Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: California on Fire

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Posted by Mike Olpin (Member # 1115) on 10-26-2003, 02:01 PM:

Some Images from outside my house right now.
It's beggining to snow ash!

The green arrow points to the strip mall where my theatre is located.

from KFMB TV 8

quote:

WILDFIRES IN SAN DIEGO

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BREAKING NEWS

(10-26-2003) - URGENT: San Diego Fire Department asks all off-duty firefighters to report to firestation #28 with their gear.

Interstate 15 has been shut down in the Mirimar Road Area.
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WILDFIRES IN SAN DIEGO: FORCED EVACUATIONS IN VALLEY CENTER, SCRIPPS RANCH, TIERRASANTA; FATALITIES REPORTED

Firefighters are battling two fast-moving wildfires in San Diego County, one in Valley Center and one heading toward Scripps Ranch. Seven people have been killed and hundreds of homes and businesses have been evacuated.

The so-called Cedar Fire began overnight near Ramona and has since charred more than 10,000 acres and destroyed an undetermined number of structures.

"We have everything sent out that we can possibly send out," said San Diego Fire Department dispatcher Ron Cumbey. "And we are asking for all that we can get."

With Santa Ana winds fanning the flames, the fire swept through parts of Lakeside, jumped Highway 67 and in the past few hours, reached Scripps Ranch, according to Susan Please of the San Diego County Sheriff's Department.

Firefighters also battled another fast-moving blaze near Valley Center.

"That fire is moving so fast, we can't come up with an accurate acreage count," Please said.

According to Police, authorities have unconfirmed reports of multiple fatalities from both fires.

"We haven't been able to confirm any deaths," said Please. "As you can imagine, it's really crazy down here."

A wall of smoke greeted motorists heading south on Interstate 5 into San Diego.

Ash is falling all over the county, and smoke and haze is hanging over Mission Bay, Fiesta Island and Sea World. Similarly, the downtown area is also under a smoky haze.

Authorities reported two unconfirmed deaths in a vehicle at the scene of the Cedar Fire. They were told of the deaths by a retired fire captain, according to a California Highway Patrol spokesperson.

LOCAL 8 News has since reported that at least seven people have been confirmed dead in the Cedar and Valley Center fires.

At least seven homes have been destroyed in an upscale section of rural Ramona.

Stay tune to LOCAL 8 News for continuing coverage of the San Diego County wildfires.

© 2003 Midwest Television, Inc.

From Fox News

quote:
Two Killed While Trying to Flee California Wildfire

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. — Two fierce firestorms that had already burned more than 300 homes appeared to merge Sunday into one long fire front, fueled further by powerful Santa Ana winds.

The widening fire has forced thousands of residents to flee the San Bernardino (search) area. And father south in San Diego County, another wildfire claimed the lives of two people who became trapped in a car as they tried to escape the flames.

Raging in the suburbs of San Bernardino, a city of 185,000 about 60 miles east of Los Angeles, the two fires combined to create a fire front 35 to 40 miles long, U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Carol Beckley said.

At the western end, about 50 homes were in flames Sunday morning in a canyon at the edge of the suburb of Claremont, and authorities were going street to street there and in La Verne, urging people to evacuate immediately.

Several evacuation centers had opened in the area and thousands of people had left their homes, said Los Angeles County fire Inspector Edward Osorio.

"We're not sure exactly how many burned because we can't get up there," Osorio said. "Our priority of the moment right now is structure protection, not containment."

In all, the fires had blackened tens of thousands of acres. Fire incident commanders on Sunday also raised their estimate of homes burned in Saturday in the suburbs just north of San Bernardino from 200 to 300 but still couldn't get close enough for complete count, fire spokesman Greg Cleveland said.

Gov. Gray Davis declared a state of emergency for San Bernardino and Ventura counties late Saturday.

"We are taking every possible step to support the firefighting effort," Davis said. He said he called on President Bush to issue a disaster declaration to free up federal loan money for people who lost homes.

