Not to be a downer but....

[Tito's Kitten]

I can't help but feel a little nervous about this Chatsworth fire. I live in West Hills and the fire is moving down the mountain towards our side. I can walk out of the house, stand on the driveway turn to the left and see the mountains glowing orange and red. :eek: We are about 3 (maybe 3 1/2 miles) from where the hills are. I don't necesssarily expect the fires to get too close to the house (there are a lot of little streets and things before it would get to us...) but it is still a little scary to see the hills, a mere four minute drive away, on fire.

[Bornieo: Fully Loaded]

Eh, I'm in Simi Valley about the same distance. I see the flames moving about the hills. Seems to be staying in the same general area. My smoke alarm keeps going off and I'm trying to figure out what to grab just in case.

We'll see! Stay safe!

[Not Afraid]

Keep safe all of you near the fire zone. I saw a picture earlier from Coaster Matt and it looks very scary. I really hate the unpredictably of fires in general. Keep safe.

[Tito's Kitten]

Yeah we are trying to figure out escape routes just in case. Let's hope all of us don't have to use them......

[Eliza Hodgkins 1812]

Creepers. I hope you are all okay.

[wendybeth]

Take care, both of you! We had a fire near our house this summer- it was pretty scary stuff. They closed all access roads and we pretty much just had to wait to see if we had a house (and kitties!) left.

[Mousey Girl]

This type of thing makes me glad I no longer live in the foothills-yes, Bakersfield does have foothills. I used to pull fire watch from my bedroom windows. Every 2 years we had an arsonist running around in our area. In '86 it was real bad. My sister was on her way home and spotted it in the large field in front of our houses. It had just started. Small fires set every 10-20 feet. By the time I called the FD the flames were running towards the houses in front of us. A bunch of my friends came out to help. I had to break in to a neighbors house to get their windows closed because the ash was so bad. After a fire fighter was killed they finally caught the guy responsible. It was a Basque sheep herder. He set the fires every 2 years so his roaming flocks would have better grass to eat.

[Morrigoon]

They were just giving advice on one of the channels about inventorying everything you have and saving that inventory somewhere else (like a friend's house in another city) so if anything happens, you can prove to the insurance company what you need compensation for. It included noting what kind of floors you have (carpets, tile, etc), your furniture, belongings, etc. You might wanna walk through each room slowly with a video camera or something, just so you have something to show the ins. company if anything should happen.

[Prudence]

If you're super ambitious, like my brother, you keep a database and update it with every major purchase - item, brand, model #, price, place purchased, date purchase, where it is in the house, distinguishing characteristics, etc...

[Kevy Baby]

My mother lives in Canoga Park. Where she is at is really not in danger (they are a ways from foothills), but the ranch where she trains with her mules is RIGHT where the Chatsworth fire started (for those who know the area, it is where Santa Susana Rd breaks off of Topanga).

And there were two fires out in the Inland Empire near Susan's mom (one was the one that burned up a chicken ranch killing 60,000 chickens).

Fire is one thing that scares the hell out of me. I remember one really bad brush fire in the early 80's that was near our house in Chatsworth. I spent several hours on our (wood shake) roof with a hose putting out the burning embers landing on it.

[Snowflake]

They were just giving advice on one of the channels about inventorying everything you have and saving that inventory somewhere else (like a friend's house in another city) so if anything happens, you can prove to the insurance company what you need compensation for. It included noting what kind of floors you have (carpets, tile, etc), your furniture, belongings, etc. You might wanna walk through each room slowly with a video camera or something, just so you have something to show the ins. company if anything should happen.

Taking video is also helpful from what I understand.

Everyone in the fire-zone, please be safe and have a couple of escape routes down.

Donna

[alphabassettgrrl]

I haven't seen this one, have to turn on the news. Last night it was 5% contained. I know a couple years ago with the fires in Simi and Santa Paula we had ash on the cars. Driving out to the pumpkin patch we saw flames on the hillside.

I'm wary of fire, though not frightened of it. Respectful- it's bigger than me.

I do kind of feel bad for the chickens though.

