San Diego County fires - Live Thread 10/26

[socal_parrot]

New threat regarding San Diego County fires.

[bonesmccoy]

for hypothesis: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1008114/posts?page=1297#1297

reposting my comment here:
To: Conservative4Ever

I dunno... I'm just thinking of the report on FNC the other weekend about transportation choke points on the high seas.

If you lose the rail and road corridors into the basin, it only leaves the harbor. If you toast the harbor somehow and then toast the two road systems at the 14-5 and at cajon pass, there isn't much of a way to evac the basin in the event of WMD hit in the harbor.

You'd basically toast the 5 mile radius around the port of LA, take out the oil refining from Alaska, incinerate the know how to rebuild (that lives in the area of Carson, Long Beach, northern OC, Palos Verdes, Torrance), and then cause more chaos by limiting the exit of civies through the two passes.

If the enemy coordinated attack at San Onofre to the event at the Harbor, you'd lose the I-5 south exit. Notice that the Camp Pendleton fire, if it burns south west, cuts the I-5 corridor.

1,297 posted on 10/26/2003 1:23 AM PDT by bonesmccoy (Defeat the terrorists... Vaccinate!)

[TrappedInLiberalHell]

Damn, my wife and I camped right next to Kitchen Creek. It was the first actual stream we encountered since leaving the Mexican border, and even that was off-trail. We only got rained on ONCE in the trip, and that was up in the mountains near Julian, ironically, in the middle of a burn area from a few years earlier.

[lainie]

No personal confirmation but that's what KNX 1070 AM said.

[Grampa Dave]

That is a beautiful area you live.

Lets hope it stays that way.

[nicmarlo]

This is very bad news you posted, lainie.....how tragic. And my only news of the fires is FR.

[cgk]

Home page of SignonSanDiego.com is talking about 'multiple deaths'... this is looking worse every minute.

[nicmarlo]

Incident: 0428 Type: Structure or Grass Fire Location: EB SR52 JEO SANTO RD Zoom Map: 1229 6H Info as of: 10/26/2003 9:56:24 AM

ADDITIONAL DETAILS
9:52AM - STILL NEED UNITS TO SHUT DOWN MAST ONR TO WB 52 AND MISSION GORGE ONR TO WB
9:52AM - 108-K4 IS WB 52 DIVERTING TRAFFIC OFF AT MAST
9:45AM - 1039 ECPD
9:42AM - WILL SHUT DOWN 52 - FIRE IS STILL 1/4 MI FROM FWY BUT HEAVY SMOKE
9:38AM - PER 108-K4 ALMOST 1097 ON THE 52
9:37AM - D1 1097 W/ SDFD, TOLD US TO HOLD OFF ON CLOSING 52 - IT S MOVING NORTH AND WEST FROM THE FWY, WILL BE MONITORING

[today]

San Diego Headline News SAN DIEGO, CA - Strong Santa Ana winds are blowing two separate fires through large areas of San Diego Sunday morning. According to a CDF spokesperson, numerous structures have been lost in both the Valley Center fire, as well as the Ramona fire. The San Diego Fire Department is asking residents in the Scripps Ranch area, who believe they are in the path of the fire, to prepare to evacuate to Mire Mesa High School.

[I_love_weather]

People should FLOOD these news organizations with PHONE CALLS...

This is incredible...there is almost no news coming out of California on the National Networks.

If this was in New York or somewhere on the East Coast...it would be WALL TO WALL COVERAGE

[lainie]

The fires looked like they were making their own winds.

They create their own microclimate. It's freaky.

[maggief]

SIGNONSANDIEGO
9:45 a.m. October 26, 2003



TIM AUGUSTINE

At least two people were reported dead and at least two dozen homes burned as at least four wind-driven wildfires churned through housing tracts and thousands of acres of brush across San Diego County Sunday morning.


The San Diego County Medical Examiner's office said it had received "multiple" calls about deaths, but could not say how many or whether they were all fire-related.


