Live Updating Thread: 2007 Southern California Firestorms

LA Times ^ | 9:35 AM PDT, October 21, 2007 | Associated Press

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

UPDATE: The city of Malibu is advising residents in Puerco Canyon to begin evacuating due to a wildfire driven by powerful winds. This area is north of Pacific Coast Highway and about 1 mile west of Pepperdine University. Residents along the beach on Malibu Road may soon be evacuated. Pacific Coast Highway is closed between Kanan-Dume Road and Topanga Canyon. Residents are advised to head to the west. Evacuation centers are being set up in the Zuma Beach area.

A wildfire driven by powerful winds in the Malibu Hills this morning threatened a university, destroyed at least one home and forced the evacuation of hundreds more, authorities said.

Related Stories
-	Wildfire burns 500 acres near Interstate 5
-	Santa Ana winds are sweeping the region

[justa-hairyape]

It is a big picture. Could not get it displayed on Freerepublic. Go to the web site linked up at the top of this page.

[Brad’s Gramma]

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2007/03/17/ca.wildfires.nat.pkg.cnn

[Brad’s Gramma]

Try Yahoo news....the blog mentioned that Yahoo took the picture over there.

[justa-hairyape]

I have the location and start time for 11 of the 23 fires listed below. Listed in their chronological order.

Incident Report Basic Data from www.calfire.blogspot.com

Ranch Fire (Los Angeles County)

Incident Type Wildland Fire
Date of Origin 10/20/2007 at 2142 hrs.
Location 6 miles north of Castaic CA

Harris Fire (San Diego County)

Incident Type Wildland Fire
Date of Origin 10/21/2007 at 0930 hrs.
Location HARRIS RANCH RD & HWY 94, POTRERO

Witch Fire (San Diego County)

Incident Type Wildland Fire
Date of Origin 10/21/2007 at 1235 hrs.
Location Witch Creek area, East of Ramona

Santigo (Orange County)

Incident Type Wildland Fire
Date of Origin 10/21/2007 at 1755 hrs.
Location Santiago Canyon, Silverado Canyon, Irvine, CA.

Rice (San Diego County)

Incident Type Wildland Fire
Date of Origin 10/22/2007 at 0416 hrs.
Location Rice Canyon, Clearwater Rd. Fallbrook

Grass Valley (San Bernardino County)

Incident Type Wildland Fire
Date of Origin 10/22/2007 at 0508 hrs.
Location NW of Lake Arrowhead

Slide (San Bernardino County)

Incident Type Wildland Fire
Date of Origin 10/22/2007 at 0802 hrs.
Location Green Valley Lake, Near Running Springs

Cajon (San Diego County)

Incident Type Wildland Fire
Date of Origin 10/22/2007 at 1138 hrs.
Location I-15/Kenwood in Devore

Rosa Fire (Riverside County)

Incident Type Wildland Fire
Date of Origin 10/22/2007 at 2306 hrs.
Location East of Temecula, north of Fallbrook

Poomacha (San Diego County)

Incident Type Wildland Fire
Date of Origin 10/23/2007 at 0313 hrs.
Location Highway 76, Pauma Valley

Ammo/Horno (San Diego County)

Incident Type Wildland Fire
Date of Origin 10/23/2007 at 0920 hrs.
Location Camp Pendleton

Fires not on the list above (no incident data)

Wilcox Fire (San Diego County)
McCoy Fire (San Diego County)
Coronado Hills Fire (San Diego County)
Martin Fire (San Bernardino County)
Walker Fire (San Bernardino County)
Canyon Fire (Los Angeles County)
Magic Fire (Los Angeles County)
Buckweed Fire (Los Angeles County)
Meadowridge Fire (Los Angeles County)
Sedgewick Fire (Santa Barbara County)
Roca Fire (Riverside County)
Nightsky Fire (Ventura County)

Anyone gets the data for these 12 please post them.

[ferri]

okay, got it finally from the link here. wow. that really does look like a beast. :( fire is so scary anyway!
thanks for your help! :D

[BurbankKarl]

Fire again threatens Silverado Canyon

The Santiago fire dipped into the bottom of Silverado Canyon late Friday and is predicted to reach houses by Saturday afternoon, fire officials said. Late tonight Orange County and Los Angeles city firefighting teams set up lookouts on opposing ridges, watching the progression of fire fuel supply and weather around the clock. Far below in Silverado Canyon, firefighters leaned against engines and watched as flames leapt 75 feet in the air, crackling and roaring, around them into the night.

But they already have a plan for escape: Once the fire gets too close, the firefighters plan to throw water on the foam-coated houses and leave, said Ray Valenzuela, a battalion chief for the Orange County Fire Authority.

“It’s very beautiful to live in and to look at. It’s a very dangerous fire situation in terms of construction and in terms of fuel supply,” Valenzuela said.

[BurbankKarl]

Some unit called Shadow 125 contacted LACFD from the I-15/Temecula Cyn area stating there was a huge new fire....I think they doubted him, as they didnt know who he was. Then they contact Riverside County and they confirm they have a new fire.

The dude said there were a “psychological transport service”

[justa-hairyape]

It is looking more and more like we have a professional arsonist or two on the loose. Not all the fires are arson, but a heck of a lot of them might be. Most causes are still under investigation.

