Just hope
 

that all of you sort of 'check in' if you can..

Sure looks totally awful on the news! - j

Bumping
 

While this is 'off topic' it is important to any sort of 'sense of community!'-j

Cant speak for anyone else
 

but its very eerie here - there is an incredible amount of devesation spread over a wide area - and the color of the light from the sun is different from the ashes -

they say another day - winds supposeded to let up - then so cal will get back to rebuilding as we always do i guess until it happens again....

hope everyone else out there ok....

Kmeb I know you said your in the foothills but I have no clue what that meant. How many miles are you? It is so sad and I just hope no more lives are taken. Hopefully this will end soon and people get help with rebuilding and shelter in the meantime.

I am so sorry about this terrible devastation. I cannot imagine the depth of involvement and can only hope that you all get a big rainstorm... The pictures from news coverage resembles a nightmare that I have only seen equaled in movies...

California, along with other warm parts of our country, are where many exotic birds (parrots and others) are raised, mostly in outdoor areas. Their respiratory sacs are extremely sensitive to smoke, teflon fumes, fumes from chemical treatments, etc., and they die quickly sometimes from exposure. The large numbers raised there would be pretty hard to evacuate. I was wondering how they were faring along with places like zoos...

I do not mean this to take away from what should be first in people's minds, that being human lives which could be endangered.

Cathie

Daniella
 

Hi - I'm in Glendale - just over the hill from downtown LA proper and on the way up into the mountains.... from where you are at the far east end of the "valley"...... are you over the hill into Ventura or on the valley side?

Hi guys,

Gosh this morning the smell was just awful, burnt everything.

And tonight they say the humidity is down to 3%, its like an oven out there.

I did see a little blue sky today so the winds but be blowing west.

Daniella, my hubby is from Farmington Hills. I hope our weather (outside of the fires) helps you.

KMEB...:( no Gladstones. I sure hope and pray they get the fires contained soon.

God Bless

Shelley:

Why are there so many fires?? I mean 500,000 had to be evacuated. All this is on the front page of my local newspaper. My son lives in California but thankfully not near the fires.

Is it because Southern California hasn't had that much rain???

And there's one thing I don't understand. I watched a news special on ABC last night and they are spraying homes with some kind of foam (to prevent them from burning up). I think this is a very good move, but my question is this.

This is 2007. You mean to tell me, they can't have lots of jumbo jets flying over these fires and spraying another type of foam that will instantly put out the fires.

I mean, we put a man on the moon all those years ago, but we send firemen into the deepest fires which are raging out of control, they have pick axes and they are putting sand over the fires (I watched this on tv). I kept saying "my god, we have space shuttles, and technology to see each other on webcams and no one came up with the idea of having planes dropping tons of special kind of foam or gel or SOMETHING, that will put out these fires.

I wish someone would explain this to me.

Thanks, Melody

we are following this on TV...
 

This is just beyond my imagining...the scale/scope.

I do wish everyone there a quick resolution to the winds and fire.

How precarious life is... we should all be thankful for each safe day!

Hi Mel,

Gosh thats such a hard question to answer. Part of it is the arsonists, these sick people that get pleasure out of setting these fires. I think they have arrested atleast two different people that set fires. And when the firefighters and resources are deployed the other arsonists I guess want attention too and set more. Its sickening.

I do know that the planes were not able to fly for atleast one day and that really hurt things. Once those Santa Ana winds start blowing off the desert its fierce. On MOnday the winds were up to 90 mph in some of the fire zones and then they just cant safely put the planes in the air. And with the winds the fires just go out of control.

And thos Santa Ana winds caused atleast the Malibu fire by blowing down the power lines in the canyons.

I'll be honest, coming from the east coast where there is more distinct weather when I first moved here I was like right a little wind??? Whatever. NOtnow. When the Santa Ana's blow it either means fires or earthquakes.

It has been so dry out here. Everything is just fuel for those fires. And people have to be responsible and clear the area around their homes otherwise its devastating.

It was sad last night. Dont know if what you were watching was NIghtline or not but they had a guy on that was so angry at the firefighters that his house was burning. Its not their fault. He chose to live in a very dangerous canyon, one way in one way out. There was nothing they could do to save those homes.

ANd once the rain comes since all the tress and vegetation are gone, the mudslides will create more havoc.

Sometimes I think Mother Nature is just reminding us of our place on this planet and how we should do better.

I agree with you though I just wish that they could invent something to put it out quickly. God Bless all those fighting the fires and everyone affected.