Personal GalleryDiscuss Cough, Gasp, Wheeze... in the OFF-Topic / Misc. forums; ***UPDATE***
I leave the house at 5:15AM and it was clear and starry at my house. I was thinking ...
***UPDATE***
I leave the house at 5:15AM and it was clear and starry at my house. I was thinking that things were getting better, until I got down the road toward the freeway. Bright orange glow and the flames are cresting that hill. Multiple communities are being evacuated, Bell Canyon, Box Canyon, Old Agoura, Lindero Canyon and Oak Park. These areas all have a lot of homes threatened right now.
As I neared work, I found that the area I work in is the staging area for fire crews. I kid you not, I saw at least 150 fire trucks along the road and parking lot here in Calabasas. I have never seen this many fire trucks in my life. I wish I had grabbed my camera before I left for work now. This is unreal!
I will be safe here at work and our house is well clear of the firelines, so I am not in any danger. Getting home might be a challenge this afternoon as the fire is between work and home. Now if these winds stay down, we should see some progress.
I would like to express my appreciation to fire crews and to Canada (YES, Canada!). They provide us with aircraft called "Super Scoopers" that can grab water while flying to dump on the fires. We should see some significant aerial activity today.
Wherever their bones may lie, the courage of heroes is consecrated in the hearts and engraved in the history of the free. Lt Col Honner DSO MC, 39th Commander speaking of the dead from the battle of Kokoda.
The fireline is 15 miles long, from Rocky Peak to Oak Park! The fire crews are gearing up. 1,300 firefighters, 5 heavy lift and 5 medium helicopters are now airborne and 4 fixed wing aircraft are also taking off. Roads nearby are all closed or closing as they ready them to roll the trucks. The very present smell of smoke is now in the building and ash is falling like snow outside.
My inlaws have been evacuated (mandatory), as have several of my coworkers.
Wherever their bones may lie, the courage of heroes is consecrated in the hearts and engraved in the history of the free. Lt Col Honner DSO MC, 39th Commander speaking of the dead from the battle of Kokoda.
"After That Second Kill, I Knew It Was Time To Get The Hell Outta There..."
--Lt. William Northrop Case
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For now. It was at 7,000 acres this morning (about 6 AM) and has grown to over 17,000 acres as of about 1 hour ago. We are looking at a possible evacuation from work in the next couple of hours. It figures, it will probably be about the time I go home anyway. Just enough to jack up the commute!
I thought they were getting a handle on it a few hours ago, started seeing white smoke, meaning they were getting a handle on it. But just 20-30 minutes ago, fresh black smoke started coming up just north of here. The winds are picking up as well. Keep your fingers crossed, its getting worse and will be for a bit.
The firefighters have been doing heroic efforts to save homes and we have had firehawk helos (firefighting blackhawks) back and forth over the office all day. Been one hell of an air show!
Wherever their bones may lie, the courage of heroes is consecrated in the hearts and engraved in the history of the free. Lt Col Honner DSO MC, 39th Commander speaking of the dead from the battle of Kokoda.
Good luck Eric, at least your house is not in the way of the fire(s) at the moment.
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Yep, if it gets towards our house, then we have a serious problem! I am surrounded by other homes, so it should be fine. I am just south of the 101 freeway at work, which is where the fire crews are drawing a line. If it gets across the 101, it will burn all the way to the beach. Getting uglier here at work, but I leave in 30 minutes, so I will be glad to beat feet.
Wherever their bones may lie, the courage of heroes is consecrated in the hearts and engraved in the history of the free. Lt Col Honner DSO MC, 39th Commander speaking of the dead from the battle of Kokoda.
Eric I am assuming you and yours have an escape plan with enough to last you out several days. don;t hang around there unless you have to man. Evening winds can jump lines in seconds and then good bye property. Several years ago to my west we had the Biquit fire which included three seperate fires. It was started by lighting in an environmental monumet area..........big deal. the forest service let it burn all one day without doing anything and it kept at a nominal 5,000 acres. Overnight winds shot the sucker out 360 degrees and by early morning was almost 20,000 acres, going into northern Calif on the Smith river and to the nroth to a very luxurious and secluded public area along the Rpogue river. this suka turned out to be over 500,000 acres in size, making it the largest widlfire in US history and only Gods hand out it out with rain at Novembers end. My point is obvious, don't wait folks, we had this come mid-july and sucked up every conceivable nusiance allergen, smut, smog, smoke and pollutant, Hwy. 199 to the west was closed for weeks with people moving in exodus to the east to get out of the huge flames....
