Pray for the Californians; These fires are bad

11 fires going on right in LA/Orange County

3 people burned bad

Thousand evacuated.

1 dead in San Diego County fire.

The Santa Ana Winds are fueling the fires.

. . . two more days of severe wind. Whew.

No one in CA wants to see fires. It doesn't matter what part of the state they hit, we all have been too close for comfort. I remember watching the Oakland Hills fire... it was in October, as well. Blasted Santa Anna winds. We are lucky in the north, the rains have already come, and there is no fire danger now.

good luck to our southern neighbors,

a NorCal native.

taken to the burn unit after a fire passed over their van - two of them are in ICU, one is now in a medically-induced coma. It's almost turning into a repeat of the cataclysmic Cedar Fire of October 2003 (280,278 acres burned, 2,820 buildings (including 2,232 homes) destroyed and 15 people died including one firefighter.) If the winds don't die down soon, these fires might rival that one in size. Hope that doesn't happen!

and the winds are increasing, instead of dying down like they usually do at night..

and tomorrow the water dropping planes probably won't be able to fly since they have forecasts of gusts of 80Mph tomorrow..

This is gonna get a lot worse before it gets better..

My town's firemen headed off to the Witch Creek fire, but Box SpringsMountain catches fire very easily, so we may need them back here tomorrow....and when it catches fire, the burros head for the housing developments that have crept up the foothills.. So there will be scared burros running amok too :(

Ramona evacuated, the whole town... this is huge 36,000+ people live there and lots of animal life. They are expecting it to enter the City of Sa Diego in the next hour.... http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/northcounty/20071021-2209-bn21ramona5.html

We have watered the roof, we have our important papers and stuff in a box in the garage ready to load. I have an emergency kit with food, water, rope, flashlights etc.

I am ready.

They have not called for voluntary evacuation of our neighborhood yet. But the whole house smells like smoke.

but the chemicals they use to put out fires that should concern you. I hope you have somewhere to go and can choose to leave. Good luck and keep us posted.

The smoke is more of a hazard.

We had to stay up all night in case it came down from the hills into Orange, where we lived. That was a long and scary night.

:pals:

me there was a new report of a fire in Foothill Ranch. Hopefully they'll stamp that one out.

Smoke wasn't bad in Tustin but it was horrible in parts of Irvine and here in Laguna.

if there were actually a god to hear the prayers- wouldn't he/she already know about the fires and the victims? wouldn't the same all-powerful deity be responsible for the santa ana winds that fan the flames?

isn't kinda disrespectful to question an omni-everything deity's will and motives? :shrug:

I can't pray- I find it odd to ask my neighbors imaginary friend for help. The fires in 2003 came within 2 miles of my house - this fire is taking the same path and this one is is supposed to be worse. My house ois filled with smoke and my eyes are burning.

I do hope that us San Diegans will survive yet another one of these fucking fires. (I also hope that a money tree will grow in my backyard.)

Peace.

We wish you all the best and hope that things work out for you and yours and that you remain safe.

I think that is what many people say when they "pray" for someone in danger.

sometimes it's hard to convey how you feel about catastrophies like this - I know when I say 'pray' I mean what you said. It's a generic good wish and I think bringing up that 'religion' thing upthread is unecessary and mean spirited.

You did not have to post here.

Obviously you did not learn, as a child, that if you have nothing nice to say, keep it zipped.

x(

Not sure if you are Pagan or if it's just a nickname, but i'll send some good energy your way regardless.

Bless Be KW.

Marrah

We are still safe.

We are staying put, per the local police department. Unless they tell us to get out, then we are out of here.

apparently you didn't learn the same thing as a child...:hi:

In other words, the god expects to hear supplications. That's true even in some faiths with a single omnipotent god.

why do so many supposedly supreme beings always have so many human shortcomings?

