This is heartbreaking. I'm just sick. It's getting worse and worse.
Hundreds of homes just burned down in Lake Arrowhead.
Winds of 50mph predicted for tonight.
my heart goes out to all of you. Wish this weren't happening. I feel pretty helpless over here.
Thanks. We're safe here, but I live in major fire danger zone and am on my toes. The air is bad everywhere though.
Fire's are a natural thing but It's so sickening to think that someone set this on purpose. Well, every part of the world has their own battle with nature, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes etc. It would be easier to take if this had happened naturally.
There was one that came close when we lived near the foothills in Pasadena -- got a friend's house nearby. I vividly remember being unable to sleep, getting up and watching the glow on the horizon, trying to figure how fast it was progressing.
Best wishes to everyone who has to deal with this.
Sozobe, I'm In that general vicinity. Last night they caught a guy in Eaton Canyon in Altadena actually setting a fire! Luckily some hikers saw him! That one would have put us in jeopardy if it had spread.
Eaton Canyon was RIGHT by my house! Geez! Went walking there all the time. What mindboggling idiots. So glad he was caught.
Wow! Small world. I used to take my kids to play in the wash in Eaton Canyon! We had so much fun there. They'd build dams and throw rocks. And I'd take a lawn chair and read!
fealola, I'm in Connecticut so I'm obviously not getting real time updates but at 7:00pm EST the news was that Lake Arrowhead was holding it's own. Has that changed?
Yeah. It changed real fast. The reports are just coming in. Within a few hours a few hundred houses gone. Just a couple of hours ago they said it was bypassing Arrowhead.
Wow, I was under the impression that they were beginning to get a handel on it. There is also news a fire fighter has died. Keep safe.
Oct 29, 2003
Wildfires Threaten Mountain Towns as Weather Changes; One Firefighter Dies
By Andrew Bridges
Associated Press Writer
LAKE ARROWHEAD, Calif. (AP) - Firefighters struggled desperately Wednesday to save emptied-out resort towns in Southern California's San Bernardino Mountains as 200-foot walls of flame engulfed dead and dried-out trees.
In San Diego County, the state's largest fire claimed another victim when a firefighting crew was overcome by flames, killing one and injuring three. It marked the first firefighter death since the series of blazes began last week.
"It just swept right over them. They probably didn't have time to get out of the way," San Diego County Sheriff's Sgt. Conrad Grayson said.
The death toll later reached 20 after authorities said two people were found dead Wednesday on an Indian reservation as the result of the same San Diego County fire.
In the San Bernardino Mountains east of Los Angeles, the hot, dry Santa Ana winds from the desert that had been whipping the fires into raging infernos eased Wednesday. But they gave way to stiff breezes off the ocean that pushed the flames up the canyon walls around evacuated mountain enclaves like Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear - towns that are among Southern California's most popular mountain playgrounds.
By early afternoon, homes were burning in the mountain community of CedarPines Park. The flames were expected to hit the town of Running Springs after crews weren't able to set backfires along a highway to protect the town. The fires also swept over mountain tops, forcing evacuations in parts of the high desert town of Hesperia.
"There's fire on so many fronts, it's not even manageable at this point," said Chris Cade, a fire prevention technician with the U.S. Forest Service, as he watched a pillar of smoke he estimated at 9,000 feet rise into a hazy sky thick with ash. "I am at a loss what you can do about it."
The fires have burned more than 620,000 acres and destroyed 2,100 homes. More than 12,000 firefighters and support crew were fighting what Gov. Gray Davis said may be the worst and costliest disaster California has ever faced. He estimated the cost at $2 billion so far.
The fires burned in a broken arc across Southern California, from Ventura County east to Los Angeles County and the San Bernardino Mountains and south to San Diego County.
About 100 fire engines encircled the historic mining town of Julian in the mountains of eastern San Diego County, hoping to save the popular weekend getaway community renowned for its vineyards and apple orchards.
However, some two dozen engines and water tenders that were headed to Julian were forced to turn back when flames swept over a highway. And as the winds picked up, floating embers sparked spot fires near the town of 3,500, forcing some crews to retreat.
South of Julian, about 90 percent of the homes had been destroyed in Cuyamaca, a lakeside town of about 160 residents. Charred cows lay by the side of the road and houses were reduced to little more than stone entryways.
"Everything's kind of happening all at once. These fires are trying really hard to tie in with each other," said Bill Bourbeau, a forest safety officer for the Cleveland National Forest. "It's tremendous."
San Diego County fire officials feared a 233,000-acre fire and the 50,000-acre blaze would merge into a huge, single blaze that would make it nearly impossible to keep it from reaching Julian. The firefighting death and injuries occurred in the larger of the two blazes.
This whole event is hard to believe
Over 600,000 acres burned, over 2000 homes gone so far. One firefighter down. 15 or more people killed. The fires are in Mexico now too.
To give some perspective, on one of the local news reports they were comparing the amount of burned acreage to the size of the state of Rhode Island.
fealola wrote:Over 600,000 acres burned, over 2000 homes gone so far. One firefighter down. 15 or more people killed. The fires are in Mexico now too.
keep me up on Mexico - I'm going to the baja in 3 weeks
For those concerned about specific areas, here's an interactive fire map. Just click on the red dot near the area you're interested in and you'll get a detailed map of the burning areas.
Forest Service Active Fire Map
will have to keep an eye on that map - I see some active burning on our route.
I'm not sure what you mean husker, but a woman called into talk radio today to say that she was safe, but her route as a sales rep was devastated. The victims are not always the obvious.
He means the route he will take on his trip to Baja.
