Irvine fire
 

I can see it. That is all.

As long as you can't feel the heat from it, you should be ok.

I thought we were going to have overnight guests for a while. It is fairly close to NM's house, but not threatening at this point.

No, can't feel it, but I would consider it uncomfortably close. We got off the freeway at Lake Forest, and we could see the fire still from Lake Forest. Can't see it from El Toro only because the hill kind of rises in the way.

Now they're saying on channel 9 that Portola Springs is threatened. Umm... did I mention uncomfortably close?

Is that where he is? Uh oh!

His house is South of the fire - FHR.

I have KTLA on and I was watching KCAL9 for a while. I am sending out good vibes that you all stay safe tonight. It looks to be a longgggg night.

Link to OCFA info

My office is about 5 miles south (off RSM PKWY which is what Portola turns into) this.

Based on the info I can find, here's my best estimate of where the flames are:

Yeah, he's even closer than me - eek

Scary ****. Making a mental inventory of what gets saved. F_ck the Range Rover. Sorry but those are a dime a dozen.

Harley
Lightning
Pictures
Files
Memory boxes
Computer Tower
Painting my friend made for me
Painting Babette and I got in Ecuador

Not sure what else. Its funny how quickly you realize that most shiz is replaceable.

Get off de internetz and load up the truck.

I'm not near that fire (off sand canyon and the 405) but I live in the land of dry brush. When I go to work I am taking my computer, external drives, iPod, photos and some other stuff. Maybe over-planning just a tad, but the amount of dry brush and dead hills around here is enough to make me worry while I'm at work. If my office is still habitable.

I never think beyond my pets what I would save. Of course, with 8 animals at my house at the moment, that would take a while.

NM: I hope you've at least loaded up some of your stuff, given where you are. That fire is moving SW

I really hate fire.

And I really hate when the news start showing the animals that they may not be able to get out.

If I'm not mistaken, the thin green finger of Limestone Canyone Park is the back of NM's house. (look at the "M" at the s/w side of the park - the middle of the "M" is what I'm talking about).

That is correct. My house is directly on the cleveland national forest on that small finger. Plus side, it's watered with high pressure sprinklers regularly. Downside - at that temperature, it makes no difference.

Sounds like it just turned around!

Fill up the hot tub. The fleeing Mountain Lions will need some drinking water. ;)

LOL. They won't have time to stop and eat though.

Mr. Paul "fire watch 2007" Moyer Furnel Chapman just said something about Sand Canyon and Irvine Blvd. Anyone catch that?

I picture the Pet Store on Fire scene from Pee Wee's Big Adventure.

He left the snakes till last ..... which animals would be saved last at Not Afraid's house???



- - - - - - - -

Up at this end of the world, the (Malibu) Canyon Fire was really scary this morning. Winds were whipping the flames into a frenzy ... and I watched in sadness as a famous castle at the crest of the mountain, where Kelly and I had planned to get married, was engulfed in a firestorm ... and burned to the ground.

:(

Wow, that Irvine fire is really close to where I used to work, right next to the El Toro Marine base off of Irvine Blvd.

:( stay safe everyone!

Wow, I thought last night was bad, smoke-wise. We were playing in Newport and when we left last night, it was very smoky.

This morning, however, I just looked out my back window and it is much worse. Even this far away from the fire in Dana Point, I can't see any of the hills that surround us and the stench is really thick.

Matthew's dad lives in Poway and apparently the SD fire reached the town overnight. Not good news at all.

Keep safe, everyone. :(

Getting really smoky today. I'm in Aliso Viejo, and I can literally smell/feel the smoke coming in through the a/c in the office here.

Fire is now in Foothill Ranch. Here is the view out my front door.

neighbor just came by...they are starting to evacuate the neighborhood.

Oy. I am just up the road at work if you need anything.

OH my, hope you're safe.

OMG, please take care everyone! Be safe!

:eek:

NM - be safe. Please keep us updated if you can.

We didn't know about it until last night when we were driving east on the 22. I saw the flames spreading rapidly while Ken was driving and couldn't believe how big and fast it was getting just within minutes. We even have ash and smoke here in Garden Grove.

Be safe!

I just spoke with NM. What he is in most desperate need of at this moment is drivers (he has several cars). If there is anyone who can carpool up to drive vehicles out, please call me (obviously a single person driving their car up doesn't accomplish anything :( )

Call me if you are in a position to help.

Doesn't GD live in Irvine? Is the fire anywhere near their place?

Take care, you guys. We had a fire scare this past summer, but we were lucky and they were able to put it out. (Helped that the weather cooperated).

We've said this via phone, but if anyone still needs us, Tom is off work and can drive down ASAP. (I could come too.)

wb: they're in Orange, but deeply into a populated area of it, not up in the hills.

Same thing as I said in the SD fire thread - I'm fairly close and have a CR-V that's already prepped for moving stuff. Call/PM me for help.

Although, I might be helping with the car situation. Just waiting on a call back from Kevy.

I could use my lunch hour to help, but it'd be tight time-wise. I'd pretty much have to drive straight to a rendezvous point, carpool up, drive the cars out and drive straight back.

Let me know (PM for phone number if anyone needs it)

Latest update on NM: It may not be as bad as first thought. The fire would have to cut through another neighborhood to get to him. He only is getting a pre-evacuation notice right now and will get a 30 minute notice of he needs to actually evacuate. Several people are on standby at the moment (thank you to all I have talked to).

T- you may want to cross post your offer in the SD thread as well.

;)

Anyway, I'm here next to the phones and I'll keep online if anyone needs me.

(And I would also like to say how proud I am to be part of this community. :) )

NM: if you need boxes, I have a stack of them in my kitchen. Dphile knows where I live, she can swing by there and get them (Alex is likely staying home to watch over our place and Barnum). Just let her know.

I could head on down as well, but would probably need more than thirty minutes notice. I could start out ahead of time (before an evacuation notice) if you're short of people.

Thanks to all - there is a lot of questions up in the air right now. I have been on the phone with several of you and will update as soon as I know more.

I'm at home with the phone on. Chris is down at SONGS and will be driving back up at some point this afternoon. He can take an easy detour with his CRV.

I'm at home all day and am available.

I can also help tonight if anyone needs help.
I also have a couch or a place to crash if anyone needs it.
I'm in Studio City, but it's there if you need it.

I'm free after 2pm today if anyone needs an evac. Just PM me if you need my cell number.

You all amaze me- take care!!!!

Keeping all of the So Cal crew in prayer, but just a suggestion....if the drivers are around it might not be a bad idea to go get all of NM's extra cars out before they close the roads into where he is ....better to do it and it not be necessary, it's only gas to/from the relocation point but it could mean the world if he gets that 30 minute call.

The winds are horrible.

MS - I am about 4 miles away from NM. He has a few friends there now, and will call if he gets that notice/needs to get his cars out.

We can park a few cars in my office lot if needed and my apt complex has a huge lot that can stash a car or two for a few days if needed. For anyone.

Anyone heard from Katiesue?

Katie has people to call via cell, nothing yet. She's still outside the evac zone.

:)

The LoT commune - it's not a physical place, it's a state of mind :cool:

Damn, I wish I was closer, I'd be happy to take one of NM's cars for a joyride out of danger.

Ps. Can I suggest that one of you Admin types merge these two fire threads so nothing gets missed between the two?

I agree.
Keep in mind too, that when he gets the 30 minute warning, they wont be letting many people go the other way. ie: IN

I just got off the phone with NM. He has a friend visiting and the two of them are going to start moving his cars and bikes to the shopping center just south of him (they will be safe there). He has not yet received any evacuation notice, so they are sitting tight.

K - thank you for the updates.

A co-worker of mine keeps complaining loudly about how miserable her life is because she can't access her email. Her email got wiped out somehow.
I keep thinking to myself, "Honey, that's nothing compared to what many are worrying about right now..."
:rolleyes:

FYI, I'm keeping the fire threads separate by location because it will be easier to mobilize by geography if need be.

Message from Chris:

Cherny and I can make our couch available if need be - I'm sure an inflatable can be rustled up if more space is necessary.

Oh, and we both have double beds if you're cute.

We're near Gemini, in Studio Citay/NoHo/Death Valley Village. Tomorrow I'll have a delivery in Tustin, so, if my small pickup is needed, call me.

That is scary as hell!

Bake is closed at Trabuco

The air all the way out here in GG is nasty. I can even smell the smoke inside the building!

I'm available this evening, if anyone needs help. We have a queen bed in our guest room, if anyone needs it.

Well, I guess no one is getting up to NM's house that way.

Um, I'd take that as a cue to go home.

Where are you reading this?

Is there a fire there or is Bake closed all the way up?

Btw, Cajon Summit is also now burning near Devore.

As is Lake Arrowhead :(

Aren't ALL the beds in your place "queen" beds?

OC Fire:

I posted an update in the San Diego thread that katiesue has decided to evacuate. She wanted everyone to know that she and Madz are OK.

swanie

Sick f*@!ers.

Wow, this thread has grown since I last checked.

I have a pickup truck and am in Dana Point. If there is any way I can help anyone, please let me know. Lisa, of course, has my phone number, as do many others.

Safer for the moment - cars can be parked in my office lot and my complex has an non-permitted lot as well.

I also have a garage that can hold some stuff and a couch if anyone needs it.

I don't want to say that my office is safe from this - we are at the 241 and Santa Margarita Parkway (aka what Portola turns into) about 4 miles south of NM. My complex is at Sand Canyon and the 405 - dry brush central, but so far, so good. But the options are there as well.

From the OCFA site:

EVACUATIONS: A mandatory evacuation is in place for Santiago Canyon and Hangman Tree Road (Thomas Brothers page 832 D6). The city of Lake Forest is calling for a voluntary evacution of Alonda, Calle Cabrillo, and Coca Street.

* SB 241 toll road closed at 91 freeway
* 133 freeway closed at Interstate 5
* Santiago Canyon closed between the 241 and 261 toll roads at Ridgeline
* Portola Parkway closed between Culver and Sand Canyon
* 241 toll road off-ramp closed at Portola both North and Southbound
* Jeffrey road closed to Modjeska
* Irvine Blvd. Northbound closed
* Irvine Blvd. closed at Alton
* East Patriot is closed at Pioneer
* Jamboree closed between Chapman Avenue and Portola Parkway
* 261 toll road closed between 241 toll road and Irvine Boulevard
* Culver is closed at Valley Ridge
* Silverado Canyon closed from Newport to Cook's Corner
* SR74 escort only due to rock slides
* Check with Cal Trans for freeway and toll road closures. Check with the local police department for city street closures.

Deliberate?

May they burn in the inferno they started.

:(

I just talked to NM. He's getting lots of conflicting information where he is, but he's working on evacuation. I believe the status is still voluntary in his neighborhood.

I'm concerned with the growing road closures and the fact that the fire seems to be moving through limestone canyon and toward the "finger" of space that he backs up to.

Alex made a good suggestion for NM: Move his cars to the structure at Irvine Spectrum.

As far as Bake at Trabuco, that's what Alex told me - we were on the phone as he was driving to his lab, which is really close to there. Just a road closure, not that the fire is in that spot, necessarily (or I wouldn't be on the internets)

(Trabuco, btw, is the same street as Irvine Blvd)

Duh. Just thought - our old apartment here in Garden Grove is paid up through the 31st. It's void of furniture, but we do have an inflatable bed we can put in it, should anyone need temporary private shelter. Some of our stuff is still there, but there's plenty of open space.

Update on the Bake at Trabuco thing - People can come down Bake from above Trabuco, they just can't go UP from there.

I haven't decided to leave work yet. Alex has already left the lab because it's way too close to the fire line (actually safer at home). So I'm going to stick around at work unless they give out more evac orders.

BTD and I are on our way up to Nirvanaman's place right now. If anyone is available and close, please call my cell

Did he get the order?

I believe so. I'm going to stay on "standby" at the moment, since Kevy and BTD are already 15-20 minutes closer than me. And, I got a call from another friend who might need evac help too, so I'm ready to jump at a moment's notice.

If anyone needs clean air... Casa de Swanie is open here in Arizona.