Everybody stay safe!

[MickeyD]

I was surprised this morning at how far the fire had come! I live in North Ranch between Thousand Oaks and Westlake Village and and I could see flames on the hill behind my apartment complex. I'm not really worried, the winds are still...but we are under voluntary evacuation, so I dropped my cats off at my brothers on my way to work!

[lizziebith]

I do kind of feel bad for the chickens though.



Yes! The chicken ranch fire -- the one further south -- appears to have killed maybe 75-90 K chickens. Horrible.

Of course after acknowledging how horrible that was last night, my honey and I looked at each other, and simultaneously said "mmmmm....roast chicken." I know, we're going to hell.

[Tito's Kitten]

Well I will join you in hell since I thought the same thing.....

[lizziebith]

I then said I wonder if El Pollo Loco's getting a mysterious little bump in business as hungry folk all over the county suddenly have an inexplicable craving... :D

[Not Afraid]

I'm hungry.

[lizziebith]

::taking chicken out of freezer::

[Morrigoon]

LOL... I thought it might be a tad overcooked. Not much worse than overdone poultry. (Poor chickies...)

Hmm.. that's odd, I could swear I commented on here earlier today. Here's what I thought I said:
I was surprised this morning at how far the fire had come! I live in North Ranch between Thousand Oaks and Westlake Village and and I could see flames on the hill behind my apartment complex. I'm not really worried, the winds are still...but we are under voluntary evacuation, so I dropped my cats off at my brothers on my way to work!
Sounds like a good plan.

***
Have you ever thought you posted, but not?

[Tito's Kitten]

mmmm...el pollo loco........

[Morrigoon]

You know... one time I went into an El Pollo Loco, and it had small flying bugs all around, and then I looked in the cole slaw and saw specks in it. Now, I never did bother confirming what those specks were, but I haven't been able to eat El Pollo Loco since, because every time I think about it, I picture that cole slaw...

(And yet I could eat at Kenny Rogers Roasters where they cut the chicken in front of you with scissors, go figure. I'm more squeamish about the possibility of bugs in my cole slaw than I am about the sound of a chicken's spine snapping)

[wendybeth]

I just had bbq chicken wings prior to logging on here.

I feel so guilty.

[Motorboat Cruiser]

I just had bbq chicken wings prior to logging on here.

I feel so guilty.

Not any more guilty than I feel right now for wanting to go get some (wings, that is).

[Not Afraid]

I had heroin chicken for dinner.

[alphabassettgrrl]

So yesterday I got to tell a bunch of people that it's a good idea to leave their homes for a few days. Our Disaster response team (local volunteers) was activated to go help spread the word about evacuations. We were sent to a 600-or so condo complex in Oak Park. Voluntary evacuations, but some people only heard the evac part and not the voluntary part. I had one lady go into an absolute tizzy.

But we got everybody notified, and then today I see the evac order was cancelled, so it was ok for everybody to go back to their homes in Oak Park. I'm sure a lot of them are still gone, though. Waiting until it's actually *out*. They were chased out the day before as well. Not pleased to be evacuated again. Sorry. Fire shifts. It's what they do.

Hmmm...I'll join the lot of you in hell. I wondered what the downwind side chicken sales were like in Riverside...

[Tito's Kitten]

It is so smokey outside still I decided not to send my son to school. There is tons of ash everywhere and his nose is running and he is coughing (his alergies are going haywire I guess...) I am also guessing that more than likely his soccer game will be canceled tomorrow since it is not healthy to have all the kids running in such awful air quality. Ugh... I just want this all to be over.....

[Ghoulish Delight]

http://html.nbc4.tv/sh/idi/weather/TopangaFire/main.inc

This is amusing me. You click once to zoom in, and you get a map that puts Burbank in Sherman Oaks. Click zoom in one more time, and Burbank suddenly starts at Topanga! Nice job.

On a side note, I need to call home. That south east end is getting mighty close to where my Grandmother's living.

[lizziebith]

That's hilarious! Now that Burbank's west of the 405 I don't wanna move there! :eek: