California Fires....What a Sunday!

I woke up this morning to the news coverage and have been watching all day the news channels covering this huge fire. Luckily my home is not in harms way but I know quite a few of the people affected in Scripps Ranch. With all the freeway closures and black smoky sky this just does not seem like San Diego!

Schools are closed tomorrow (Monday), the mayor has asked all employers to keep their employees at home. Monday night football scheduled at Qualcomm stadium has now been moved to Tempe Arizona. The fire now threatens San Carlos... this is really a big deal here.

I wish the best to any and all TC'rs and theirs families affected by this ordeal. My heart goes out to you.

[ Edited by: tikichic on 2003-10-26 20:17 ]

I hope I'm not getting political in any way with this comment but I've noticed that the local news hold back on some stuff. It seems that they choose what they will or won't tell people about. SOmetimes if you want to get a fuller view of the story you have to watch the news broadcast from somewhere else, like the BBC or if you speak spanish on the spanish channel. Something I haven't seen on any of the local news channels, although maybe I just missed it, is the two guys they alreday caught who started the fires. There were more guys responsible and they are still looking for them but they have already had two of them in custody for a couple of days. Has anyone else seen anything about the ones they caught on the local news, like I said maybe they did report it and I've just missed it.

*On 2003-10-29 14:49, suicide_sam wrote:*Something I haven't seen on any of the local news channels, although maybe I just missed it, is the two guys they alreday caught who started the fires. There were more guys responsible and they are still looking for them but they have already had two of them in custody for a couple of days. Has anyone else seen anything about the ones they caught on the local news, like I said maybe they did report it and I've just missed it.

I heard that a hunter may have caused one of the fires when he created a signal fire because he was lost, but this was never confirmed. I also heard another fire may have been arson but they didn't give details.

The media, I believe, keeps a lower tone when it comes to arson and, also in this case, any other means (accidental) that starts a blaze. In the past, we've seen media explode and focus on arson. And, in the past, this has led to many-a-wack-job thinking "how cool" it would be to start another blaze. My guess is the names will be all over the news when the fires are contained. It's controlled journalism. It's all controlled, but in this instance, I agree.
Rain is in the forecast for Southern California.

A good rain would be nice right now. The latest news is a change in wind direction and intensity, sending the fires east, but still wreaking havoc on everything in its path. A tragedy this afternoon when a firemen fighting the cedar fire lost his life. People sit stunned as they receive news about places they grew up in and around their whole lives being burned to the ground. My wife Sally broke down when she heard Cuyamaca was gone, a lazy little mountain community where she (and a lot of school children in this area) spent 6th grade camp.

The media has already started posting the name of the "hunter" (33 year old, Sergio Martinez) on the news and newspaper this past week. It's no surprise however he is not in jail at this moment for all the damage that he has caused. His story sounds a bit "fishy" to me but who am I to judge. Apparently the fire started around 5:30pm Saturday but no CDF showed up until around 12am. Investigation is still under way.

My family has been sitting tight for 2 days waiting to hear word about the downtown part of Julian. We've owned 2 houses and rental property in the historical district since 1976 so we've been a bit anxious watching the news. The firefighters have made a big stand around the town and even though it's come as close as a 1/2 mile at times, it looks like we'll make it through this fire fine. Last years Pine fire we made it through unscathed and it looks like this year too.

The schools here in San Diego are still closed until Monday because of unhealthy air. It's difficult to stay inside for 5 straight days so I just had to get out and go to dinner tonight. I can't wait to get back to my "normal routine" again....

[ Edited by: tikichic on 2003-10-29 23:36 ]

I have good memories of visiting Julian as a kid. It would be huge loss if the fire hits the town. There's so much history there.

That's sad news about Cuyamaca. We used to camp there a lot, fish in the lake, and sled there in the winter when it snowed. My friend in high school had a cabin near there - we would go down to the lake and play pinball at the old lodge. A lot of good memories for me.