I'm feeling pretty guilty. We have clear, breezy and 80 here while most of our family and friends are dealing with the fire crap ALL over California. :(

Let me know if I can help in anyway!

swanie

I love the Governator. He just finished his press conference on TV with, "We need change in the weather. We need rain. Thank you."

No, really?

Well maybe Texas can send some rain over. They have flooding.

Master of the Obvious (in response to DP's post)

Can someone please call me with kevin's cell #?

Lake Arrowhead Copter reporter:


"We can see 70 homes destroyed so far and we can only see a small section of the fire"

:(

Lovely, but with the Cajon pass having a problem..... can't get there!

Map on OCFA site. Hasn't been updated since 8am though
http://www.ocfa.org/pages/ocfa.asp?f...yonfiremap.asp

Via the L.A. Times - google fire map

Just got a call from Kevin. NM has been kicked out. Kevin is headed back to his office. I am back at mine.

Kevin said something about the fire headed south and east. I am looking for info.

Oh gods! :(

Was he able to get his cars down?

No idea. I think he and his friend started moving them.

I don't have much more info than that and Kevy told me what he knows.

I say we find the arson and throw him into a volcano to appease the fire gods. :mad:

This is all so surreal. Even the cats are freaked out, because they can smell the smoke.

Have him call us if he needs any help from up here!

There seems to be a fair number of fires. It makes me wonder if this is more than just a lone moron.

Well, if anyone can get out on the 91 to the I-10 it is a straight shot to Phoenix.

We're in one of the 'burbs in the East Valley...just south of ASU.

swanie

The 2003 fires were due to a couple "copycat" arsonists after the first fire was set, so you're probably right.

And, it ires me to think that the asshole(s) are probably watching all of this on TV and enjoying it.

I just talked to NM. He's at a local friend's house having a beer. He's out of his house, the cars are moved, the motorcycles are across the street and now it's just wait and see what happens. I'll keep you all updated and I told him there is loads of help out there for him. He's incredibly grateful.

Chris is heading home in the 5 and the freeway is packed. With Ortega Highway (74) closed and the 15 shut down, everyone's on the 5. He's going to take PCH home. Be careful on the 5 if you're heading that way.

Guess I'm not going home as of yet. Was all prepared to, had permission, etc. But Alex thinks so far it isn't a huge problem for us yet, so I'm staying at the office for now.

Oh, good, I was wondering if he was able to get all the cars out.

Please forward my number to him if need be.

I just got a call from a friend who lost his cabin near Arrowhead. :(

I really hate it when news keeps showing some of the same footage from a few hours ago. It makes three burning homes look like 30. :rolleyes:

Another news gripe - the anchor asked the reporter, "Look behind you there. How bad does it look?" (Keep in mind that the anchor and viewers can view the scene behind her.) She turns around, and replies, "It's very bad."

Man, if I ran a news station, I'd fire all of these people!

My friend Rick's (some of you met him on my birthday) cabin survived the fires in Arrowhead a few years ago, most of his neighbors burnt, trees less than 20 feet away from his cabin burnt. He's put so much work into this place, we were up there Saturday to turn off the water in case of a freeze. It's frustrating when all you can do is hope that enough fuel is already gone, and an ember doesn't land on the deck.

Stevonson Ranch is now burning severely.

Doesn't DisneyFan(?) or someone live up there?

Yeah, Sean is in that area.

According to NBC4, mandatory evacs just ordered for Foothill Ranch area.

Just heard from MickeyD. She is fine in Newbury Park. Lots of fires up there but none too close to her. Subject to change without notice.

From the OCFA website:

Originated at Santiago Canyon and Silverado Canyon (Thomas Brothers page 832 A2). Burned through Hicks Canyon toward Jeffery and Portola, now wind-driven in a south-westerly direction along the 241 toll road between Tomato Springs and Limestone Canyon.

From the LA Times website

I called NA right after she posted this. We were interrupted by 5 or 6 (I lost count) phone calls with people calling her with the number. I love this place!

Go straight out the 10

ETA: Oops - already answered

Having a beer: I would expect nothing less from him!

I will say that every time I talked to NM, he sounded very calm. Either he is a good actor, or he is taking this well!

This is just such a crazy day!

Thanks for the link. Wow! That's crazy how many fires are going, but the map helped me to figure out exactly where. I wish all the rain that was here last week was heading down your way!

Like I said before... Please be careful and take care of yourselves and each other( like you don't already)!

Ugh. Not good at all.

Channel 4 is now showing water drops on FHR.

I turned on my TV.

What is FHR?

Foot Hill Ranch

They are showing the fire right behind someones back yard. The water dropping plane just went over.

Damn! I'm glad y'all appear to be okay thus far. We'll be keeping our fingers crossed and all that.

Reason #1 to have a landline and an answering machine. You can call and see fi it picks up.

That's a good test, *if* your power is still on. They have been shutting off the power to make it safer for the firefighters when there are downed lines.

Watching this live in action, all I can say is that firefighters are ****ing awesome.

What a horrible, horrible day.

A sure sign of the apocalypse!

:p

Yikes, there are about five people from my office who had to leave because the fire is near their homes...

This is so much worse than 2003. :(

Let's just hope none of them meet.

You know - I am at school, but I can leave. I haven't had a chance to read this entire thread. I'm just staying for an extra curricular thing, but am willing to do whatever to help anyone...

Let me know.

My number... most people know it. I'll PM it to Kevy on top of it. Otherwise, PM me. I'll be on my laptop.

I feel completely useless without a driver's license, but my home is anyone's home if they need a place to stay. I live in Hollywood, which probably doesn't help anyone here, but if anyone needs a place to stay, you can crash with me.

I think right now, the best that we can do at this point is wait. The firefighters rock. Their first priority (after preventing loss of life of course) is saving homes and they do a pretty good job of that.

To help, just send out protective energy to all.

Arson is now the definite confirmed cause.

If I ran the world, I'd catch the arson, hand him a bucket and garden hose, and drop them into the middle of the blaze and wish them luck.

Hear, hear, DP!

I mean, what could be the possible motivation for this... I can't understand this sort of thing.

Well, I think it's attention, really. Someone might feel like they'll never make a big impact on the world in a positive way, so they'll do something else to make themselves feel important. Sometimes, people will stoop to any level just to gain notoriety.