I do have an escape plan, just in case. But the fire is still east of the 23 freeway and I am another 5 miles from there with a lot of houses between there and where I am and not much in the way of fuel for the fire, thankfully. If need be, I have a couple of places that I can go to that are out of danger.
I am home now and it looks very good where I am. If I was still in Thousand Oaks, I would be ready to beat feet. It is moving into there right now and is about 2-3 miles from my old house. My in-laws are back in their house, but they may have another evacuation if Oak Park gets nailed. They may be coming here, which should be okay (if you don't mind in-laws too much!).
I will be watching the skies and monitoring the radios tonight. If there is a hint of bad things coming, I will scoot.
Wherever their bones may lie, the courage of heroes is consecrated in the hearts and engraved in the history of the free. Lt Col Honner DSO MC, 39th Commander speaking of the dead from the battle of Kokoda.
Last night was a harrowing night for many families. Fortunately, we remain safe where we are. About a mile from work, fire crews performed heroic actions to save a large apartment complex (Malibu Canyon Apartments) and a condo complex that is about a mile from the 101. It was something to see as my wife and I used to live in Malibu Canyon Apartments and were right up against where the firefighters made their last stand to save the homes.
The fire is currently 12% contained and the winds calmed way down last night. The weather is cooling somewhat as well. That is good news for the fire crews who are going back on the offensive at dawn. The bad news is that they still have a 15 mile front to battle. 3,000 firefighters from all over the state are busting their butts to save homes and are doing one hell of a good job.
There were no visible hot spots on my 20 mile commute to work, but it is very smoky along the whole route. It smells like one giant campfire and irritates the lungs and eyes.
I am awaiting the 6 AM briefing from the fire crews to see the current situation. It may be a few more days before they are able to get it out completely, but the weather is on a cooling trend, although it will still be in the 90s for the next couple of days. The on-shore flow of wind is pushing inward, which should help as the cooler, more humid winds are better than the Santa Ana winds that come off of the desert and are hot and dry.
The latest count has 17,000 acres burning, but that number will likely rise as that was the number as of yesterday afternoon. The satellite thermal imagery taken later today will revise that number.
Approximately 1,000 people have been evacuated from their homes and are unsure of the status of their homes, which is a major cause of anxiety. Keep them in your thoughts and prayers. The Red Cross and Salvation Army are also doing one hell of a job to keep these people housed and fed.
The office where I work followed local authorities command and voluntarily evacuated the building at 4 PM. Once the executives got wind that voluntary evacuation orders were in place, they made it mandatory for all employees to get out.
Wherever their bones may lie, the courage of heroes is consecrated in the hearts and engraved in the history of the free. Lt Col Honner DSO MC, 39th Commander speaking of the dead from the battle of Kokoda.
20,000 acres have burned, to give you an idea of how big that is, it is a larger area than Manhattan Island in New York.
Amazingly, only 1 single family home has been destroyed.
The fire is currently 20% contained, with the goal of encirclement today.
There is a 2 day window to get this knocked down before the winds get started again. The 101 freeway is still the line that is in danger of crossing. They are fighting to keep it on the North side. Our office is on the south side of the 101.
Here are some pics to give you an idea of what we are dealing with here, courtesy of one of my co-workers.
Wherever their bones may lie, the courage of heroes is consecrated in the hearts and engraved in the history of the free. Lt Col Honner DSO MC, 39th Commander speaking of the dead from the battle of Kokoda.
Look after yourself Eric looks like the states are certainly going through the wars this year, Les has got some spare water if you need any (about 40 billion gallons)
I have seen small brush fires sweep up the mountains in Spain and when the wind gets going they really move at a rate so it must be very disconcerting with something that big. It sounds like at least its not totally out of control and after the **** up in N.O. I bet the local government offices are making sure nothing can be said about their response to this business after its over.
__________________ "Only thoses who lose freedom know it's true worth" Unknown French woman interviewed June 1944
Eric did the sun turn blood red before it was hidden behind the smoke ? great pics man. yes our whole western hills were lit up years ago with an eerie glow. Like you said the smoke is terrible, open your doors of your home and the evil settles in for the day/night.
this is growing man and encirclement/containment is always a nice verbal sign but far yet from being controlled
Been gone Eric, finally catching up - MY GOD! Just got a call from a friend in Mojave, he said the winds were supposed to be calm today. Hope all is well!!!!
__________________ "IF ITS RED OR DUSTY, DON'T TOUCH IT"
That looks very scary.................... Good luck!
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