Post by CallingAllAngels on Dec 5, 2017 15:20:16 GMT -5
We are across the country, but my husband grew up in Ventura and most of his family is still there. We are just heartbroken today. All of his family is safe, but the fact that my 86-year-old hard of hearing FIL lives alone scares the crap out of me in situations like this.
In Ventura....my parents got a heads up call from the police today saying to be ready in case of mandatory evacuations if their neighborhood. Everyone’s on watch. So far we are all ok and not in a danger zone.
In Ventura....my parents got a heads up call from the police today saying to be ready in case of mandatory evacuations if their neighborhood. Everyone’s on watch. So far we are all ok and not in a danger zone.
I'm glad you are okay. How are things today? My Ventura friends/family are quieter today than yesterday, but that might be due to issues with power outages?
ETA: also, it's still pretty early in the morning there, I guess.
I have friends in the area who have evacuated and all of the Torah scrolls in the synagogues have been evacuated. I’m thinking of everyone there. Stay safe
My friend took photos near her house that's about 50 miles from Ventura (Tarzana) and it was so smokey and the sky was all pink - at 2:00 yesterday.
I'm so sad for everyone who has lost everything, all the animals that always die in these fires, and the fact that it's just before the holiday season.
In Ventura....my parents got a heads up call from the police today saying to be ready in case of mandatory evacuations if their neighborhood. Everyone’s on watch. So far we are all ok and not in a danger zone.
I'm glad you are okay. How are things today? My Ventura friends/family are quieter today than yesterday, but that might be due to issues with power outages?
ETA: also, it's still pretty early in the morning there, I guess.
Quieter for the majority of my family/friends and I as well. A lot of schools are closed, businesses seem to be understanding regarding evacuations and possible evacuation orders....it's so sad and the winds are horrible. Everyone's doing what they can. I hope all your friends/family stay safe as well.
It's all so devastating. I have friends in the area who are either evacuated or on alert to potentially be evacuated. And the high winds are supposed to last through Saturday. 😞
So many thoughts and prayers for our old home....we lived in Ventura for 30 years before moving to FL.
One of my husband's former coworkers lost the home where he and his wife raised their children. Another friend was fortunate to have her home saved and their loss was limited to their chickens and foliage. We have a couple of other friends thst we are trying to find out about, but haven't heard anything yet.
My kids went to school with so many people whose parents live in the affected areas, and one daughter has heard that some of them lost their homes, while others have reported their safety on facebook.
We just got back from Toronto last night, so I am hoping to talk to my old business partner today and find out about others we knew. Thankfully, she lives in an area safely away from the fires, as does my cousin. Our old neighborhood was near the evacuations, but should have been out of harms way.
I guess there are bad fires in LA now, too. And we're on the hugest possible alert here in San Diego. I'm relatively new to CA, and San Diego county is huge... so I've seen the map of where the winds are most harsh, but I'm not sure what to expect. I live pretty close to the water, but I saw it reached the ocean in Ventura (+ I remember Malibu has fires), so proximity to the water may not be helpful.
Also, how do you find out where to evacuate to? There are supposedly fires in Mexico (to the South), LA (to the North), and Julian (to the East). In Indiana, our biggest weather threat was tornados... a basement or crawl space probably won't help in a fire...
We have a board poster in Ventura...but I can't remember what her current handle is. Last I saw, she, her husband and pets had evacuated. Hopefully they continue to stay safe.
sugarglider Look at your city's website and San Diego County's website to see if they have an alert system. I know we have them up here in LA and if you subscribe, you get a text and an email in an emergency. Also, if your immediate neighborhood is in danger, usually an emergency team will be around telling people to get out. I know here in LA, the local news has been updating us on where the evacuation areas might be next (based on wind predictions, I believe) and those people are told to get ready (pack important things in your car). That way if you have to evacuate, you just jump in your car and go.
As for being safer closer to the water, it depends on the landscape. The areas in Ventura/Santa Barbara and Malibu that burn near the coast have a lot of brush, so a lot of fuel for a fire to burn and spread quickly. I'm about a mile from the coast, but we have no brush here. All sand and houses. Yes, houses can burn, but it's not going to spread so rapidly like with all the brush in the other areas. Also, winds play a large part in the spread. The direction of this wind event is even causing wind in my city. If the news wasn't talking about the Santa Anas, we'd not know they were happening because the air is so still here in my part of LA. But my in-laws live in a different part and it's a totally different story by them. So how the winds are behaving in your area will affect your risk.
Hope that helps and welcome to CA!
ETA: You can also see if your employer has an alert system you can subscribe to. I work for both UCLA and UC Riverside and am on their alert systems. I got almost hourly updates about the Skirball Fire from UCLA yesterday. My DH's company also has an alert system and was got calls and texts from them mid-day giving instructions about what to do if you are personally affected.