A reminder of the omnipotence, certainly. And since many of the same faiths see humans as developed by the omnipotent being, all attributes are known and available for teaching by the god.
One doesn't need to believe any of it of course. I'm merely trying to aid your understanding based on the questions that you have raised.

sounds pretty vain to me.

i always figured that the different deities show various human traits and frailties because they were created by humans- and not the other way around.

for instance- in the bible, if the story of a loving god/creator were TRUE- instead of telling the "chosen" people of isreal how to treat their slaves- he would tell them NOT TO HAVE SLAVES.

establish the construct. Only believers need to accept the precepts of the faith.

politicians and politics are even more proof of that.

Half-assed theological observations in a thread voicing real concern for real people whose lives and belongings are in real danger.

Troll.

why do people advocate calling out to imaginary deities? :crazy:

I don't know who knows about this, but I thought I'd pass it on:

www.inciweb.org

Has a list of what seems to be all the major fires in the United States, and its usually updated every few hours. A good way to keep tabs on what's going on in the neighborhood, if you're in a fire prone place.

Good luck to all the SoCals out there...

As for me, my emergency stuff is packed, and the animals' crates are ready to go. Best I can do.

How is the water situation?

A wildfire burning just the other side of the ridge. Meanwhile, they've had severe sandstorms that shut down major roads in and out; they've got a severe drought and perpetual wind.

My thoughts are with all Californians today.

While 60 Minutes did a piece last night on "megafires". The firefighters themselves say it's getting worse every year.

Hey, they chose to live there, knowing the risk of fires.

Isn't that what people said about New Orleans?

Bake

It's not rich people getting their just desserts; it's my friends and co-workers watching their homes burn and their pets die. Fuck you.

I have friends that have had to evacuate and friends that lost their homes in the last fires. They were not rich, nor are they now.

Grow up already.

Fucking assholes said that. Total fucking assholes without an ounce of compassion. A few seem to have migrated here as well...

it about CA now.

"So when the big storm comes, and it inevitably will, I will not feel sorry for them." i.e., referring to NOLA and the Gulf Coast.

I feel extremely sympathetic for the regular people whose homes are burning. Just not for the rich fucks - the Mel Gibson or Suzanne Somers types. And I don't feel one bit guilty about that. If that's a problem, to quote someone upthread, f*** you too.

Bake

I guess that gives you leeway to be a shit to others people.

:eyes:

I found out about the fire when I watched the 10pm news and was just sick to see Malibu on fire again, and that castle house you could see from the PCH covered in flames. Stay safe all of you down there.

Rich, poor, whatever, fire hurts everyone and those here who show no pity for "those rich homeowners" just know that it could happen to you too, so don't gloat about other's misery.

I was living burbank and the time an was easily able to see the huge HUGE amount of smoke that was coming off of them.

I had to take the I-10 one day and the wind shifted. They closed it down. That was very freaky watching the road vanish in a puff of smoke before my eyes.

it wasn't that long ago when we had a real rash of fast moving grass fires that burned everything in their path, in one, even the fire truck that was used in fighting it.

Ain't global warming God's blessing on us all?

:sarcasm:

If such a thing works it might be possible someone prayed that California should burn as Sodom and Gommorrah....nah!

Also it seems odd to pray to an allpowerful entity to stop what it most likely caused?

enough with teh fucking prayers. MAke the homeowners take the fucking wooden shakes off the roofs, clear all the 'pretty' brush around there homes...and lastly quit allowing subdivisions into high risk burn zones....wait all that might cost money or prevent profits!

sheeeesh! every year same damn thing in the Fall, next Spring we must all pray for the poor bastards who buy or build houses on unstable scenic hillsides. How about a little common sense?

Wishing for the best!:hug: :kick:

You SoCal DUers take care.

One question I have is why isn't the Governor telling people to stay off the roads? One of the biggest problems this morning was traffic, and traffic impeding the movement of fire fighting vehicles.

ON EDIT:

Also, the air quality must be hazardous. It makes no sense to me to have people commuting unless their jobs are essential as in medical or fire, etc...

All evacuated. No other word yet.