Fires burned in Ramona, Valley Center, Scripps Ranch and in the Marron Valley area near the Mexican border.

Thousands of people were evacuated from several communities around the county.

Dozens of roads were closed due to flames or heavy smoke. Interstate 15 was closed between Highway 52 and Mira Mesa Boulevard due to smoke from the Scripps Ranch fire. Westbound 52 was closed at State Route 125.

A fire command post on Gunn Stage Road near Ramona had to be abandoned after it caught fire at 8:50 a.m., according to the California Highway Patrol.

Evacuation centers
Mira Mesa High School
10510 Reagan Road
Mira Mesa

Valley Center Middle School
28102 Lake Wohlford
Valley Center

Ramona High School
1401 Hanson Lane, Ramona

Santana High School
9915 Magnolia, Santee

Olive Pierce Middle School
1521 Hanson Lane, Ramona

Mira Mesa High School
10510 Reagan Road, San Diego

Animals can be evacuated to the Lakeside Rodeo grounds in Lakeside.


A huge plume of smoke towered over much of the county, raining a thick layer of ash stretching to downtown San Diego.

Hundred of firefighters from around the county were battling the blazes.

The blazes erupted after days of "red flag" alerts that hot, dry weather was creating ideal conditions for wildfires.

In San Bernardino County, the Grand Prix fire burned another 50 homes, for a total of 66 homes, and charred at least 47,000 acres. Another San Bernardino County blaze, labeled the Old Fire, destroyed at least 200 homes on Saturday and had blackened 12,00 acres by Sunday.


Cedar Fire (Ramona)
The first fire, dubbed the Cedar Fire, began east of Ramon around midnight and began burning southwest toward Lakeside.
At least seven homes and more than 10,000 acres were burned, according to Lora Loews, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestry.

Two bodies were found in a burned-out car along Lake Vicente Road, authorities said.

Valley Center
The second fire began around 2:30 a.m. in the Valley Center area near Lake Wohlford, burning at least 20 homes and 1,500 acres by 9:30 a.m.

Marron Valley
A third fire has was reported at Marron Valley, near the border with Mexico. A CDF fire spokeswoman reported that as much as 500 acres were burning there.

Scripps Ranch
A fourth fire was reported in the northeast corner of Marine Corps Air Station Miramar at 7:45 a.m., east of Interstate 15 and north of Highway 52.
The Scripps Ranch fire quickly spread into rugged and hilly neighborhoods and burned at least three homes.

[nicmarlo]

If it were a police car chase in LA, they'd all have been watching it, non stop, for two hours.

[bonesmccoy]

but isn't the figure skating championship so lovely?

As someone noted last night, it reminds us of Russian TV when a Russian politburo member dies... playing the Moscow symphony.... emphasis on PHONY.

[Travis McGee]

If this horror show was happening 10 miles from DC or NYC, you would not see one other story on national TV.

[cgk]

No kidding!! Last night flipping through the local channels it was impossible to find any news and it's happening HERE. They were too busy showing infomercials and how to groom your dog nonsense.

[WestCoastGal]

"If it were a police car chase in LA, they'd all have been watching it, non stop, for two hours."

That is so true, except on the weekends, if a disaster happens on the weekend forget about news, I guess they don't want to pay the overtime or interupt the political shows and sports. It's beyond me!! I think we have to keep e-mailing and calling them.

[FITZ]

They create their own microclimate. It's freaky.

Macroclimate too --- a couple years ago when the forests of the SW were burning, the fires didn't come closer than 100 miles or so to where I live --- but the sky was red and the night air was very hot and dry (which it never is here) and the smoke was hanging everywhere.

[Grampa Dave]

One of the worst times for a disaster like this to hit is from Saturday night into Sunday.

People are at home for the weekend and not really ready for a disaster like this one. Many don't watch tv during this time.

The tv and radio stations are on weekend watch with minimal staff and playing pre recorded stuff or live sports events.