The winds had died down as the temperature dropped over night but they picked up again early Sunday, sending authorities rushing to evacuate hundreds more homes in the resort areas of Lake Arrowhead and Crestline, just north of San Bernardino.

Gabriel Garcia of the San Bernardino National Forest's fire suppression agency said firefighters he talked to Sunday morning were not optimistic they could save all the homes in the blaze's path.

"First thing they said is they're getting their butts kicked," Garcia said. "They're saving a lot but they can't save it all."

About 100 miles to the northwest, in Ventura County, other wildfires were raging early Sunday in the hills above Simi Valley's Ronald Reagan Presidential Library (search) and near Piru, where 300 homes were threatened for a time. The Simi Valley fire had burned 47,000 acres by daybreak, damaged 14 homes and was threatening as many as 2,000 structures. It had also shut down Highway 118, the main route connecting Ventura County to Los Angeles.

In San Diego County, three wildfires were burning, including one that had destroyed seven homes in a neighborhood of estates near Ramona, Sheriff's Department spokesman Chris Saunders said. The fire, which forced hundreds of people to evacuate, started when a lost hunter set off a signal fire to get attention, Saunders said. The man could face charges.

Two people believed to have been trying to escape the flames were found dead in a car, said Alice Contreras of the California Highway Patrol. Another fire in San Diego County destroyed about 20 homes near Valley Center and blackened about 1,000 acres Sunday.

The most devastating of the wildfires started Saturday in San Bernardino's Old Waterman Canyon, about 50 miles east of downtown Los Angeles.

Fierce Santa Ana winds propelled the flames across 12,000 acres within hours as erratic winds gusting to 40 mph pushed the blaze in constantly changing directions. By Sunday morning, officials estimate, 300 homes had burned.

The fire forced the evacuation of the San Manuel Indian Reservation's casino and the campus of California State University (search), San Bernardino, where flames damaged two temporary classrooms and a temporary fitness center. Patton State Hospital, which houses about 1,300 mental patients, also had to be evacuated.

Two firefighters suffered second degree burns, and at least three others suffered minor burns or smoke inhalation on Sunday.

More than 4,200 people had been ordered to leave their homes in the foothills of the San Bernardino Mountains, although some refused, staying behind to spray water on their roofs with garden hoses as flames danced all around them.

Robert Wilkes turned his hose on burning palm trees in an effort to keep the flames from his home and his neighbor's until he finally had to leave.

"He saved our house," said neighbor Dwane Caddell. Much of the rest of Caddell's property was damaged, however. His swimming pool was black with debris and singed palm trees and shrubbery surrounded the house.

The San Bernardino County coroner's office blamed the deaths of two men on stress caused by the fire. James W. McDermith, 70, collapsed while evacuating his home, and Charles Cunningham, 93, collapsed as he stood in the street watching his house burn.

The fires closed highways, cut power to thousands and choked the region with heavy smoke and ash.

Evacuation centers were packed, including one near San Bernardino International Airport, where as many as 1,000 people gathered, including about 50 people in wheelchairs who were taken from a convalescent home.

Hundreds of people sat beside their cars in the parking lot, some watching the burning hills through binoculars.

One family gathered in a prayer circle. Dozens of caged dogs and cats evacuated by their owners lined the roads. Authorities said at least three people were arrested on suspicion of looting in the devastated area.

Sharon Robinson, 62, and her daughter Kim Robinson, 46, left with their clothes and other belongings in the back of their truck.

"We've lived in our home for 35 years," Sharon Robinson said. "Fire has always stopped in the foothills. I never thought it would reach our home."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Posted by Jon Miller (Member # 163) on 10-26-2003, 04:03 PM:

Mike--you live in the southern part of the city, right?

I took this picture about 8:30 am...

The picture was taken in the community of Clairemont (for the rest of you, about ten miles north of downtown San Diego), looking northward. The white spots are from the light of the flash reflecting off the falling ash (apparently the blooming of the spots is an artifact of digital photography). The orange glow is from the refraction of sunlight through the heavy smoke cloud, not from nearby flames.

