OT: Cali wildfires, no bueno...

jabam

People in the gulf coast and the southeast have hurricanes and flooding, the Midwest has their tornadoes and the Great Lakes area and northeast have their blizzards.

Here in Cali we have wildfires and earthquakes. 
The recent wildfires in the north and wine country as well as the fires down south have been devastating. 

My Daughter lives in Santa Rosa and was forced to evacuate on Monday, was allowed to return to her apartment today, albeit with no electricity. She was one of the lucky ones!

Reports of 30-40 mph winds made fighting the fires near impossible, with the winds blowing embers from roof top to roof top. Below are a before and after pic of one neighborhood in Santa Rosa, whole neighborhoods in ruins. 

We we are still praying for those missing, and loved ones lost. And giving thanks that our daughter was safe. 

GATraveller

There are no words to describe how terrible that is.  

theyolksonyou

Wow. That picture is unbelievable.

  I was out there end of August and saw a fresh fire while driving up the interstate near Fontana. No one was fighting it yet.  There was a lightning storm that morning. The whole place was just a tinderbox all the way up to the high desert. 

Stay safe!  Glad your daughter is okay. 

jabam

Ya we are used to wildfires in the foothills and higher, but usually few structures lost. These hit in some highly populated areas. 

fishlessman

stay safe,  those fires look unstoppable.  its not the blizzards here that kill us, its a 3 day 90 degree plus heat wave, some of us like the blizzards.

johnkitchens

I can't imagine having to run for your life and knowing that more than likely everything left behind will be destroyed. 

I am glad your daughter is safe. Hang tough. 

GrillSgt

Very good news on your daughter. The pics are simply insane. 

td66snrf

jabam said

People in the gulf coast and the southeast have hurricanes and flooding, the Midwest has their tornadoes and the Great Lakes area and northeast have their blizzards.

Here in Cali we have wildfires and earthquakes. 
The recent wildfires in the north and wine country as well as the fires down south have been devastating. 

My Daughter lives in Santa Rosa and was forced to evacuate on Monday, was allowed to return to her apartment today, albeit with no electricity. She was one of the lucky ones!

Reports of 30-40 mph winds made fighting the fires near impossible, with the winds blowing embers from roof top to roof top. Below are a before and after pic of one neighborhood in Santa Rosa, whole neighborhoods in ruins. 

We we are still praying for those missing, and loved ones lost. And giving thanks that our daughter was safe. 

After seeing the images I'll quit complaining about the ash all over my vehicles and around the house. I'm in SoCal but what's going on up north is catastrophic. It's a vicious cycle. We were in dire straights with the multi year drought and then we had the wettest season in years which promotes plant growth which becomes kindling. Next will be mudslides in the burned out areas when it starts raining later in the seasons.

g8golfer

Just curious but how does this happen every year seems like? I have never been to CA just seems like they are always fighting a massive fire. 

bgebrent

Brother, it looks like another nightmare. Godspeed to all in N. California. Glad your daughter is safe!

lkapigian

@jabam hope all is well, we are in the valley and have been choked out all summer from all the fires peace be with you and your family 

dmourati

Today was the first day I noticed the heavy smoke 50 miles or so South. The size and scale of this devastation is unbelievable.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=8&v=3wsegE01zUE

jabam

g8golfer said:

Just curious but how does this happen every year seems like? I have never been to CA just seems like they are always fighting a massive fire.           


                                                                          
The fires can start several different ways, lightning, careless campers even arson. With all the Sierra nevadas on the eastern side of the state and the Coastal Range on the west there is plenty of fuel to burn. As mentioned above we just came of a drought. In the dry years the fires are usually in mid to late summer. When you have  wet year as we did last winter, there is a lot of new growth, hence more fuel to burn. And when the wind is blowing it’s a Nightmare. 

jabam

My daughter and I thank you all for your kind thoughts!

jabam

lkapigian said:

@jabam hope all is well, we are in the valley and have been choked out all summer from all the fires peace be with you and your family 

We live in the Valley as well (Hanford). The daughter is going to school in Santa Rosa

lkapigian

jabam said:

lkapigian said:

@jabam hope all is well, we are in the valley and have been choked out all summer from all the fires peace be with you and your family 

We live in the Valley as well (Hanford). The daughter is going to school in Santa Rosa

We are neighbors in Visalia...Egg On for your Daughter 

NPHuskerFL

Lots of Familia in CA. Just as they pray for us during hurricane devastation we do the same at this sad time for CA. 