But, that doesn't excuse the behavior, hence why I'd want to put them in the middle of it, and make them fight for their own lives. Or, at the very least, light their house on fire, leaving them to try and put it out by themselves, so they can feel the same hopelessness as all the victims of their crime.

For some reason, I just can't think about that right now.

My own internal "if I were Al Qaeda and wanted to maximize terror with minimum expense" plan since 9/11 has been:

1. Get a small group together and rent each pair an RV.
2. Each pair sets off in different directions from downtown LA sometime in mid-September.
3. Start as many grass fires in rural and suburban areas as you can while driving to Seattle/St. Louis/Arizona/Dallas as you can until caught.

Not that I think this is that, but it is giving me a run through on how it might work out.

And thus, Alex proves that there is no weapon more dangerous than the human mind. ;)

He's right though.

Particularly his. Remind to never piss off Alex!

The San Bernardino National Forest is now closed.

Oh wow!

Yeah... that just reminded me to contact a couple of friends out there...

Off to my meeting, text me if anything's needed...

Some moron refuses to leave Lake Arrowhead.

They should let all those who refuse to evacuate fend for themselves instead of detouring the firefighting efforts.

Hmm, this is where you and I part philosophies. Yep, this is a ****ing awful disaster. And how horribly sick a person must be to have chosen to cause it. For me, I'd rather send positive energy to (or better yet, physical action to aid) those who are suffering in this situation. Does anyone know of somewhere we can volunteer?

Red Cross needs money for the shelters.

There are separate shelters for animals. Maybe they could use volunteers?

Arrowhead is showing a lot more white smoke, which is good.

Suspense is killing me, can someone with a tv update me on the Foothill Ranch situation?

Check with your local listings. The place that I keep quoting from is my local news syndicate, and they have had four different options for volunteering posted.

FHR hasn't been getting a ton of coverage - which I consider good news. Arrowhead is getting most of the coverage. It's really bad up there right now with about 130 houses burned. I don't think any houses have been touched in FHR, but I'm not sure on current containment. It was at 30% contained a few hours ago.

The DC10 is now on it's way to Arrowhead to do a big water drop.

I left my office a little before 4. The wind had died down a little. When I got home the sky wasn't nearly as brown as it was last night and this morning (from that fire) though it still smells like fire.

They are back in FHR and LF on NBC. Sounds like the danger has passed in FHR for now. Some mandatory evacuations still in LF.

It's headed southwest now.

Coworker in RSM went home about 3:00 (traffic was a be-atch getting there). He said that things were relatively quiet near him (NE of Santa Margarita Pkwy and the 241)

That is basically where my office is. When I left at 350ish traffic wasn't to bad but I can imagine it's awful now with the 241 being closed.

Photo from behind NMs house :(

Attachment 249

He is walking back up to his house right now. As soon as I talk to him again, I will update.

Natural Hazards - NASA images of the So Cal fires

NM is standing in his backyard hosing down hot spots. The fire came up the canyon and they fire crew are dealing with the largest of the flames while residents are hosing down hot spots.

Ugh. :(

Sending extra prayers the water pressure stays up and the flames stay down!

The winds started kicking up again too :(

I was reading that there are 85 mph gusts....holy freakin' cow.

VCA Animal Hospitals are offering free boarding in Orange and LA County.

From the OC Register:

Orange County Fire Authority reports the Santiago Fire has burned 15,800 acres and is 30 percent contained. The fire has changed course and is moving north toward Silverado Canyon. Lake Forest, Foothill Ranch and Portola Hills are no longer in danger. But 2,000 residents in Silverado Canyon are being asked to evacuate voluntarily in the next hour. They can go the Santiago Canyon College in Orange or to Saddleback Church in Lake Forest. - 7:12 p.m.

NM has left his house for the moment. There are still hot spots and flame coming from trees further down the canyon.

Susan just got off the phone with NM. If I understand correctly, the fire burned his backyard and his front yard all the way down to the street, but his house is untouched.

I am just in shock about that.

I don't think it burned his front yard. I think it was just the canyon brush and trees that burned right up to his backyard fence. His yard didn't burn.

Confirmed: front yard fine, back yard ok, canyon behind the house scorched.

I didn't think that sounded right. I gotta have a talk with that wife of mine.

sorry, could of sworn I heard "backyard" and "flames to the street"

probably should go clean out my ears.

Portola Hills is not looking good right now. Things have flared back up and the winds are getting stronger.

The old MCAS El Toro is now at risk. From the OCFA website these streets are closed: Irvine Blvd. - closed between Modjeska and Pusan

Irvine Blvd goes straight through the base. Pusan used to be a street that turned into base housing. There are empty shells of houses and structures. And lots of brush.

Some photos taken during our trip up to Walmart a couple hours ago:

Driving up El Toro to Portola




I think I was on Portola by the time I got this one:






They were using the Walmart parking lot as a storage/staging area (and though I didn't get pics, the firemen were at the In-n-Out there, getting their first break/meal in about 24 hours)





Fire was more apparent by the time we were coming out of Walmart:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTrRjlDWlmw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-legeTCajQ

Good thoughts going out to all the So Californians. May the Force be with you.

Stay safe.

When we flew in late Sunday night, we saw one of the fires circling a hill - beautiful from the air but scary as hell.

Please excuse our absence, we were trying to get un-jetlagged yesterday, but our offers of help were made to NM - we have plenty of space to put people up here in Orange.

Our air quality here is still awful, but thankfully we are buried in the city far enough away from any brush.

Good to read these threads and see that everyone is safe.

The toll roads are open. Santiago Canyon Rd is still closed and Modjeska Cyn and Portola are still closed.

The jackhole who set this did 3 starts.

Chief Chip Prather said. "There were three separate starts: two on one side of the road and one on the other, and obviously we are actively investigating that."

I wonder where Erik's mountain lions went?

In his hot tub.

Must be mountain kittens.

From the OC Register - SB 241 toll road. - closed at Highway 133.

I was trying to embed the image but it's not working.

Google Fire Map of the Sanitago Fire here

So Erik's place is still okay, I hope?

Has anyone talked to NM this morning? He went home last night and was going to attempt to get some sleep. I haven't heard from him yet this morning.