[calcowgirl]

San Diego County Update
Saturday, October 27, 2007

Harris fire now 50 percent contained
Posted @ 7:47 AM

Firefighters now have lines extended around half the footprint of the Harris fire in southern San Diego County. The fire has grown somewhat to 85,800 acres, but winds are barely moving at 1 mph.

Full containment is expected by Wednesday and control by Nov. 4.

Fire crews are putting special emphasis on defending the Campo, Hauser Canyon and Lake Morena areas, as well as high-tension power lines along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Witch Creek fire now 60 percent contained
Posted @ 7:37 AM

Cal Fire reports that firefighters have extended their lines to 60 percent of the Witch Creek fire's perimeter and the acreage is still holding at 198,000. Full containment is expected for Wednesday and control by Nov. 5.

However, this fire also has several communities still considered to be under threat:

Julian, Wynola, Pine Hills, Cuyamaca, Santa Ysabel, Alpine and Ramona. Firefighters ask any residents still in those areas, even in areas where people have been permitted to return, to continue to monitor fire conditions and information closely.

Rice Canyon fire now 80 percent contained
Posted @ 7:30 AM

Cal Fire reports the Rice Canyon fire, which has done so much damage to Fallbrook, is now 80 percent contained and still holding at 9,000 acres. Winds are calm and humidity in the area is at 54 percent.

[calcowgirl]

What a tear jerker (with a happy ending):

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/bell/20071027-9999-1m27bell.html

Quick-acting firefighters save couple

But for San Ysidro Engine 29 there might have been two more fatalities in the Witch Creek blaze as it roared near Lake Hodges late Sunday evening. After a hose on the engine ignited in the intense heat, the firefighters began retreating. One of them spotted, through the dark smoke, an elderly woman in a white robe standing in the middle of a driveway on Highland Valley Road.

“The fire was overrunning us. We backed up, jumped out and grabbed her. She seemed very confused and told us she was out for a walk,” said firefighter Ed Cormode, who is based at Lindbergh Field. They later learned the woman suffers from Alzheimer’s disease. When they asked if anyone else was in the house, she replied a man was there.

They ran inside and found her husband, frail and in his 80s, in a chair with a phone in his hand. He was trying to dial for help, but the line was dead.

The wind was howling and the fire was running up the hill toward them. “It was maybe one or two minutes behind us,” said Cormode, who helped hustle the couple inside the firetruck and deliver them to a police officer nearby. No doubt, he said, “They would have been burned . . . ”

[Rick.Donaldson]

When a news paper reports that “the government is at fault” and refuses to print that several fires were arson, and some of the arsonists were illegal aliens, it’s HIDING something. Liberals are LIARS, and that paper is lying. That makes them a liberal rag. Matter of fact, MOST of the papers are run by liberals.

[Brad’s Gramma]

It is SPRINKLING in my part of the world!!!

[calcowgirl]

When a news paper reports that “the government is at fault” ...

Now you're just making things up. Show me where they said what you allege.

... and refuses to print that several fires were arson, and some of the arsonists were illegal aliens, it’s HIDING something.

In an article about air support to put the fires OUT, the cause seems a bit off topic, IMO. And who exactly were the illegal aliens? So far, they have arrested 5 people for Arson (for fires outside Orange County), 3 of whom were not illegal aliens, one who I haven't seen any statements either way, and one who remains unidentified since he was a juvenile. Again, how the fires were started and who started them was not the subject of the article; air support was. The OC Register has published other articles about the arsonists.

Liberals are LIARS, and that paper is lying. That makes them a liberal rag. Matter of fact, MOST of the papers are run by liberals.

Again... I haven't seen them lying and you have not shown otherwise. I read the paper regularly. It used to be very conservative and has moved leftward but, as I said, it is far from a liberal rag. You not agreeing with some of the politicos' comments included in the article does not make the reporting a lie.

[calcowgirl]

GREAT news!!!!! :-)

I think that calls for Starbucks! ;-)

I put off my trip down south until the air cleared a bit. Some humidity should do the trick!

[Brad’s Gramma]

Don’t get TOO excited.......it is/was a LIGHT sprinkle, but hey, it was FREE WATER FROM THE SKY!

:)

[ArmstedFragg]

The Coronado Hills start was... Roughly 2:50am 10/22. Location: Hills south of San Marcos, CA.

[calcowgirl]

Re: Meadowridge, I was watching the news when that broke out, early in the AM on 10/23/07.
The location at the time per KCAL9: Newhall - New fire. West of the 14, near San Fernando Rd. 1200 acres burned and growing, moving SW.

See posts 2061 & 2068

http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1914252/posts?page=2068#2068

[calcowgirl]

LOL. Free water is worthy of excitement!

[BurbankKarl]

Bureau of Land Management firefighters Marc Capetillo, left, and Curtiss Fortune share a meal of burritos with Javier Garcia of the Tijuana Fire Department. The team of about 40 bomberos is believed to be the first from Mexico to fight a major U.S. blaze.

[Brad’s Gramma]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1917260/posts

HELP! (please) Bump the thread, if nothing else...