down today. Maybe I should call her and see how she is. She has a toddler too.
Originally Posted By melekalikimaka Thanks for the updates, oc. We'll be there Thursday morning so I'm hoping the winds die down, the fires are contained and the air is much better by then. Hope is pretty much all I got. ;-)
Originally Posted By FerretAfros I drove back to LA from San Fransisco today, and had heard about the fires a little while I was gone for the weekend. When we left SF, we had heard that the Grapevine was closed, but it had reopened by the time we got down that far (around 4:30ish). We saw a ton of smoke coming from specific areas (not just the general haze) on both sides of the road, about 300 yards away on each side, if that. On the right side, we could even see the huge flames that they were trying to contain. It was kind of scary to see, since I don't think I've ever been that close to a fire that big in real life, or seen one that close to so many other buildings (including a brand new condo building with a sign on the side advertising the unsold units). It was definately less hazy by the time we got to downtown LA, but it was still far from great. It was pretty tough to see the tops of the buildings from the 110 next to Dodger Stadium, which is probably one or two miles away from them. On the bright side, it made for a very pretty sunset, as the entire sky turned orange and pink. However, I think we will end up with another one of those bizarre orange-almost-sunset-colored-sky-all-day days tomorrow, which always weirds me out.
Originally Posted By tasha23 i am very lucky i drove down from canada and stayed in anaheim for about a week, i had just left on saturday and if i had left a day later the 1-5 would be closed and i would not be able to get home.
Originally Posted By TinkerbellPatten Concerning air quality: I just called the Hojo and they said the air quality has improved a lot today (Mon). Winds starting to come from the coast, the Santa Ana winds are dying out. The air quality is good today and expected to continue to improve. Good news for us, as we arrive Wed. night and will be in the parks Thurs-Sat. Mele: we will be there same time as you.
Originally Posted By melekalikimaka Woohoo! I'll try to wear a Laughing Place pin, so if you see it, say hi!
Originally Posted By bean i wouldn't worry to much. The wind direction changed quite a bit. During the main fire storm the wind was blowing west but then changed. the wind is now coming in from the coast so the sky's cleared up pretty quick. It was not bad at all today monday. Saturday was a diferent story. Sunday it was bad most of the day but by the evening it also started to clear up
Originally Posted By oc_dean I was looking at a satellite image .. and it was showing the smoke from the remaining fires blowing exactly west .. bypassing the DLR to the north. So .. as long as it stays that way for the next 48 hours .. visitors should be fine.