I got an update from Erik:
He's fine.

Yes, we know, but is he well?

But seriously, I'm glad to hear none of our own have been hurt.

I talked to NM as well.

Nirvanaman, you're house almost burned down. What are you gonna do now?

NM: I'm going to Disneyland!

And he is going to Disneyland today.

That's my boy!

I think that's a great idea.
It's a fun place to be.

Excellent, nothing like a nice relaxing ride on POTC to get ones mind off of troubles.....

Good one! :snap:

Glad you like it, I think you might have taken it.

I wonder if he will avoid PoTC, Mr. Toad's (Hell), and Indy?

It's such a blurry mess, it looks real. I would have done that on purpose. ;)

We went to Disneyland during the Cedar Fire four years ago. Firgured no school, no work, why not?

Probably should take a ride around the river then... to... um...

oh nevermind.

We can see a new plume of smoke coming from the canyon. And apparently they could see flames from the same window about an hour ago.

Does anyone know if FHR is being evacuated again?

Can't find anything that suggests it is. The sites i am looking at still say voluntary evacs.

His buddy lives in Cook's Corner though and that is in the path now.

Evacuation list from the OCFA:

EVACUATIONS:

* A mandatory evacuation is in place for Modjeska Canyon, both sides of Modjeska Grade Road and Modjeska Canyon Road as well as Williams, Silverado, Baker, Ladd, Black Star Canyons. Residents need to evacuate the area going northbound on Santiago Canyon Road. Evacuees can go to El Modena High School, 3920 Spring St. in Orange. Immediate threat to 238 homes in Modjeska Canyon, 23 homes in Williams Canyon and 2,000 homes in Silverado Canyon.
* The OC Sheriff's Department has ordered a mandatory precautionary evacuation of the Joplin Boys Ranch - for information call (714) 935-6660.
* Mandatory evacuation for Santiago Canyon Road and Hangman Tree Road (Thomas Brothers page 832 D6).
* Voluntary evacuations in the foothill areas of Lake Forest including Foothill Ranch and Portola Hills as well as the Hamilton Truck Trail area. Evacuees can go to El Toro High School at 25255 Toledo Way in Lake Forest. Immediate threat to 2,000 structures.
* San Clemente High School and the California State Parks at San Onofre are NOT evacuation shelters.
* Evacuees needing prescription medications and who are unable to fill them via their physician or pharmacy should call OC Public Information Hotline at (714) 628-7085.

I'm with you there. Sometimes I *really* despise the media people.

Oh, yeah, they are amazing.

It's so wonderful how everybody is helping each other. I love all of you. I feel bad that I'm up in Ventura county, but I guess it's a good thing that we don't have much going on here.

I had heard that there were voluntary evacuations for that area earlier. Haven't been able to tell much lately. The google map doesn't appear to be updated recently, as it shows Modjeska Canyon relatively untouched, even though it has been burning all day.

Oops. BTD beat me to it. :)

Well we now see new plumes of smoke, water dropping planes circling and a news van perched up on one of the hills. The van looks white. I am guess it is NBC.

Is there any brush left to burn in FHR?
__________________________________

And on the media (in situations like this):

While I have not been privy to any of the coverage of this event, generally I believe that they do at least a decent job of coverage. With this much going on, they have to run, effectively, continuous coverage of the event. There is a finite amount of things to practically cover and accordingly, there will be a fair amount of repetition. Even when there are seemingly stupid questions, it is often just a way (albeit, maybe not the best) of the desk asking the reporter a leading question to further the coverage.

We the people want information. Live coverage of a disaster is not where one sees the ultimate in spit and polish coverage.

Does that mean they are getting water on it?







Gallows humor: for those who don't know, when smoke from a fire starts going from black to white, it means that they are getting water on it - the white is actually a lot of steam mixed in with the smoke

Fox has been running fairly decent coverage (by decent, of course, I mean that they are actually covering the fire here in OC)

www.myfoxla.com/live

According to a 1:33PM OC press release, no evacuations in FHR.

Baker, Black Star, Williams, Silverado and Ladd Canyons,


Mandatory evacuations are also in place for the following areas:
Modjeska Canyon - Both sides of Modjeska Grade Rd. and Modjeska Canyon Road
Joplin Boys Ranch

Voluntary evacuations are in place for Lemon Heights, Cowan Heights, and Hamilton Truck Trail.

Also, NM has gotten word that what he had heard about FHR being possibly threatened again was a mistake.

The immanent danger is gone from FHR. Glenn Ranch Road however, is shut down at Portola going inland. That area went from bad to worse in a period of 10 minutes. That is where the Wet Seal and Black and Decker corporate offices are as well as the Oakley Factory (for those who know buildings and not streets).

We were just watching the fire out the office window... huge plume of black black smoke that went up very quickly. You can almost see flames from here (I'm in Aliso Viejo!), so they must be huge.

BTD's getting evac'd from work.

Oh ****! :eek:

At least it's just from work.

Or that we have a new Pope!

Jeez! Watching the feed on Fox, and the dude is standing there covering Modjeska, and you can see flames behind him... and the guy keeps standing there! They weren't that far away from him... I couldn't believe they didn't pack up and get out.

Some reporters will do anything for a shot.

I bet they were further away than it appeared. It's not hard to flatten depth perception with a TV camera and I don't doubt the camera operator purposely set up the shot to make the reporter look as heroic as possible.

I'm home and ok. We're getting conflicting info about where the fire is in relation to the building/area. It seems that the entire business park was leaving at one time.

Well, they were standing at a crossroads, and the road behind him curved. It was a distance away, but not *that* far. I guess he had more confidence in the fire's ability to burn itself out, because they stood there and waited for it to do just that.

Glad to hear it!

These are taken from the roof of my office

Straight ahead


To the left side is Portila Hills

Glad to hear you're ok Marla!

Glad you're ok and safe BTD!

Sorry for the worry everyone! Turns our our office manager totally panicked and was telling people that we were evacuated. It was an executive decision to close the office because of how many people live so close to the office wanting to be with their families as well as the air quality going downhill quickly.

It is now a fight between our Prez and the VP who closed the office if we will be open tomorrow. Prez says we are open until the OCFA shuts us down. VP says people can't work efficiently if they are worrying.

