So Cal Wildfires

[e_racer1999]

Wildfires Rage in Southern Calif.

SAN DIEGO - Wildfires fanned by fierce desert winds consumed huge swaths of bone-dry Southern California on Monday, burning dozens of buildings and threatening hundreds more from Malibu to San Diego, including a jail, a hospital and nursing homes.

More than a dozen wildfires had engulfed the region, killing at least one person, injuring dozens more and forcing hundreds of thousands of evacuations. Overwhelmed firefighters said they lacked the resources to save many houses.

"We have more houses burning than we have people and engine companies to fight them," San Diego Fire Captain Lisa Blake said. "A lot of people are going to lose their homes today."

Nearly 250,000 people were forced to flee in San Diego County alone, where hundreds of patients were being moved by school bus and ambulance from a hospital and nursing homes, sheriff's spokeswoman Susan Knauss said.

About a dozen blazes erupted over the weekend, feeding on drought-parched land from the high desert to the Pacific Ocean. One person was killed and several injured in a fire near the Mexican border, and dozens of structures have burned across the region.

Warm temperatures and strong winds created "dramatically worse" conditions overnight as flames shot 200 feet high, said Bill Metcalf, chief of the North County Fire Protection District.

In Orange County, a 1,049-inmate jail was being evacuated because of heavy smoke, sheriff's spokesman Jim Amormino said. Inmates were being bused to another facility in Irvine.

All San Diego Police Department officers and off duty detectives were ordered to return to work to help with evacuations.

The fires have burned about 100,000 acres, or 156 square miles, in San Diego County, said county Supervisor Ron Roberts. Across the region, 40,000 acres, or 62 square miles, had burned by Sunday.

"This is a major emergency," Roberts said.

In many cases, crews couldn't begin to fight the fires because they were too busy rescuing residents who refused to leave, fire officials said.

"They didn't evacuate at all, or delayed until it was too late," Metcalf said. "And those folks who are making those decisions are actually stripping fire resources."

More than a dozen people were being treated at the UC San Diego Medical Center Regional Burn Center for burns and smoke inhalation, including four fighters -- three in critical condition, officials said. Some of the injured were hikers, and others may be illegal immigrants.

One blaze devoured more than 5,000 acres in northern San Diego County and forced the evacuation of the community of Ramona, which has a population of about 36,000. Several structures were burned on the edge of town and sheriff's deputies called residents to alert them the fire was approaching the city, San Diego sheriff's Lt. Phil Brust said.

"The winds are up, it's very, very dangerous conditions," San Diego County spokeswoman Lesley Kirk said. "Fires are popping up all over the place."

Guardsmen assigned to the border were forced to evacuate one of their barracks and troops were aiding evacuations, said Col. David Baldwin, director of operations for the California National Guard.

"The border is still secure, but agents are evacuating the threatened areas and the Guard is supporting that operation," Baldwin said.

Qualcomm Stadium, home to the NFL's Chargers, was added to a growing list of evacuation centers.

The fires were being fueled by stronger than usual Santa Ana winds roaring out of the region's canyons, scientists said Monday. The powerful, dry winds typically blow between October and February and peak in December.

Typically, Santa Ana conditions last about a day, but the ones that flared up over the weekend were expected to last through Tuesday.

"For it to be this strong for so many days is unusual," said Stuart Seto, a weather specialist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard.

In Saugus, north of Los Angeles, about 120 people spent the night on cots in the gymnasium of Saugus High School, principal Bill Bolde said.

Michele Beard fled her home with her husband, mother-in-law and three older children.

"It just lit up the whole mountainside fiery red," said Beard, 48. "I had never seen anything like that so close before."

The fire in Malibu had destroyed or damaged 16 structures, among them a church, homes and a historic castle, and was expected to burn for another two to three days, Los Angeles County Fire Chief P. Michael Freeman said. "There will literally be thousands of homes that will be threatened" until the blaze is out, he said.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/custom/newsroom/sns-ap-california-wildfires,0,1082498.story

___________________________

anyone relocated from this? i love in Santee and am hoping not to have to evacuate... so far lakeside to the east and poway to the north have evacuated. i'm thinking about closing my store down because employees have to evacuate their homes...

[AndysPlit]

I'm all the way up here in Los Angeles, and my allergies are kicking in, I believe from the fires. Good luck to you.

[e_racer1999]

thanks. ya, there's smoke even coming out here to La Jolla (on the coast).

[rtaylor]

I flew in to Ontario from Oakland last night around 10:30 pm. The sight of all the fires raging from that view in the dark was horrifying...We need some water

[Montezuma]

I flew in to Ontario from Oakland last night around 10:30 pm. The sight of all the fires raging from that view in the dark was horrifying...We need some water

My daughter goes to Cal Poly Pomona; do see any problems for them or are the fires that you saw far away from Pomona? I told my wife that she needs not to worry.

Our place in San Diego is 15 blocks from the beach we are out of the fire range lots of suburbia around us.

[Ron Carter]

We are in North County San Diego, It is sunny where we are but there is smoke to the north and south of us. Looking out my home office window I can see the smoke (and tonight I will be able to see the fire) in Fallbrook about 7 to 10 miles north east of me...

[Ron Carter]

My friend Dwane, who was just featured in Nissan Sport Magazine with his racing 510 had to evacuate last night. He lives in Poway.

[rtaylor]

David. The fires are far, far away from Pomona. No need to worry. I work in Newport Beach and could see the flames licking at the anaheim hills down here on my drive in this morning. The toll roads are closed due to the fires as well.

[76Datsun280z]

We've got relatives down there in Simi. Apparently it's just a big haze of smoke from their house and they've got their cars all packed and ready to go since the fires are right over the hills.

[xray]

My sister-in-law and her family got the evacuation call from Carlsbad earlier today, but have not been able to talk with her much. Hope it gets under control soon...

Be safe So Cal!

Steve

[d240zx2]

You boys and girls out on the left coast take care of yourselves and family first. Then take care of your Zs.

Here in the Houston area we are subjected to hurricanes once in a while. My evacuation vehicle will be the Z car. The others ain't worth as much and aren't nearly as much fun to drive. The wifey, the cat and a few changes of clothes and off we'll go.

May God watch over you.

[xray]

Here's a good link...

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&om=1&msa=0&msid=114250687465160386813.00043d08ac31fe3357571&ll=32.997146,-116.968689&spn=0.962878,1.867676&z=9

updated google interactive map of evacs, fires, etc

Steve