California Burning...again

[Homebrewer]

7 minutes ago, Lou said:

no, he bets on the outcome 

Well, who doesn't? 

[Tank]

Update on my cousin: her house in Paradise is gone. Because they weren't home when it broke out, they weren't able to get their pets. No idea what happened to them (a couple of cats) but they're assuming the worst.

the smoke from this fire is extensive. We had it with us though our entire drive down the 99 today.

[nate]

My mom was able to take the train to Chico to pick up my Grandpa and drive him back to her place in his car.  It took a while but they finally found out that my grandma was at a funeral home in Orville.  There is a family plot in the bay area that she will be laid to rest at, but the service probably wont be for another month or more, so many of their friends have also lost everything they had so there is no chance anyone could make it now.

My Grandpa is as you would expect pretty out of it.  He just lost his wife, his home and all of his belongings.  I am really glad he is with family, my mom is actually driving him to my aunt and uncles house in Mesquite, NV which is a good place for him since they are retired.  I was actually originally planning on heading out to CA on Friday but since they are all on the move I am instead going to head to Mesquite and probably bring my Grandpa out here for a while.  It is the most like Paradise and my daughter is a good distraction.

I tell my story, not for sympathy, we are lucky that we have the means and support system in my family, but because until experiencing this in the family, it never really hit me how much things like this impact people, how much it really changes their lives.

[Homebrewer]

9 minutes ago, nate said:

My mom was able to take the train to Chico to pick up my Grandpa and drive him back to her place in his car.  It took a while but they finally found out that my grandma was at a funeral home in Orville.  There is a family plot in the bay area that she will be laid to rest at, but the service probably wont be for another month or more, so many of their friends have also lost everything they had so there is no chance anyone could make it now.

My Grandpa is as you would expect pretty out of it.  He just lost his wife, his home and all of his belongings.  I am really glad he is with family, my mom is actually driving him to my aunt and uncles house in Mesquite, NV which is a good place for him since they are retired.  I was actually originally planning on heading out to CA on Friday but since they are all on the move I am instead going to head to Mesquite and probably bring my Grandpa out here for a while.  It is the most like Paradise and my daughter is a good distraction.

I tell my story, not for sympathy, we are lucky that we have the means and support system in my family, but because until experiencing this in the family, it never really hit me how much things like this impact people, how much it really changes their lives.

I get that. It's one thing to read or hear about this stuff, and completely another thing to live it.

This California fire situation is serious shit, and it is only going to get worse. I was living in a community that was being ravaged year after year, to a point where I couldn't deal with it anymore...I knew too many people that had lost everything including their lives ....and had no choice but to leave. The Paradise event was extremely tragic, could be the worst ever in loss of life.. but it came as little surprise to anyone who had lived there for any amount of time.  I was there a few years ago to dedicate a historical marker on the covered bridge (which burned also) and talked to locals who mentioned the fire danger they knew was present, even then. 

My advice to anyone living in California is to start working on a plan to get the hell out of there.

[mp170.6]

I'm really sorry @nate

[Lou]

2 hours ago, Homebrewer said:

My advice to anyone living in California is to start working on a plan to get the hell out of there.

thanks,, but I doubt a wildfire is going to ravage the through cities of southern california 

[ten ocho recon scout]

9 hours ago, nate said:

My mom was able to take the train to Chico to pick up my Grandpa and drive him back to her place in his car.  It took a while but they finally found out that my grandma was at a funeral home in Orville.  There is a family plot in the bay area that she will be laid to rest at, but the service probably wont be for another month or more, so many of their friends have also lost everything they had so there is no chance anyone could make it now.

My Grandpa is as you would expect pretty out of it.  He just lost his wife, his home and all of his belongings.  I am really glad he is with family, my mom is actually driving him to my aunt and uncles house in Mesquite, NV which is a good place for him since they are retired.  I was actually originally planning on heading out to CA on Friday but since they are all on the move I am instead going to head to Mesquite and probably bring my Grandpa out here for a while.  It is the most like Paradise and my daughter is a good distraction.