Yeah, damn waste of company money and resources if no work is getting done.

My co worker headed home early as the fire is heading towards him (Santa Margarita Parkway and the 241). Seems they have pulled many of the firefighters off the line in this area because it was getting too dangerous for them. As I understand it, several firefighters got trapped last night and had to use the emergency shelters/

This is cool, that live feed from Fox is showing raw helicopter footage right now, you can hear the pilot talking to them on his radio, telling them he's going for refueling and describing the scene in an honest, nondramatic fashion.

Uh-oh. The Irvine fire is heading towards the television and radio towers atop a hill near Portola.

Ok, this is where my office is. Please post what you hear. Or PM/IM/Text me with news from him. And if you had a street name that would be really super awesome too.

Here is a new Map link that seems to be updated more frequently.

Turned out to just be a panicky spouse - he got home and called me to tell me it is nowhere near him :rolleyes:

Only shows the San Diego fires for me - is anybody seeing it differently?

OMG so much fire ! It's a reasonably warm overcast day here - I'm hoping things improve before too long over there !

Whew. I wonder if he's married to our office manager (except she is single).

I am surprised that the number is so low. Del Mar (San Diego area) has taken in close to 2,000.

It may be Del Mar could accept more because it's not track season there. So the barns were fairly empty to start with.

I've gotten a very long and detailed email from one of my clients about the needs of displaced animals due to the fires. The information is from a email list that was put together to help animals after Katrina. If anyone is interested, send me your email addy and I'll forward it on to you.

I'm hearing conflicting reports that the fire has reached or is close to reaching the Cleveland National Forest. That wouldn't be good at all.

From OCFA

ACRES BURNED: Approximately 19,200

EVACUATIONS:

* Mandatory evacuations are in place for the canyon areas off Santiago Canyon Road between Silverado Canyon Road and Live Oak Canyon Road, including the Santiago Estates area and Jackson Ranch Road. Areas along Live Oak Canyon Road through the Trabuco Canyon area, including O'Neill Regional Park, to Trabuco Creek Road are also included in this mandatory evacuation.

Mandatory Evacuations for the canyon areas including:

* Harris Grade
* Live Oak Canyon
* Hamilton Truck Trail
* Trabuco Canyon
* Holy Jim Canyon
* Silverado Canyon
* Modjeska Canyon
* Ladd Canyon
* Baker Canyon
* Blackstar Canyon
* Williams Canyon

Silverado, Modjeska and Williams Canyon will evacuate northbound on Santiago Canyon Road. Trabuco Canyon area will evacuate toward the City of Rancho Santa Margarita. Evacuees can go to El Toro High School located at 25255 Toledo Way in the City of Lake Forest or El Modena High School located at 3920 Spring St. in the City of Orange.

* The Orange County Sheriff's Department has ordered a mandatory precautionary evacuation of the Joplin Boys Ranch. Call (714) 935-6660 for information.
* Mandatory evacuation for Santiago Canyon Road and Hangman Tree Road (Thomas Brothers page 832 D6).
* Voluntary evacuations in the foothill areas of Lake Forest including Foothill Ranch and Portola Hills. Evacuees can go to El Toro High School at 25255 Toledo Way in Lake Forest. Immediate threat to 2,000 structures.
* San Clemente High School and the California State Park at San Onofre are NOT evacuation shelters.
* Evacuees needing prescription medications and who are unable to fill them via their physician or pharmacy should call OC Public Information Hotline at (714) 628-7085.
* People trying to locate evacuated family members can regester and search the Red Cross "Safe and Well" list at www.redcross.org or by calling (866) GET-INFO.
* Orange County Red Cross - (714) 481-5300
* How to prepare for an evacuation

STRUCTURES BURNED: Twelve outbuildings were damaged and eight destroyed. Eight residential structures were damaged and six destroyed.

ROAD CLOSURES: Road closures are as follows

* Live Oak Canyon Road is closed from Santiago Canyon Road to the intersection of Plano Trabuco and Robinson Ranch Road.
* Santiago Canyon closed from the 241 to Cooks Corner.
* Northbound Plano Trabuco Road closed at Robinson Ranch Road to prevent entry into Trabuco Canyon.
* Check with Cal Trans for freeway and toll road closures. Check with your local police department for city street closures.

SCHOOL CLOSURES

* If Santiago Canyon Road is closed, Silverado Elementary School will be closed.

ANIMAL EVACUATION INFORMATION

* Los Alamitos Race Track can accept up to 180 horses, but they cannot accept any other type of livestock. Enter the race track at 4961 Katella Avenue in Los Alamitos. Horse owners must bring their own supplies, including food, and will have to care for their own horses. Water is available on site.
* Large animals can also be evacuated to Industry Hills Expo Center at 16200 Temple Avenue in the City of Industry. Call (626) 330-0324.
* For additional large animal evacuation information, please call the Animal Care Hotline at (714) 935-7158.
* Small animals can be taken to El Toro High School or the Orange County Animal Shelter off of The City Drive.
* Evacuees with animal shelter questions are advised to contact the Animal Control hotline at (714) 935-6848.

Don't know if anyone commutes this far or not but...

I think Chris will NOT go to SONGS today.

Southbound 5 has reopened. Northbound is still closed.

It's definitely moved south. To the right of where those pictures I posted is now black with smoke. Our office is fine but the air quality is terrible, there are maybe 10 cars in the lot and I am trying to get permission to go home.

I'm really hoping the large plume of smoke I saw from my area is from Pendelton.

I stayed home today. The sky here in LB is a nasty shade of orange-pink, I imagine the air in GG is worse. I don't want bronchitis.

BTD: if the air quality around me was bad this morning, I can't imagine how you're even breathing up there! Yeah, go home, by all means (or Disneyland, if it suits you)

I think I have bronchitis.

A couple of my clients have family members who are having serious problems with asthma because of the smoke and crap in the air. I haven't had any issues with mine, but yikes. This is horrid.

I think right now the air at work may be better than the air at home. The smoke from Pendleton (I really hope it's Pendleton) is over my area.

