Posted on 10/22/2007 8:06:14 AM PDT by Sleeping Freeper
SAN DIEGO -- With fire spreading quickly westward, San Diego County officials ordered the evacuation of a huge area east of Interstate 15 between Del Dios Highway and Highway 56 early Mon"This is the worst fire this county has ever seen -- worse than the Cedar Fire [of 2003]," Sheriff Bill Kolender said.
At a news conference shortly after 6 a.m., officials said fires had spread dramatically overnight, whipped by fierce Santa Ana winds. They said fire had jumped Interstate 15 at Lake Hodges and was burning in parts of Rancho Bernardo. Because of the explosive and unpredictable nature of the blazes, all residents living between Interstate 15 and Interstate 5 from Del Dios Highway in the north to Highway 56 in the south were told to begin evacuating.
"This fire is moving very quickly," San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders said. "Watch TV, listen to the radio and have your car prepared to leave."
Among the communities in the evacuation area are Rancho Sante Fe, Carmel Highlands, Rancho Bernardo, Del Mar Heights and Fairbanks Ranch and parts of Rancho Penasquitos.
Officials have opened Qualcomm Stadium in Mission Valley to handle the large number of evacuees.
Sanders asked everyone in San Diego County to minimize the use of cell phones to leave the airways free for the use of emergency personnel.day.
(Excerpt) Read more at nbcsandiego.com ...
>>Very true. And, just how fierce those Santa Ana winds can be.<<
Exactly. My husband and I live in the Mira Mesa area of San Diego (just North of Miramar Air Station). Yesterday we went for a drive up to Julian, and were sitting at lunch when the first of the fire trucks went by down to Ramona. We saw the beginning of the Witch Fire on the way home.
What I don’t think people who live in places that actually have green plants understand, is that fire is part of the ecosystem here, and on a day like yesterday, you don’t have to be worried about terrorists or illegals, all it takes is a piece of glass in the sunlight and half the city will catch fire. We had winds gusting up to 60mph last night, according to the Weather Channel. That will push a fire a long way.
It really doesn’t help that homeowners who DO try to clear the brush on their properties are often stymied by environutjobs who want to preserve San Diego’s “native brushlands.”
Of course, those are the same native brushlands that really want to burn down every three years or so.
fire terrorism would be quite lame. However, they have tried it before. Who knows.
Still, if so....it is extremely pathetic.
And, Naval Base Coronado/NAS North Island are on the coast/island, and out of the line of fire, so to speak.
>LOL - what’s green look like? I’ve almost forgotten.<
You too? Now, different shades of brown we know : )
more homes now on fire in Escondido
From Ramona down to Escondido, saw it on the news, then got a call from a buddy of mine.
“You got any room for a vagabond family?”
“What’s up buddy?”
“Ramona has been evacuated.”
“Come on down!”
We have no idea how many people are affected, nor do we know how long issue will remain.
Good luck to all involved in this fiasco.
California has more acreage of steep, super rugged geography than the entire state of Alabama. Many of these areas are totally inaccessible for most equipment, even for those on foot, add in very strong winds, with embers that can travel for *miles* into neighborhoods and other areas...
So your "mature adult" comment is quite juvenile and ignorant.
Or are you suggesting sending in several hundred thousand people every summer to be airlifted into hundreds of square miles, into all these super rugged steep areas to cut the brush?
Looks like 7 fires burning in San Diego County.
So many lame comments at the start of this thread; what is wrong with these people.
She says much of the traffic heading south are convoys of fire trucks.
If you don’t have maps, you can look them up on the web.
San Diego is infinitely more normal than those northeast arm pits.
You all are far too sensitive and are certainly taking my comment out of context.
How refreshing to see a kind post. Thank you so much.
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