I tell my story, not for sympathy, we are lucky that we have the means and support system in my family, but because until experiencing this in the family, it never really hit me how much things like this impact people, how much it really changes their lives.

Weve never met, but I cant tell you how bad i feel for you, your family, and anyone else going through this. All my condolences.

[ten ocho recon scout]

We actually got sent out for this one. Knew it was going to be bad when they asked for us the first day....in all my years Ive never heard of a county 2 over asking for our help. 

The fire guys do it all the time, but they were asking for OC coppers about 10 hours after it started. 

Hate to add to the doom and gloom, but se still have another month or so before the worst conditions are over....

[Homebrewer]

9 hours ago, Lou said:

thanks,, but I doubt a wildfire is going to ravage the through cities of southern california 

They didn't think that would happen in Redding, Napa or Santa Rosa either. Thousand Oaks or Westlake Village either, for that matter.

[red321]

So sorry to hear about you and your family's loss Nate

[Jason]

13 hours ago, nate said:

My mom was able to take the train to Chico to pick up my Grandpa and drive him back to her place in his car.  It took a while but they finally found out that my grandma was at a funeral home in Orville.  There is a family plot in the bay area that she will be laid to rest at, but the service probably wont be for another month or more, so many of their friends have also lost everything they had so there is no chance anyone could make it now.

My Grandpa is as you would expect pretty out of it.  He just lost his wife, his home and all of his belongings.  I am really glad he is with family, my mom is actually driving him to my aunt and uncles house in Mesquite, NV which is a good place for him since they are retired.  I was actually originally planning on heading out to CA on Friday but since they are all on the move I am instead going to head to Mesquite and probably bring my Grandpa out here for a while.  It is the most like Paradise and my daughter is a good distraction.

I tell my story, not for sympathy, we are lucky that we have the means and support system in my family, but because until experiencing this in the family, it never really hit me how much things like this impact people, how much it really changes their lives.

It's hard to not have sympathy for you and your family. The most important thing to older people is family so I'm glad that your Grandfather has you guys there for him. I can't even imagine what he is going through. It's so sad. 

[NJHalo]

My condolences Nate. I hope the future brings a happy and healthy new norm for your grandfather. 

I hope the fire season ends without affecting anyone else here.

My friend from HS lost her house in Malibu one day after thinking she had dodged a bullet. She got her cars and some belongings out as well, so things could be a lot worse. 

[Angel Oracle]

This is beyond tragic.    Let the people have the time to come to grips with all of this.  

Then the question to be asked eventually is, how much of this could have been avoided if the dead trees, from all of the bark beetle infestation and the worst drought since records were kept, had been removed?

[Jason]

https://abc7.com/new-fire-breaks-out-along-118-freeway-in-simi-valley-area/4674951/

Good grief!!

[Angel Oracle]

How many freaking Santa Anas are coming this year?     El Nino coming?   Yeah, riiiiight.

[gotbeer]

So by the sounds of it, both the No Cal and So Cal fires were started by power companies.  Good thing they no longer have any liability for such actions.

[Homebrewer]

13 minutes ago, gotbeer said:

So by the sounds of it, both the No Cal and So Cal fires were started by power companies.  Good thing they no longer have any liability for such actions.

I've been telling this to everyone that will listen to me, for a long time. It's well known but downplayed that PG&E (nocal) and So Cal Edison (socal) are responsible for the vast majority (HUNDREDS) of fires. Idiots cause their share, shooting, fireworks, illegal campfires, driving where catalytic converters can ignite dry grass..but the majority of the big fires have been started by power lines coming down in remote areas.

Even though this is accepted fact, someone, somehow, manages to keep it out of the headlines.    

[gotbeer]

2 minutes ago, Homebrewer said:

I've been telling this to everyone that will listen to me, for a long time. It's well known but downplayed that PG&E (nocal) and So Cal Edison (socal) are responsible for the vast majority (HUNDREDS) of fires. Idiots cause their share, shooting, fireworks, illegal campfires, driving where catalytic converters can ignite dry grass..but the majority of the big fires have been started by power lines coming down in remote areas.