At the time, the fires were still raging about twenty miles northeast of my home, spreading towards the foothills ten miles east. The skies were so dark, it might as well been twilight. Surreal, indeed.

My heart goes out to everyone displaced from their homes during this unprecedented inferno.

Posted by Gerard S. Cohen (Member # 994) on 10-26-2003, 05:44 PM:

Mike and Jon, I hope you and your families are all right!

Just now I saw a headline that eight people were killed in the fire. What a catastrophe to befall such a beautiful state, after suffering earthquakes and mudslides in the past!

Seems we have other Film-tech posters in the region.
Your fantastic photos fill me with terror.

Posted by Mike Olpin (Member # 1115) on 10-26-2003, 06:32 PM:

So far I've been extremely fortunate. My dirrect area is not in danger. However, it is possable for the Otay fire to come up my way by tommorw, but the risk of that is low at this time. What is so unique, is that fires are burning literally North, south, and east of me. I wish my camera could capture the scope of this. It is an incredible, unbelievable sight.

Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 10-26-2003, 06:55 PM:

There are also much bigger and more destructive fires burning in Rancho Cucamonga/Ontario/Fontana and in Simi Valley/Moorpark. Some fire lines are over 25 miles long.

While all fire storms are more "serious" if they are near one, by the same token, there have been more than 350 homes destroyed and thousands of people have be evacuated from the fire so far.

These fire storms are unbelievable. We go thru these every year about this time because it's very dry and then the Santa Anna winds come up and make the whole thing a scene from hell. Some years are worse than others. This is a bad one….

Then, in Dec-Feb, the rainy season. There will be humongous floods and mud-slides cuz the hills have been burned bare of vegetation and will not hold back the moisture. More people will loose their houses… and lives [Frown]

...many kids/teens from surfin' the storm drain "rivers" that run like raging waters on the way to the Pacific Ocean.

Oh, don't forget about the earthquakes… Welcome to God's country! I LOVE it HERE! [thumbsup]

OBTW: My Simi Valley house I built in 1994 B4 I moved here to the Hollywood Hills about 4 years ago, was totally destroyed and burned to the ground yesterday. Good thing I SOLD!

>>> Phil

Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 10-26-2003, 07:21 PM:

Governor Davis issued a State of Emergency. It sounds like those fires are getting extremely nasty.

Phil, Danny, and Mike - are you safe from any danger???

Posted by Jon Miller (Member # 163) on 10-26-2003, 07:26 PM:

Thank you for your kind words, Gerard!

Even though I live less than five miles west-southwest of the Tierrasanta community, there is a very good residential/commercial barrier between my community and the fire zone. I am relatively safe, save for the copius amounts of smoke and ash blown my way. Unfortunately, at least four colleagues from work live in the fire zone; I have made contact with two which have been safely evacuated.

The scuttlebutt is that the "Cedar" fire was started by a lost hunter who lit a signal fire. Stupid. [Mad]

Posted by Paul G. Thompson (Member # 655) on 10-26-2003, 09:11 PM:

Mike, those pictures remind me of the time when Mount St. Helens blew in April of 1980.

Anyway, as the news goes, there does not seem to be any relief in sight for better weather needed to help fight those fires.

Posted by Mike Olpin (Member # 1115) on 10-26-2003, 10:16 PM:

The Delzurra fire is now posing a threat. Word has it that Singing Hills is on fire. That is about 7 miles as the crow flies from me. There is rural brush that stretches from singing hills, goes behind my theatre, and then ends in the canyon behind my house. The air is really thick now too, and everytime you come in you have to shake off all the ash.

BTW, in my pictures you can see an occasional patch of blue. By an hour later, the sky was not vissable at all through all the smoke.

Posted by Darryl Spicer (Member # 711) on 10-26-2003, 10:54 PM:

The football game schedueled for monday night, Dolphins against the Chargers, has been moved to the Sun Devil Stadium in Arizona. THis is due to the situation in San Diego with the fires and the fact that the emergency response team is using the stadium for housing those people who have been left homeless. This According to ESPN anounced during tonights Chiefs/Bills football game.