I guess there are bad fires in LA now, too. And we're on the hugest possible alert here in San Diego. I'm relatively new to CA, and San Diego county is huge... so I've seen the map of where the winds are most harsh, but I'm not sure what to expect. I live pretty close to the water, but I saw it reached the ocean in Ventura (+ I remember Malibu has fires), so proximity to the water may not be helpful.
Also, how do you find out where to evacuate to? There are supposedly fires in Mexico (to the South), LA (to the North), and Julian (to the East). In Indiana, our biggest weather threat was tornados... a basement or crawl space probably won't help in a fire...
We have a board poster in Ventura...but I can't remember what her current handle is. Last I saw, she, her husband and pets had evacuated. Hopefully they continue to stay safe.
I didnt want to tag her because I wasn't sure if she was ok with having her location identified that specifically.
I heard from a friend that Mayor Garcetti said literally anywhere other than downtown LA or Compton may face evacuation orders, which is unbelievable. I'd often see/smell/feel ash during wildfire season (especially the year they had the fire in porter ranch when I was a TA at CSUN), but having lived mostly in the flat, urban part of West Hollywood, I assumed the fires in Sylmar, Tujunga, La Canada-Flintridge, Moorpark, etc would never, ever, threaten the city proper. I had earthquake insurance, but I was like, "Nah, we're not getting a wildfire." That's why this Skirball fire is so disconcerting. And last time Bel Air was on fire it jumped the 405 and ran all the way to the ocean, through where the Getty is currently.
And poor Sylmar. I feel like they get fire every other year. I also have a lot of former coworkers who live in Santa Clarita, all of whom are thankfully safe.
If you are coastal north county and there is a fire that breaks out you may want to be on alert. I've been dealing with fire season in San Diego since 1978 and north county inland, east county and south bay inland are the areas that tend to burn. The last really big fire (2007) burned within a mile of my house and it was the only time we have ever been in an evacuation zone.
Cal fire and local news are good resources to follow.
As for the wind it was calm in Escondido this morning but as soon as I got down to USD the wind picked up. We have so many microclimates in the county that you really can't rely on the weather report; it is easier to just look out your window. I kept getting high wind warnings yesterday and it was dead calm in my part of the county but my friends in east county had blowing winds all day.
Get your N95 masks now. They will sell out (if they haven't already) and being able to breathe makes a huge difference. If you don't need them, put them in your emergency kit for the next time.
If you are coastal north county and there is a fire that breaks out you may want to be on alert. I've been dealing with fire season in San Diego since 1978 and north county inland, east county and south bay inland are the areas that tend to burn. The last really big fire (2007) burned within a mile of my house and it was the only time we have ever been in an evacuation zone.
Cal fire and local news are good resources to follow.
As for the wind it was calm in Escondido this morning but as soon as I got down to USD the wind picked up. We have so many microclimates in the county that you really can't rely on the weather report; it is easier to just look out your window. I kept getting high wind warnings yesterday and it was dead calm in my part of the county but my friends in east county had blowing winds all day.
Thanks, all!
I live in PB and work in UTC, so I'm okay. I'm just hoping Vista is okay tomorrow morning because I have court. My secretary had to rush home because of the lilac fire. I hope her home is spared!
If you are coastal north county and there is a fire that breaks out you may want to be on alert. I've been dealing with fire season in San Diego since 1978 and north county inland, east county and south bay inland are the areas that tend to burn. The last really big fire (2007) burned within a mile of my house and it was the only time we have ever been in an evacuation zone.
Cal fire and local news are good resources to follow.
As for the wind it was calm in Escondido this morning but as soon as I got down to USD the wind picked up. We have so many microclimates in the county that you really can't rely on the weather report; it is easier to just look out your window. I kept getting high wind warnings yesterday and it was dead calm in my part of the county but my friends in east county had blowing winds all day.
Thanks, all!
I live in PB and work in UTC, so I'm okay. I'm just hoping Vista is okay tomorrow morning because I have court. My secretary had to rush home because of the lilac fire. I hope her home is spared!
The Vista Court complex is still pretty far south from the fire (10 miles). Traffic would be my biggest worry- having the 76 closed will push traffic onto the 78 for the next few days.
I am supposed to drive to Temecula and then onto Anaheim tomorrow; keeping an eye on the fires in SD and Riverside county since i may have to cancel my appointment if the Lilac fire backtracks and jumps the 15.
I live in PB and work in UTC, so I'm okay. I'm just hoping Vista is okay tomorrow morning because I have court. My secretary had to rush home because of the lilac fire. I hope her home is spared!
The Vista Court complex is still pretty far south from the fire (10 miles). Traffic would be my biggest worry- having the 76 closed will push traffic onto the 78 for the next few days.
