Originally Posted By DJK9 ^^^^ Boo yaa!!! The Police Department has us K9s and the Fire Department has 101s (not one hundred and one, but one o one).
Originally Posted By tiki tiki tiki tiki I finally spoke to my brother last night who lives in the Angeles Crest area. I know there´s no danger around those parts but my being so far away from the family always makes me worry beyond belief! He told me that he, my sis in law and the kids were out at Lombardi Ranch at the pumpkin patch on Sunday before any of the fires started up. They had to cut the trip short and head for home at around 1p.m. because of such extremely strong winds whipping up. A couple of hours later they were shaken up pretty badly as they watched on the news Lombardi Ranch going up in flames. Scary. I realize this is nothing compared to all of the now homeless families and all of the families, homes and lives being threatened by such a horrible force of nature. Since this all started, I´ve been lighting candles and sending positive thoughts out to all of the affected so that this may all come to an end asap. I´ve read through this thread and there are so many LPers that are in one way or another affected by the fires. It´s really overwhelming the size of this disaster. Keeping you all and your families in my thoughts.
Originally Posted By debtee <I'm somewhat perplexed about the uninsured homeowner. I believe you can't get a mortgage if you don't have insurance. If they paid cash for their house, then they certainly could *afford* insurance, even if they weren't required to have it. Very strange...> I'm not sure about in LA but I do know within Aus you are only required to have insurance for the first year that you take out the mortgage. Seems NUTS to me! In our bush fires last Summer, we lost many houses in Sydney. I could not believe the amount of families that went on the news saying they were un-insured and lost everything, when it's clear they are living in a high risk area next to a state forest. I felt deadfully sad for them but I do feel that insurance is a must!
Originally Posted By DJ7K Hope everyone is doing better where they are. I can see outside next to me through the sliding glass door, the moon is pretty visible right now. However the smell is still around, I had to open the sliding glass door to get a clear view. As the sky appeared to be a little more blue, but I wanted a better look. So, so far so good over here. It's Oceanside, but maybe hopefully it's this clear in other areas now too? I know we're very fortunate over here on this end since the majority of the fire is in other areas of the county and has caused more damage in more ways than one. So God be with everyone out there. I ask that His angels spread out far and wide to keep every one safe. If the winds would just settle down that would be really nice. (((((((( All the evacuated people, injured and friends/family members of those who have died as a result of this; and all the folks out there who are worried half to death )))))))) Sounds like NorCal is sending some help too for the fire fighters.
Originally Posted By threeundertwo <a href="http://tinyurl.com/38jlca" target="_blank">http://tinyurl.com/38jlca</a> It's good to know our governor only has eyes on this fire right now. He's really looking into the facts. Nothing misses his observation. [ok, little levity there, sorry] Now this picture <a href="http://tinyurl.com/2lsk3v" target="_blank">http://tinyurl.com/2lsk3v</a> Makes the mom in me wish I could make each of these guys a huge sandwich and a pitcher of lemonade. And I'd like to give them each a fluffy pillow too.
Originally Posted By wonderingalice Lulu and Debtee... Homeowners are only required to have insurance for fires that start WITHIN the home (a pan left on the stove ignites, for example). Fire insurance for wildfires, etc., is additional and optional (but recommended and perhaps mandatory - I'm going to ask my dad about it this morning - for those living in places like Lake Arrowhead and Crestline, etc). Chances are most of the people in the areas like San Diego truly believed something like this would never happen to them... Therefore, no coverage. I feel so badly for them.
Originally Posted By LuLu Thanks wonderingalice... I had to pull out my policy tho, and the very first thing listed under "what losses are covered" is "all loss from fire and lightning." I guess in "wildfire areas" that type of coverage might cost extra; where I am, I assume it's standard. If the homeowner doesn't have insurance coverage, I assume they "walk away" from their loan, leaving a black mark on their credit... unless there is some sort of official "forgiveness" in a tragedy situation such as this. (Which I assume would come from the gov't; I don't think the insurance co's would have a policy like that). tiki your bro's story gave me chills! Still keeping everyone in prayer... a frightening time.
Originally Posted By LuLu Here's a new link for the fire map: <a href="http://tinyurl.com/2ukxuv" target="_blank">http://tinyurl.com/2ukxuv</a> Updated stats: 420,424 acres burned 1,155 homes destroyed 881,500 people evacuated
Originally Posted By beamerdog >>Chances are most of the people in the areas like San Diego truly believed something like this would never happen to them.<< I find this surprising as when we visited San Diego for the first time there were fires in the hills. During our visit to the Zoo ashes were covering our heads and falling into our food and drinks.