Posted by Mike Olpin (Member # 1115) on 10-27-2003, 12:23 AM:

I haven't been able to verify that the fire has in fact been through Singing Hills. That may have been a rumor. I do have a 72 hr kit ready, and my hard disks with all my files are pilled next to the door, should I need to leave quickly.

Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 10-27-2003, 12:26 AM:

The latest as of 11PM PST:

277,000 acres burned.
13 Deaths directly related to the fires...heart attacks, burned to death, etc.
850 Homes destroyed.
Major airline delays caused by shutdown of the Air Traffic Control Center in SD and many suspended airline flights in to/out of LAX, BUR, ONT, and John Wayne air ports..
1000's schools closed.

My heart goes out to all those that have lost loved-ones and all they worked for their whole life...

Of course, there are the low-life looters. They should NOT be arrested...just SHOT on sight! No EXCEPTIONS!

Paul: I think both Danny and I are safe from the hell cuz of where we currently live. Mike, I don't know... A sincere thank you for your concern. See you next week end!

>>> Phil

Posted by Jack Ondracek (Member # 1466) on 10-27-2003, 12:31 AM:

Simi Valley...

Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 10-27-2003, 12:49 AM:

I can see the fire on the mountain ridges to the east now. It started this morning in Ramona - that is 20 miles from here. The devastation in that area must be enormous.

Posted by Clint Koch (Member # 1179) on 10-27-2003, 01:16 PM:

One of my cousins lost their home. They got the kids and animals out along with the important documents. Now it looks like my aunt is going to lose her home in the Simi fire.
This SUCKS!

Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 10-27-2003, 02:00 PM:

Some local TV news video here and here.

>>> Phil

Posted by Ron Yost (Member # 1850) on 10-27-2003, 02:26 PM:

Some streaming live coverage from San Diego here:

NBC San Diego

Ron Yost

Posted by Mark Lensenmayer (Member # 134) on 10-27-2003, 02:33 PM:

What a mess. A short while ago, flooding in Washington and now the fires in SoCal. Just a terrible year for weather. This summer, 3-5" rains became the norm in Ohio, and lots of folks got new roofs from the hail damage. And my brother in Williamsburg VA was without power for over a week after the hurricane.

I have relatives near Ramona, but, so far, they say fires are north and south of them.

My thoughts go out to everyone in the area, and I hope it ends soon, but the latest weather forecasts aren't very hopeful.

Stay safe out there, friends.

Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 10-27-2003, 05:13 PM:

Apparently the fire I see from here is not the "Cedar" from Ramona but the "Paradise" from nearby Valley Center.

Posted by Jon Miller (Member # 163) on 10-28-2003, 07:43 AM:

From SignOnSanDiego.com (San Diego Union-Tribune):

======

Hunter blamed
3:32 p.m.

A hunter who set a weekend signal fire in the East County wilderness sparked a 150,000-acre blaze that has damaged or destroyed hundreds of homes and killed about a dozen people

``He set a fire in order to locate his partner,'' San Diego County Sheriff Bill Kolender told reporters during a morning briefing. ``That fire started the initial blaze.''

The man, whose name was not immediately available, was in custody and likely to face charges in connection with the huge Cedar Fire, which began spreading Saturday near Ramona.

======

Maybe two-way radios (or Nextel phones, if they work out in the boonies now) should be made mandatory for hunters, since common sense is now in criminally short supply? [Mad]

Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 10-31-2003, 12:23 AM:

Picture taken from the roof of our theatre in Poway last Sunday.

Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 11-06-2003, 02:26 PM:

Some pictures from one of the earth stations I used to work with. This is in Fillmore, CA so I assume this was the Piru fire. The station is PAS' major west coast full-motion antenna TTAC (Telemetry, Tracking, and Control) and teleport site.

October 26, 2003 and the day after: