San Diego is burning... again.

[quietann]

Four years ago, there were several huge fires in San Diego. See http://quietann.livejournal.com/71430.html for my reactions at the time.

This time around, if anything it's worse. 250K people have been evacuated -- so far. Equestrians I know online are scared sh*tless about their horses; many have been evacuated, but at some ranches they are just being turned loose because there are not enough horse trailers (and not all horses can be loaded into a trailer, especially when scared.)

The photos in the galleries at signonsandiego.com are going to give me nightmares.

My dad and his wife are unlikely to be affected, but the Witch fire has jumped one big freeway, so why not two more? I worry more for my cousins and my brother's best friend, all of whom could be EITed by the Witch Fire.

I could go on a long spiel about living in a dry hot environment, global climate change etc. but I won't, for now...

ETA info on the Witch Fire as of 10 minutes ago:

The Witch Fire is now 145,000 acres and 0 % contained.

The cause is under investigation. 600 structures have been destroyed (500 residences, 50 outbuildings and 100 commercial properties). 300 structures have been damaged (250 residences, 75 commercial properties and 50 outbuildings)

There has been 7 injuries to firefighters and 1 injury to a civilian. Communities threatened: San Diego, Poway, Ramona, Escondido, Lakeside, Valley Center, San Marcos, Rancho Santa Fe.

Currently there are 89 engines, 9 fire crews, 10 dozers, 2 water tenders -- about 625 firefighters.

The ICP has been moved to Kit Carson Park (at Kit Carson Park and Bear Valley Parkway).

One death in the other large fire...

Comments

[mmegaera.livejournal.com]

Good thoughts on their way.

[bikergeek.livejournal.com]

Erk. Good luck to your dad and his wife.

[frotz.livejournal.com]

Yikes. Good luck. I'm due to be back in Ramona in a few weeks; I hope it's still there.

[rubynye.livejournal.com]

Oh, goodness. I am sending definete good thoughts.

[whitebird.livejournal.com]

Yeah, this one is particularly bad. :/

Good luck to those you know. (And those you don't.)

[unclebooboo.livejournal.com]

I was living in LA (Westwood Village/UCLA) in the fall of 2003 and even near the coast it was worse (days/weeks of smoke so thick you couldn't see the sun) than anything I'd ever experienced here in New Mexico. These latest fires look much worse than what I saw in 2003...

[ailsaek.livejournal.com]

Yerk. I thought it wouldn't make it to Poway (that's where my best friend when I was in the service lives).

[quietann.livejournal.com]

Poway is actually fairly remote and surrounded by rough terrain where these fires can just burn uncontrolled. It's the next town west from Ramona, the first community affected by the fires. Rancho Bernardo is just west of Poway, and it's been hit really hard.

[quietann.livejournal.com]

Those fires are just really, really scary. The first one I remember was in 1970, and although it didn't even come within 25 miles of where I lived, the schools were all closed because of air quality issues. I also experienced the 1993 Laguna Beach fires; in fact I was living within a mile of the fireline. Watching that fire come up over the ridge has to be one of the scariest things ever. We had a voluntary evacuation, and I chose to leave, as much for the sake of my room-mate and her cat as anything else. She was visiting family in the midwest and was worried sick about her cat.

There are 300,000 horses in San Diego county and many of them are stabled in the affected areas.

[dianec42.livejournal.com]

I'm in Torrance right now and the air is grey. I wonder if a rain dance would help.