Wanna come over and help me make Howl'oween decorations? ;)

Pretty sure it's Pendleton. We have a pretty good view from here (up on a hill in AV) and it's definitely coming out of the south.

White smoke over the Santiago fire... must've chosen a pope.

I got to hear NM's story lat night in detail. The post should make for interesting reading.

It's very surreal watching water dropping helicoppers dropping water on flames
from your office window.

Not too sure about the air here in GG, but it looks nasty out the window. I'm purposely staying inside today with the air purifier on.

And they still won't let you leave, eh?

Wise woman.

I, on the other hand, along with Mommygoon, painted Kilz primer on my kitchen walls last night. So we get to choose between unventilated paint fumes, or paint fumes ventilated with smoke.

(we went for smoke)

According to the OCFA website, the fire is 50% contained. YAY!

And for some reason (maybe air quality?) Mile Square park is closed.

Interesting pair of posts to read in succession.

Now I am pissed.

The only reason they are not letting us leave is because of the nastygram we got from the Prez yesterday. So we're sitting her choking on smoke coming in from the fire out in the foothills and they tell us to wear a mask. When you have to wear a mask it's time to leave.

A mask?

That sounds like a work hazard to me.

I believe it. I work not far from Mile Square and this morning, while the smoke smell had completely dissipated at home in Orange (closer to the fires), it's still dark, smoky, and ashy here in the South Coast Metro area. Seems the winds are converging right around here.

Hope it's better by tomorrow when I'm supposed to play soccer at Mile Square.

OSHA?

HR

I mean, can't someone call OSHA?

Just say you're not feeling well (cough cough) and need to leave.

I'm home. We had some power surges and our battery back-ups were failing. Took care of that and finally left. Not sure if I am going in tomorrow.

Hello. I'm back.

And...WOW! I am absolutely blown away by the tremendous response and amount of support offered by everyone in this thread. After the emotional roller coaster that would have been exciting even for CoasterMatt, I am quite frankly, moved. I don't know what to say other than thank you. Thank you all.

I know many offered support, others went so far as to come to the rescue (not knowing at the time they had shut down my street to incoming traffic. It is appreciated and then some.

Kevy and NA were in regular contact but I didn't realize they were kind enough to constantly update the board. Also BTD and I had a few txt exchanges and helped me out immensely yesterday as well.

So more to come, including a full "trip report" with a few shots I managed to capture. But I am at work now and need to get back to that. I will get my PC out of my Lightning tonight and hook it back up, try to get the house back in order.

Again, you are all amazing.

I'm just happy you have a house to get back in order. :snap:

Ditto what he said! I'm glad you're ok and your house is still there!

So I heard on NPR this morning that as a result of these fires and weather patterns Long Beach has been setting records for poorest air quality - I think we now have an answer as to why Not Afraid's been feeling like crap lately.

Glad to hear from you, NM!:cheers:

Not just Lisa! I can't go outside for more than a couple minutes without coughing!

I have a date with my aiy purifier tonight. I'm frelling misreable!

NM, it was touching to watch from here, as well.

I'm glad everything worked out as well as it did.

Party at NM's house

A house warming?

All you punny people are going to burn in hell.

Yay! SoCal is also my destined afterlife!

lol! :D
Good one.

Disc inferno. At least I won't be alone. :D

Can one go to a place one does not believe in?

Apparently, I have been to Amarillo.

Burn in Hell is one of my favorite Twisted Sister songs.

That's all I've got to contribute to this thread at this point.

All the schools in RSM are closed due to poor air quality.

I think I am going to email the bosses.

This is wild, I'm up here at El Toro and Painted Trails, just a block and a half below the police barricade, and there are at least 10 cars of people stopped along the side of the road here, just watching the fire. It's kinda moving in this direction, so it's totally fascinating. (don't worry, still a safe distance)

I'll have photos when I get home to upload.

Okay, I've got photos uploaded. First, last night found me back up at WalMart getting paint. Tried to get photos, but the fire was not as bright because at that time it was blowing away from the area, and down the canyons.







Smoke over my parking lot this morning, about 8:40am



From the office (Aliso Viejo), the smoke was so thick today that you could no longer see where it was rising from (probably a good thing, because it meant the wind had died down)



Tonight, I could see the fires up on the hills as I was driving up El Toro, and couldn't resist driving up a bit to see what I could see. Got up above Saddleback Church and got these pics:

Try not to get hot under the collar. You might get burned.

What he said.

I have to say, I'm a bit burnt out on all these fire puns.

Give it time, maybe you'll warm up to them.

I emailed my bosses and I copied HR. I also emailed HR to express disappointment in how the situation is being handled. And that is all. They are going to do what they are going to do.

But my bosses are in IL and TX and HR is in TX, so they aren't here to make a truly informed decision.

I'm tellin' ya... call OSHA.

HR called me back. I am working from home and anyone who wants to can leave and work from home. The Prez realizes he did not do good with his nastygram and they are monitoring the situation and may close the office. HR realizes that since they aren't there they really don't know how bad it is. There are maybe 10 people in the office.

visible mojo Alex!

Sounds like you are really burning up inside!

He just needs to see a spark of creativity in these puns, otherwise he's going to kick our ashes.

You better stop. You don't want him to get steamed.

If we don't douse this soon it will get out of control.

I think all of you are just blowing smoke. What a way to ignite a perfectly decent conversation. Geesh.

<insert the rolling of eyes here>

:D

If you think that roar of disapproval is going to extinguish the conversation, you're wrong.

LMFAO!!

Tastes like ash

Better than tasting like a$$

I'm burning up with loe for you all.

What's loe?

Is it like roe? Because I don't do fish eggs.

Maybe it's roe soaked in lye?

Eggs ala lutefisk. ;)

I don't think she was lying.

She might be. We all know NA's caustic. ;)

Let sleeping dogs lye?

$250,000 reward for the jackhole who started this fire.

it was Kevy...


pay up.

I'm willing to take the fall if you split the reward with me.

LOL, I was just saying that to another friend...

Tuesday on the left and Thursday on the right. Same time of day (mid afternoon)

It turns out that at least one of the fires was started by a kid playing with matches. So now what do you do?

If the kid is 9? 12? 15? 17?

The kid definitely needs to see some personal consequences.

