[wjneal]

I was wondering if any of our California members were in the path of the wildfires and if Vic & Tuco had offered to hold their firearms for them...to keep them safe?

I hope you are all safe out there guys!

 

[jebber]

I know JPS lives in the area, let's all hope for the best.

jb

 

[glee]

Im 20 Miles east from the Arrowhead fire and , 35 miles North from the San Diego fires. In some areas of my town are still with out power (2 days) due to down power lines form the wind. The wind was so destructive that one out of four trees is blown over. We are on day three of the winds with gusts upto 60 mph.

 

[ArcticM39]

It is windy, with dark clouds in the horizon and thick odor of smoke in the air. Definitely not a good day!

 

[jaz5833]

I live close to downtown San Diego and I have family members staying at my home that have been evacuated. A lot of my co-workers have been displaced or stranded in other areas because of freeway restrictions. Lots of smoke where I am but most fires are at least 10-15 miles away. When I say a lot of smoke I mean visability down to 100 yards sometimes and very irratating to the eyes. Communities on the beach here are being evacuated right now (first time known for that to happen). I also live very close to Qualcom stadium (Chargers ballpark) and it has about 15,000 evacuated people in it. About 300,000 have been forced to relocate so far and about 1000+ homes have burned.
Very bad situation and it's still getting worse! Would like to say that it could not reach my house but I know the folks in the beach communities never thought they would be evacuating either. Hope for the best!!!

 

[greyhair]

CA Fires

Have three daughters in So CA. One in Canyon Country, one in Castaic and one in Torrance. My youngest in Canyon Country evacuated on Sunday nite down to her sisters in Torrance. The one in Castaic is holding out til the last minute if it gets any worse. I worry about them.

greyhair

 

[bdgfate]

I'm about 10 miles from the nearest fires. We're not threatened yet, but since we're right in the foothills, I have been doing some bug out pre-planning. The one fire that looked like it might be problematic had a big chunk knocked down early today. Still, keeping the TV on a lot.

Re: having Vic or Tuco "hold" my collection would have the same result as the fire taking them. Either way, I'd never see them again! I figure I'll load the car as much as I can, my kids can ride on top and my dog can run along side!

 

[tuco In Memoriam]

Best wishes to you all. JPS is in China but I am sure his wife is dealing with this. My prayers are with you all.

 

[stevenjay1]

Grayhair....Mine is too! My daughter is West of Riverside and she is safe at this time. I just spoke to her by phone and she said it is bad with freeways closed and some of the airports closed as well. Living in California is a love/hate relationship! I pray for her and everyones safety.

Steve

 

[jaz5833]

News just reported that 513,000 have now evacuated thier homes - about 70,000 more than during Kantrina. Water dropping planes just pulled off saving homes to rescue CDF communication sites high up on the mountains. Not Good!!

 

[Bucko]

I lived in California for nearly 30 years in a area that was proned to fires just about every year. Called some friends that still live there and they are safe at the moment but the winds are carrying alot of dust that is the worst they can remember. Hopefully the winds will die down and the fire crews can get things under controll soon.

 

[8734]

bowsers cousins' is the house that they are plastering all over the news in flames.
they woke up at 4am yesterday morning to find the house filled with smoke and flames in two of the rooms. they were then evacuated. they havent been allowed to assess the damages today yet but are pretty sure they lost it all

 

[Guest]

Took these pictures just now, 3:10 p.m. local time. The sky is filled with smoke which creates an orange haze, even though the fire is 35 miles or more away.from us. The smoke and ash is playing Hell with my asthma, too.

 

[Guest]

The smoky haze casts an eerie orange color on all of the surfaces outside...

 

[USMCsean]

bowsers cousins' is the house that they are plastering all over the news in flames.
they woke up at 4am yesterday morning to find the house filled with smoke and flames in two of the rooms. they were then evacuated. they havent been allowed to assess the damages today yet but are pretty sure they lost it all

You mean the gray house frontal shot?

 

[Spetznatz]

The smoky haze casts an eerie orange color on all of the surfaces outside...

Thats what it looked like here in Jax when the fires were burning in Georgia. It's a wicked looking color. I will keep all our Cali members in my prayers.

 

[Guest]

5:10 p.m. local time. The smoke is getting heavier now and the sky is becoming more like an orange-brown soup. This is the view looking west.

 

[capnduane]

Smoke and Dust

I'm situated between the San Diego and Big Bear/Arrowhead fires, no danger from the flames where I live. My area is rural with lots of agriculture areas which are dry and dusty. Yesterday the high winds came out of the southeast and filled my house and garage with dirt, then the winds shifted and sent thick smoke to us. I worked in Orange Co today and the smoke and ash from the fires there was thick. I am fortunate that I only have to deal with the dirt and smoke, others here are loosing everything!

 

[Shyquestor]

Good luck and prayers for all our CA members. Hope you are all safe.

 

[vivelacolo]

I live in south Escondido on an old ranch overlooking the San Pascual Valley, a few hundred yards from the path of the Witch Creek fire.
Sunday I watched the fire progressing from the Julian area in the east to Rancho Bernardo, went to bed at 3:30 AM, woke at 5:00 AM, and I could see the fire burning -- going over and under the I15 freeway few hundred yards away, and into Rancho Bernardo. I knew we were in trouble. The mandatory evacuation order came on Monday morning around 9:30. At that point I totally lost my understanding of the English language, and I did not understand the message I just went out and closed the gate of the ranch.
I was contemplating leaving about 800 rifles and, perhaps, another 100 hand guns.
I loaded all the handguns, except one, in the trunk of the white Jaguar of my wife and started loading my old pickup truck with the rifles, chosing first my most precious ones. It is a very difficult choice.
This picture was taken as I was loading

I could only load a couple of hundred. The rest were piled up really close to the pool. We decided that, since we had several escape routes and a total panoramic view of the area, that we would ride out the fire to the last minute. If we had to leave, I could push the rest of the rifles in the pool take the animals and precious papers and bail out. My house is a old ranch house made of adobe and wood with a wood shingle roof and I knew that if I left the house it would burn.
So we rode out the fire. Water hoses and pumps at the ready for the occasional embers.
All the neighbours were gone. It was like a science fiction movie, nobody around, a lot of wind and a lot of smoke with an occasional orange glow anf flicker of flames. We followed the progress of the fire watching TV and listening to the radio with a map and a compass, on the kitchen table. By the midlle afternoon the fire was past us going west around Lake Hodges, but we could see the fires all over the hills across the valley. At night there were none of the multitude of lights we are used to seeing, every one was gone. I went outside of the gate aroung 11 PM and some strange people were standing there, so I went back with my Rottweiller and they decided to leave . We did not sleep all night, watching for the progression of the fire. This morning there was a lot of smoke, but things looked a little better, except for the fire on the mountain about a mile away. The wind is not as strong this afternoon even though the closest fire is on the other side of the freeway about a mile and half away. Some of the neighbours came back and the sky has started to clear up. I think we will be OK. We will have champagne for dinner.
Best regards
Robert Olivier