Even though this is accepted fact, someone, somehow, manages to keep it out of the headlines.    

I think the only reason why it's reported now is that they are cooperating with investigators now that they have no liability.  

[Catwhoshatinthehat]

I was watching an update on the 118 fire where they were rerouting traffic to the 101and they mentioned how in some of these areas even though they get a fire under control given the heat and wind they have to keep some of the fire fighters close because of the high risk of a fire breaking out and spreading.  There seems to be so many articles and discussions about why fires in CA are worse that it's hard to tell what's a legitimate solution that will at least mitigate the risk or reduce how bad the fires are because there are so many factors.  We went to Bass Lake a few years back and on the side where we camped a lot of the trees were gone because of bark beetles and between the lack of shade and 90+ degree heat we might as well have been camping in a desert.  Looking across the lake you could see splotches of trees on the other side that were dead from infestations and I imagine getting those trees down and taken away isn't a small task. 

I read an article that talked about how where communities have been built in CA the last 50 years makes the fires seem even worse because previously uninhabited areas are now evacuated and in some cases lost to fires.  On TV a few months back during one of the big fires they showed how a few houses in an area were on fire yet no other houses on the street were.  It was a trip because it wasn't like these were a few rows of houses rather from the aerial view you could see it was an entire development of hundreds of houses.  Wind had pushed embers from however far away from the fire and those unlucky houses were the ones that caught fire but the entire community had been evacuated and was at risk.  My condolences to those affected and I wish you the best.  Also sorry to Nate as there's really no words that seem appropriate for what you're family is going through. 

[Lou]

5 hours ago, Homebrewer said:

They didn't think that would happen in Redding, Napa or Santa Rosa either. Thousand Oaks or Westlake Village either, for that matter.

I meant real SoCal cities jot bordering brush areas like Fullerton, Carson, Ontario, etc. You know, where a majority of people live. 

[Blarg]

On 11/11/2018 at 11:51 AM, Homebrewer said:

Relieved to know they be able to continue filming your favorite show there?

No, I hate the location. The ceilings are too low for proper lighting, there are too many dark areas in the house, the kitchen always is yellowish and reflects onto the contestants skin tones and the aerials always look like the area could catch fire at any moment, now it's going to look like a war zone. 

[Blarg]

On 11/11/2018 at 11:58 AM, Homebrewer said:

He works on the show?...that explains a lot. 

I just finished start paperwork that required 14 signatures and that doesn't even include deal memos. 

In front of me is the pictures and names of the 30 contestants and one thing I am thankful for is there is only 2 girls with the same name.

In series past we've had every spelling of Ashley on the same first night, making it impossible to match casting photo with girl since they all looked pretty much the same and two wore the same color dress. It required bringing in someone from both casting and story to sort out who was who. When we had the twins it got down to determining which had the smallest dimple the other didn't on her cheek. 

First day back is Wednesday and I have a home to come back to after my shift is over. I'm not certain as of yet if our crew has fared as well during these fires. 

[Lou]

16 minutes ago, Blarg said:

the aerials always look like the area could catch fire at any moment, now it's going to look like a war zone. 

Afghanistan or Otay Mesa? 

[Tank]

one of my friends was lamenting about how fires have become so much bigger and common than when we were kids. it's a fair question to ask and needs to be answered honestly. 

i still think one of the larger elements of all of this is the number of arsonists who really get off on watching it all burn. if you think about it, most of these fires start on either the hottest day of the year or during the windiest day of the year. that's too much coincidence. another friend of mine works for LA county fire and he said there's a very strong correlation to this theory.

heard an interesting fact about the paradise fire. at one point, it was moving 100 yards in 1 second (not a typo). have to think gas lines played a part in that kind of insane speed.

[Lhalo]

Sorry to hear about your grandmother Nate. It puts things into perspective on a baseball message board. Best wishes to you and your family.