Originally Posted By Kira well it's seems the winds have died down for now...most areas have winds of only 5-10 mph...much better than before. I've been watching non stop live coverage of these fires since sunday and I just cannot even begin to imagine how bad it really is. Images on the TV screen don't show all of the damage and stats are only stats (until you see the damage first hand), but I know that many many people are suffering at the moment and it is going to take a long while for so. cal to recover. Over here in Hemet it's been fairly quiet and we have been really fortunate, especially after suffering through the huge esperanza fire last october. Many places in our town sustained tons of damage from the horrendous winds on sunday night, forcing several schools to remain closed through next monday morning, including the community college. When I walk outside no matter what direction I face, I can see MASSIVE plumes of smoke in the distance from the arrowhead and san diego fires. It's kind of surreal to see images on TV of what is going on in places that are close to my home, but yet still far enough away that leaves us here in town fairly safe. I have not seen one ash fall nor has any of the smoke landed in our valley. I do have friends and family whose homes have been threatened by the fires in the san diego area, thankfully they have been able to return home to find everythign in tact (in the areas of fallbrook and chula vista). All we can do is hope and pray that we have enough resources to finally get these fires under control and not lose anymore homes. The images are devastating enough to look at, I can't imagine having to actually lose your home and everything you own to something like this. (((thoughts and prayers for those that are in need))) Stay safe everyone!
Originally Posted By beamerdog Kira, what color are the plumes? White is what you are looking for to see the end of the fires (lack of fuel creates white plumes).
Originally Posted By SoThisIsLove DJK9, no offense taken whatsoever! xoxo Sara Tonin...you ran the gauntlet, didn't you? So glad you are all right. And prayers and love to all of you in and near the affected area. My sister did evacuate her home in Valley Center as ordered...but not her stubborn cancer-recovering husband! East wind from Pauma Valley started blowing at 0600 today and yesterday the fire was 2.5 miles away...not good, but we hope for the best. My mom in Escondido is doing just fine and is not in the evacuated areas. Hopefully all will be well soon. {{{You and your loved ones}}}
Originally Posted By iamsally Watching the news and it all looks so horrible. I hope the winds dying down helps end this tragedy. Still praying for all involved.
Originally Posted By Kira I just went outside to check on the plumes and the plume for the Temecula/fallbrook/san diego area looks like it's growing and heading a bit this way -_- so much for our clear blue skies! That plume was brown toned and the one in the lake arrowhead area looks dark gray =/ Doesn't look very good or healthy at all. I'm planning on heading down to the temecula mall in awhile here so hopefully the smoke drifts off in the other direction!
Originally Posted By LuLu >>>>Chances are most of the people in the areas like San Diego truly believed something like this would never happen to them.<< I find this surprising as when we visited San Diego for the first time there were fires in the hills.<< Wildfires are fairly common - losing lots of homes, not so much. People are already saying this shouldn't have happened, there should've been more air attack immediately - I think the severe wind conditions prevented that. So it is *somewhat* unusual, but sadly seems to be coming more common.
Originally Posted By Elderp Crazy as it seems wildfire coverage for insurance is optional. There are many people with no provision in their insurance policies. I personally think this is crazy. We opted out of some things in our policy like Flood and Earthquake coverage but we did not skimp when it came to fire protection. Basically, I did my research, I wanted a cheap policy but from a company I knew. We went with Allstate and they have been really good to us. They have set up tents at all the evacuation centers and are writing up checks on the spot for evacuees. Talk about a good PR move!! It doesn't cost them hardly anything and it helps SO much. There are so many little things when your being evacuated you need but either you forgot to bring with you or couldn't bring with you. Having some fast cash is coming in really handy. Not to mention I don't want to think of what my refigerator (if it is still there) is going to be like when I get home). Note to anyone living in the mountains, you pay for what you get! Anyhow, I can say that right now I am REALLY happy we went with Allstate. I should say that State Farm and AAA have also set up tents for their people in the evacuation centers.
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder We're about 30 miles fromthe nearest fire, but here's a picture of the air here in Long Beach. Apparently our skies are an exhaust pipe for all the smoke. <a href="http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2007/10/current_view_of_long_beac.php" target="_blank">http://www.laobserved.com/arch ive/2007/10/current_view_of_long_beac.php</a>