Wow, just read this thread since I missed it all. What an incredible bunch!

NM, so glad you & yours and all your cars and bikes are safe.

Freakin scary, scary thing.

LoT, what a great community. :cheers:

Absolutely, as do the parents if the kid is a real young-un.

This wasn't the Irvine fire. This was the Buckweed fire up in LA.

The Santiago Fire (Irvine fire) is still arson.

It would be funny if a little rascal started the "Buckwheat" fire, but this was the Buckweed fire.

Quoted for all eternity, but fixed in my post :p

I'd make him gather up all of his stuff, and make him light it on fire and watch it burn. But, that's if I were the parent, because then I wouldn't buy replacement items either - he'd have to earn money via really hard chores and other things, and the process would be slooooooow, since at least half of all his earnings would be donated to the relief funds, with a personal apology letter written to each family affected (whether they were just evacuated or suffered damages). The little brat would be rebuilding his/her own life for a looooooong time.

I'm sure some folks would think that's cruel though.

If I were the authority, I'd drag the parents into court, and make them pay into the relief fund and community service. Which, in turn, I would hope encourage the parents to do exactly what I just posted.

But if the parents have to work extra hours in order to pay damages, doesn't that leave their kid that much less attended to?

The kid should just get a stern talking. That is all he needs.

Seriously, there is only so much one can do to punish the kid. They have not released his age, but since he was playing with matches, I would venture to guess he was under 12. Harsh punishment (such as Juvenile Hall) would only damage the kid and serve no positive function to society as a whole (it would probably only create another lifetime criminal). However, there are things that could be done to punish the boy and teach him the severity of his crime. If it were up to me, taking the kid to some of the homes that were burned up and talking to people who lost all of their possessions would be one thing that comes to mind (pre-screened people who wouldn't yell at the kid - just highlight how this tragedy affected their lives and discuss some of the things they lost).

The parents are, I believe, technically liable, both criminally and civilly for the fire (including the cost to fight it and property loss).

In the spirit of Halloween, they should remove his fingers so he can never play with matches again.












I'm joking, of course.
:D

They are... I'm just pointing out how silly that is, since we all know that the entirety of their families fortunes cannot account for a drop in the bucket of the actual costs incurred, and that financially devastating the family, while it may feel good and just to the fire victims, will serve no useful purpose other than to make it that much harder for the child to receive the supervision he obviously requires.

But I can't suggest we change the system either, because the last thing we need is a world in which parents feel they can let their kids run wild with no consequences.

... oops, too late.

The Griffith Park fire was started by teens playing with lighters.

No charges were filed.

I suppose a lot would depend on the exact circumstances. Who among us has played with matches at some point? I know I have and I know my kids have. It's fairly normal for a kid to play with matches.

It's just that most kids don't start fires that burn down multiple dwellings. So what really happened? Did the kid see the other fires on TV and say WOW that looks cool, followed by running into the brush and setting a dozen different bushes on fire?

Or did the kid just sneak out behind the house to light a match or two and things got horribly out of hand? It's easy for a kid to think that once they blow out a match, it's out and not to know what can happen if you toss that extinguished match into some dry brush.....

In that case I can't even imagine being the kid or the family involved. They must be horribly distraught, and I'd probably handle it much the same way they handled the father who left his baby in the car by mistake (he never usually dropped the kid off at daycare, so he completely forgot the sleeping kid was in there and just drove to work) and the kid died - the guy was so destroyed by what he had done, no punishment from the gov't was needed.

Ok, being less harsh, at a bare minimum, I'd make the kid personally hand all his belongings to the fire victims to replace a bit of what they lost. He needs to experience the loss for himself.

Actually, I liked the idea of burning the kid's belongings. I know that sounds weird in light of my other comments, but in that case, the punishment fits the crime.

I blame Beavis and Butthead.

I think dontating them to kids that lost everything would have more direct impact. And maybe meeting with some families or helping with some clean up would give a close up perspective on exactly what you'd done.

I disagree. It will only leave a negative (non growth) impact on the kid. The parents will then replace the stuff and leave the kid with the impression that what he did was okay (since the people who lost all of their possessions would be getting all new stuff as well).

Let the parents deal with the kid; society deals with the parents.

That's a terrible idea. It becomes about vengeance and not about punishment.

If it was truly an accident I think that the kid should help with clean-up and maybe help with fund raising for the efforts. Accidents do happen, and this was truly a horrible accident (if it was one). But vengeance (burning), and giving his stuff away isn't going to make an impact. We also have no idea how old the kid is. No, he shouldn't have been playing with matches. Perhaps he should have been better supervised, perhaps his parents knew what he was doing. We don't know the full story. But as long as this was an accident and not arson burning his stuff, making him give his stuff away isn't going to help him realize what he caused. And for all we know he already does know and realize.

Can I ask that someone with power move this discussion to the LA fires thread since that this (the accident) was what started one of the LA fires and not the Irvine fire?

Why ?? :confused:

Stupid, dumb accident. That's not to say that they won't be hit with a clean-up bill. But the kids aren't going to jail.

I guess I have little faith in kids today - and that's in large part due to the attitudes of my sisters and their SoCal/Orange County/Big Attitude friends that don't see the repercussions to any actions they might take. Talking to kids seems to do little, especially since they're largely dismissive. Of course this is a case-by-case situation; some kids listen better than others. I don't believe that kids today take responsibility for their actions, especially when the blame gets passed around things are fixed with money. I think that's why, and it's not necessarily what I would do, I rather liked the idea that the kid needs to go through something as drastic as losing some of his or her possessions. Something more drastic than a "talking to" anyway - because to me, this is only a peak in a long string of kids getting away with crap - it's a sign of parents and money solving issues that teens and pre-teens need to learn to feel accountable for.

I think something I would look at would be mandatory community service either related to the SoCal fires or with any other non profit that deals with this sort of scenario.

Oh, and I'd move the threads, but I'm short on time and I am too lazy to weed out which threads go where.

I maintain that most kid attitude problems starts with parents in general. Yes, one could say that kids learn attitudes from other kids, but I believe a lot of parenting today is WAY too permissive.

Just my humble $0.02 worth.

Eh... no need to move anything IMO. It's just splitting hairs.