Forums > Social Chat > So Cali is burning to the ground...

Posted: 26th Oct 2003
hello

im from australia

quote:

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next time you see a peice of ash float in the air...think that it might be some1's lounge set.or beloved pet...on that really grim note i am off to bed

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just thinking that it was a great way to think of it

To love fire is to be fire

Posted: 26th Oct 2003
Alright. Now it's in Scripps Ranch. Past mirimar. The whole sky is ashy. I woke up this morning with ash in my mouth (I was sleeping outside on a campout).


Scripps ranch is a 15 minute schoolbus ride.


Kinudin

Posted: 26th Oct 2003
I wonder if the fires will force my family into detours traveling to San Diego or not?

I leave next Monday for San Diego to see my bro Kaleb graduate from the Marines at Camp Pendelton.

I'm taking pics though of the trip. If I find anything kewl I will post them for yall to see.

RISK: Do not follow the common path; Go where there is no path and leave a trail.

Posted: 26th Oct 2003
yesterday i noticed an "oil slick" colored car & thought it was kinda cool...then i realised ALL the cars around had this pink/irradescent tint! the whole sky is reflecting the fires my prayers are w/those directly affected... (not to push my prayers on them, just the way i channel positivity)


edited for spelling...this time change has me a little tired

Catch a Fire-Bob Marley

Posted: 27th Oct 2003
Take care all of you.

Like most Sydney-siders, I have been through this every year I have lived here. In some respects I have become blase about it. Someone I knew overseas was very worried about me one year and asked me to pack a bag so that they knew I could get out quickly. I can remember saying "it is a couple of suburbs away, don't worry".

Other times though it has hit home. Ashes in the swimming pool on Christmas Day. The catastrophic fires in Canberra. The fires that claimed our head teacher's home when I was in high school.

Seeing fire in the sky, red on black, is terrifying.

Stay safe all of you.

It was a day for screaming at inanimate objects.

What this calls for is a special mix of psychology and extreme violence...

Posted: 27th Oct 2003
My godfather sat out for 2 weeks with a hosepipe last bushfire season, he said "I've just spent three bloody weeks laying this decking and I'm buggered if a bushfire is going to get it."

That's the spirit.

There is a slight possibility that I am not actually right all of the time.

Posted: 27th Oct 2003
hahaha! yeah, your grandfather sounds like a fighter! i admire that

Catch a Fire-Bob Marley

Posted: 27th Oct 2003
Its not that bad in Santa Barbara, but the air is thick with smoke. It does provide the nice smell of camp fire, and beautiful sunsets...

In this world of tears, you need a sense of humor.

Posted: 27th Oct 2003
Here are some pictures from my friends neighborhood in Escondido/Valley Center.

https://www.daleyranch.com/fire/

How do you prepare for something like this?
What would you bring with you if you were forced to evacuate?
There are also fires in Camp Pendleton Aurora...
In the De luz area I think.
Continued prayers for everyone in these areas.

Its not easy being green....

Posted: 27th Oct 2003
kinda makes wanna quit complaining about all the rain we brits get day in day out.......

Posted: 27th Oct 2003
i just watched CNN...Iraqs been bombed and California's on fire?????Now i know why i don't watch the news....

Posted: 27th Oct 2003
I just received news from my Aunt. They received an evacuation notice a half an hour ago.

Growing old is mandatory; growing up is NOT.
Proud member of the HoP DPS.
Sanity is a highly overrated state of mind.
I'm normal ... it's everyone else that's crazy.

Gidg

Posted: 27th Oct 2003
I was there Saturday night--just a few miles from the Grand Prix fire in Upland. 56 homes burnt down in Upland that night. There, but for fate, went mine.
I watched the fire until 4 am.
The huge red glow on the horizon was unnerving.
I stood out in the street with several dozen neighbors and watched in stunned silence.
We all knew about the suburban neighborhood that was leveled in San Bernardino the day before, so we all knew it could happen to us.
The firelines crisscrossed the foothills in a sinister kanji from right to left. Seventeen firetrucks charged up the hill and and my screaming neighbors started packing their cars.
My mood ring turned red.
I tried to clear my mind and think about evacuating the house. What do I take? That which is of most financial value? Or that which makes me feel the most good?
I decide to stay and fight the fire. I ready the hoses, gather my flashlights, and take my fire extinguishers inside with me. The power goes out three times throughout the night. The winds kicked up by the fire snap trees off their trunks, ash falls like rain. My sister has to be taken to the hospital for asthma.
By 4 am the fire has passed. It was so scarey.

Posted: 28th Oct 2003
there is one for Maximus! Well done for your braveness and for surviving that...I hope that it will stay that good.Hope your sis is doing ok with her ashma.

Spinning makes my world go round

Posted: 28th Oct 2003
i've been watching this on the news and you just cant really grasp the enormity of this fire(s).

my thoughts go out to all in cali. take care of yourselves.

if this was started by arsonists, i hope the powers that be beat them with a big stick.

she who sees from up high smiles

Patrick badger king: *they better hope there's never a jihad on stupidity*

AnonymousPLATINUM Member

Posted: 28th Oct 2003
News is saying one was started by an Arsonist, the other was a signal fire set by a hunter in trouble that got out of control...

Either way good luck to all in Cali... thoughts are with you guys!

PsyB.

Posted: 28th Oct 2003

quote:

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Originally posted by MiSsFrOg:
There are also fires in Camp Pendleton Aurora...

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Yeah I just found out from my mom who heard it from Kaleb's recruiter. Said that the base housing at Camp Pendelton has already been evacuated. Said if the winds change direction and start dangering the lives of the cadets that they all will be moved to 29 Palms. Which I believe is out in the Mojave(sp) desert, East of Bernadino((I think)).