I am supposed to drive to Temecula and then onto Anaheim tomorrow; keeping an eye on the fires in SD and Riverside county since i may have to cancel my appointment if the Lilac fire backtracks and jumps the 15.
There's also the Liberty fire out in Murrieta, but it sounds like for now evacuations have been lifted.
sugarglider you can download the Ready San Diego app (I think it's called SD Emergency) and sign up for Alert San Diego as well to get text alerts.
The Vista Court complex is still pretty far south from the fire (10 miles). Traffic would be my biggest worry- having the 76 closed will push traffic onto the 78 for the next few days.
I am supposed to drive to Temecula and then onto Anaheim tomorrow; keeping an eye on the fires in SD and Riverside county since i may have to cancel my appointment if the Lilac fire backtracks and jumps the 15.
There's also the Liberty fire out in Murrieta, but it sounds like for now evacuations have been lifted.
sugarglider you can download the Ready San Diego app (I think it's called SD Emergency) and sign up for Alert San Diego as well to get text alerts.
I’ve been getting mandatory evacuation calls and texts all evening for our old neighborhood in Oceanside. We were only about 10 minutes inland. They’ve had to evacuate the initial shelter/evacuation locations now. I’m so worried about our friends there. DH was staying in SD but went to visit a friend in Vegas and is supposed to drive back tomorrow. I told him he should just fly up to us from Vegas. He’s supposed to start a new job in SD next week and we are supposed to join him soon.
There's also the Liberty fire out in Murrieta, but it sounds like for now evacuations have been lifted.
sugarglider you can download the Ready San Diego app (I think it's called SD Emergency) and sign up for Alert San Diego as well to get text alerts.
I’ve been getting mandatory evacuation calls and texts all evening for our old neighborhood in Oceanside. We were only about 10 minutes inland. They’ve had to evacuate the initial shelter/evacuation locations now. I’m so worried about our friends there. DH was staying in SD but went to visit a friend in Vegas and is supposed to drive back tomorrow. I told him he should just fly up to us from Vegas. He’s supposed to start a new job in SD next week and we are supposed to join him soon.
Hopefully the fires will be contained by then and won't affect him starting work and you guys joining.
Post by gretchenindisguise on Dec 8, 2017 1:38:01 GMT -5
I've got our bug out bag ready to go, but for now we're good. It just feels ominous. And after this summers fire season and seeing the damage up north, this fire has me very anxious. I'm supposed to be the calm one!
If you can pack a bug out bag and put valuables somewhere for a grab and go situation, do it.
H's former coworker and his wife only got out with their cars. From what he had posted on FB, it seems like they had time to have grabbed something, but had a false sense of security because if the presence of the firefighters on his street. He had posted several times about it before they were forced to evacuate, but they still didn't take anything.
The friends parents who lost their house were woken up in the middle of the night to evacuation orders and they managed to save her sisters artwork that was being stored there for a show, laptops, the computer tower, and some other important stuff. They forgot clothes though.
We just found out that our cousin was oot on business, but his wife and kids got the call to evacuate and went to his mom's house in a nearby city that is safe. They moved to the area after we left, but I am kind of confused by their evacuation, since I thought where they told us they lived was pretty far from danger.
I’ve been getting mandatory evacuation calls and texts all evening for our old neighborhood in Oceanside. We were only about 10 minutes inland. They’ve had to evacuate the initial shelter/evacuation locations now. I’m so worried about our friends there. DH was staying in SD but went to visit a friend in Vegas and is supposed to drive back tomorrow. I told him he should just fly up to us from Vegas. He’s supposed to start a new job in SD next week and we are supposed to join him soon.
Hopefully the fires will be contained by then and won't affect him starting work and you guys joining.
Considering we lost two homes to natural disasters in the past two years, we have friends evacuating and know a couple of families who lost their homes in the NoCal fires recently, I’m having so much anxiety about moving back.
Post by sugarglider on Dec 8, 2017 11:45:36 GMT -5
I was able to set up court call this morning. Whew. I'm surprised the courthouse is open. I know it's a pain to push out hearings, but the court staff shouldn't have to go in. At least not for civil...I realize the swift justice is a bigger deal on the criminal side.
I think by the water in Oceanside it should be okay. But public radio this morning said the Lilac fire is 0% contained.
I was able to set up court call this morning. Whew. I'm surprised the courthouse is open. I know it's a pain to push out hearings, but the court staff shouldn't have to go in. At least not for civil...I realize the swift justice is a bigger deal on the criminal side.
I think by the water in Oceanside it should be okay. But public radio this morning said the Lilac fire is 0% contained.
I just drove by the fire about 15 minutes ago. Lots of tankers doing drops right now. The fire did not grow overnight so that's a good sign. There were a few small hot spots burning along the 15 in Bonsall. If the wind stays calm they should be able to keep it at bay