Austin Egghead

g8golfer said:

Just curious but how does this happen every year seems like? I have never been to CA just seems like they are always fighting a massive fire. 

They can just happen.  Rain falls during the winter months, after May very little, if any rain occurs.  This lends to very dry grass and dry underbrush by the early Fall.  
We lived in NorCal for 11 years and I saw fires start from spark sent by train wheels while crossing the Altamont.  I have seen lightning strike start a fire.  Was caught in a firestorm twice, once coming down from Sonoma and once in the central valley.  Fires generate lots of heat and winds and they are self feeding/sustaining and very unpredictable.   
Also, the stupid Eucalyptus are an oil can waiting for a spark. A fire was never supposed to be able cross 580....only took a few Eucalyptus to explode and send lit branches 50 feet in the air and the wind carried them across the interstate and into Berkeley/Oakland hillside.  
I have lived thru hurricanes, tornadoes and earthquakes and I would take any or all of those natural occurrences before ever getting close to a fire again.  
I had lots of clients in the wine country and my heart goes out to all that have been impacted. 

Austin Egghead

@ jabam.  I am glad you daughter is safe.  I hope others impacted by this fire will be as safe as your daughter.

TideEggHead

Also glad to hear the news about your daughter. That is truly terrible what has happened and is happening .

YukonRon

I am very thankful your daughter is ok and has gotten through the fires, so far.
Having spent time in California, I can tell you it is never an "if" situation regarding the wild fires and fire seasons, it is a "when". The only area immune to the fires is the ocean bottom around The Golden State.
It is incredible to witness, and heartbreaking when seeing the results.
Many are still missing, and the stories just sink your soul.

Yno

I'm in San Jose, and waking up Monday to the smell of smoke was not unusual, with relatively common grass fires started by the homeless. But when I went outside and saw the encompassing haze I knew it was something major. Yesterday when the winds turned to the south again, it was so smoky you couldn't see the hills a couple of miles away. I have been horrified watching the news.

I lived through a number of hurricanes when living in Florida and South Carolina, and I have been through earthquakes out here. This is about the worst I have seen. It will take a long time to recover.

td66snrf

These are from the first Canyon fire a couple of weeks ago. It was only at 40 acres at this point. Quickly grew to 2 thousand in just hours. 

DoubleEgger

Interesting.... 

http://money.cnn.com/2017/10/12/smallbusiness/california-cannabis-fires/index.html

Rascal

My gut feeling is arson..

R2Egg2Q

I've never seen the Very Unhealthy (201+) or even Unhealthy (151-200) air quality indexes before.  Hard to find respirator masks in the area.  Local hardware store shipped theirs up to the NorthBay where they really need them. 

jabam

R2Egg2Q said:

I've never seen the Very Unhealthy (201+) or even Unhealthy (151-200) air quality indexes before.  Hard to find respirator masks in the area.  Local hardware store shipped theirs up to the NorthBay where they really need them. 

We live 4-5 hours away from the fires, and we can smell the smoke. My granddaughters soccer practice got cancelled yesterday because
of the unhealthy air. 

My my daughter in Santa Rosa wears a respirator when she goes outside. 

Not good!

chipman

Rascal said:

My gut feeling is arson..

Most think it was caused by downed power lines caused by the 50+ MPH winds.

GrillSgt

I really can't believe that we haven't seen massive fires set by terrorists. 

Navymom

jabam said:

lkapigian said:

@jabam hope all is well, we are in the valley and have been choked out all summer from all the fires peace be with you and your family 

We live in the Valley as well (Hanford). The daughter is going to school in Santa Rosa

Glad your daughter is OK. This is so sad, I've been watching where the fires are, my son lives on Hanford.

lkapigian

Bump @jabam same story this year , hope all are safe ...came over the 580 Sunday, it was horrid....im used to it when it's every day, leave for a few days and Fvck