My family was supposed to leave Monday morning early, but with all the fires there may be detours and such. So we will prolly leave Sunday morning early then.

That means I will have to be back in TX Saturday sometime...NOOOO! I want to stay and watch the Bedlam game!!!! I want to watch us kick the shite outa OU! But I will stay for the kickoff and then leave StillH20 during the second quarter. I will still hopefully be able to listen to it on the radio as I drive home.

Man stupid fires!

Hope everyone out there in Cali is ok...I'm praying for yall

RISK: Do not follow the common path; Go where there is no path and leave a trail.

Posted: 28th Oct 2003
ok so in my haze of depression i had no idea this was going on for a few days. just found out on sunday. crazy. i used to live in redlands (outside san bernardino) for 4 years. not that long ago either. i still have many close friends in so. cal. one of my old friend's fiance is a firefighter for the big bear area....was involved in fighting off the big fires back in 97-98....he's probably going at it now too. gosh i hope they are all ok

I was always scared with my mother's obsession with the good scissors. It made me wonder if there were evil scissors lurking in the house somewhere.

Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons for you are crunchy and good with ketchup.

**giggles**

Posted: 28th Oct 2003

quote:

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Originally posted by Psylent_BoB:
News is saying one was started by an Arsonist, the other was a signal fire set by a hunter in trouble that got out of control...

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Phew! I've honestly been kinda worried that it was one of us... or rather, a spinner with absolutely no sense of fire safety.

E pluribus unum, baby.

Posted: 29th Oct 2003
"Its not that bad in Santa Barbara, but the air is thick with smoke. It does provide the nice smell of camp fire, and beautiful sunsets"

It's definately bad in San Diego. the sunset was pretty on Sunday but it was a very eerie and horrible beauty knowing of the unbelievable losses that were happening to cause this sunset.. Now you can hardly see the sun due to the smoke and it is far from nice smelling..I live near the beach and was lucky enough to have decent air until yesterday. I woke up three times last night hardly able to breathe and feeling like with every breath I was inhaling harsh, toxic particles. Driving around about 1/3 of the people are wearing face masks and all the schools are closed throughout the entire county. My coworker was lucky enough to have one of only three homes left standing out of an entire neighborhood, yet came home to a backyard swimming pool full of dead rabbits, birds and other animals that had fled to the water to escape the flames and did not survive. It's truly unimaginable. At times, the flames were travelling at over 75 miles per hour with the strong Santa Ana winds(Hot winds. That's when trying to save your house and belongings becomes impossible.. Or deadly.. Also, it's not just one fire.. There are 4 in San Diego (last I heard) and A couple near San Bernadino and Simi Valley that are also causing extreme damage. It seems like a new one could spark up at any time and actually, numerous small fires have started and luckilly were extinguished before becoming too much of a threat.. More than 300,000 acres have burned and I'm pretty sure there have been more than 1000 homes destroyed... It is ugly and almost unreal... It truly is a nightmare, especially for those within the flames path. As much as I love fire in its controlled state, this is one example of the horror it can cause... I don't want anything to do with fire for a while now.. Until my lungs get a break at least... As I write this, I am noticing that my keyboard has a red glare coming from the skylight above my office.. That red glare is all over San Diego right now coming from a smoke and ash filled sky... I just wish everybody the best in coping with this and hope that the firefighters can get it controlled soon. As to those who are not surrounded by smoke, enjoy a nice breath of fresh air for me and the rest of us... It might be a couple of days before we have one again....

Posted: 29th Oct 2003
goddess, that just kills me. i can't even imagine. i'm mediating for all of you out in cali....hope you stay safe and healthy. if you need refuge, i'm far away but my home is always open

I was always scared with my mother's obsession with the good scissors. It made me wonder if there were evil scissors lurking in the house somewhere.

Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons for you are crunchy and good with ketchup.

**giggles**

Posted: 30th Oct 2003
Well I will be leaving Saturday afternoon back to TX and then my family and I will leave Sunday morning early to make the drive out to Cali. Hope nothing bad happens along the way.

I'm taking two different outfits to change into. We can always wash our clothes while we are at a motel or something *shrug*.

I am a light packer anyway, so no worries. I just need to find something to keep my occupied for the two day trip!

RISK: Do not follow the common path; Go where there is no path and leave a trail.

Posted: 2nd Nov 2003
ack! sending rainy thoughts to so cal and my love to all you guys there! maybe you should just come visit in hawaii for a bit till it passes!

"Dancing can reveal all the mystery that music conceals"

~Charles Baudelaire

Posted: 2nd Nov 2003
so are the fires out now?? last night on the news i saw that there was snow in some parts!!!

i was in sydney & bathurst when the big fires happened down there a couple of years ago. my folks were on a driving holiday in the same area. they were on a highway & kinda noticed there was absolutely noone else on the road. a helicopter flew low in front of them (to warn them i guess) - mum looked at the side of the road and saw the flames licking up beside the car...so they sped off outta there!!

it was really eerie being on a train in the middle of the night with all that smoke. especially when, very early the next morning you have to get off the train and into a bus because the tracks ahead are blocked by fire!!!!!

hope no more lives are lost, and i hope the damage can be repaired to peoples homes...

do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and good to eat!



if at first you do succeed, try not to look too astonished!



smile! :grin: it confuses people!

Posted: 3rd Nov 2003
Out of the chaos will spring new life. Those who were lost will be mourned, those who lost will mourn.

Most important of all, life will go on. Homes will be rebuilt, and the grass will be green again.

I can not wait to see the bright green grass after it rains here soon.

My heart does go out to those who lost someone.

Wisdom calls aloud in the street, she raises her voice in the public squares; at the head of noisy streets she cries out, in the gateways of the city she makes her speech: