10/22/2007
Evacuation Nightmare as Wildfires Sear Southern California
More than 250,000 households have been told to evacuate in San Diego as wildfires rage around Southern California. The satellite shots above of the Los Angeles area were taken about three hours apart and show how quickly the Santa Ana winds can turn a containable wildfire into a raging inferno:
"The air is hot not because it is bringing heat from the desert, but because it is flowing downslope from higher elevations. As fall progresses, cold air begins to sink into the Great Basin deserts to the east of California. As the air piles up at the surface, high pressure builds, and the air begins to flow downslope toward the coast. When winds blow downslope, the air gets compressed, which causes it to warm and dry out. In fact, the air can warm at a rate of 29 degrees Fahrenheit per mile. Canyons and passes funnel the winds, which increases their speed. Not only do the winds spread the fire, but they also dry out vegetation, making it even more flammable."
Things are looking quite frightening around most of SoCal, including the Irvine area, below.
Those of you in danger are in our thoughts.
Posted 6:56 PM EST by Andy in California, Natural Disasters, News | Permalink
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That picture is beautiful.
Posted by: jmg | Oct 22, 2007 7:06:46 PM
You wouldn't think it was beautiful if you were here. It's really scary to be on advancing side of the flames. Intense gusts moving up, down, this way, that way are generated by the fire itself. The heat emanating from the fire. It's really scary.
As you drive down PCH you see people, dirty and harried, sitting on the side of the highway with the whole family in the car looking blank. It reminds me of all those pictures the govt had taken during the depression. It's very disturbing to see 3 year-olds not laughing, not crying, not running, not having a tantrum - just clutching somebody near them.
On the smoke side of the fire, the air is incredibly dry and loaded with soot and particulate. Two nose bleeds and pickin' crap out of my eyes since yesterday morning.
Even as well composed and all those warm colors - I can't find the beauty.
Posted by: David B. | Oct 22, 2007 7:25:26 PM
I live in Irvine and it is horrible here. The air is very dense with smoke and ash, it's impossbible to breathe. Even those not ordered to evacuate are leaving anyway. It's a very scary time, and Irvine is a very beautiful and quiet suburban town that doesn't get this sort of drama...its sort of overwhelming for us all.
Posted by: allen | Oct 22, 2007 7:58:57 PM
I am lucky that I don't live right directly in the fire prone areas, but the air is full of ash, it's unpleasant to go outside right now.
Posted by: Daniel | Oct 22, 2007 8:02:44 PM
Hm...like Allen, I live in Irvine too. It was actually quite the rude-awakening for my family because we've never had to evacuate from our home before. It was all too sudden but a good learning experience. The only interesting thing is that the media will show Orange County in flames rather than in labels.
All in all, what a day...
Posted by: Kenny | Oct 22, 2007 8:14:25 PM
Where are the wingnuts who blame natural disasters on God's wrath? What's He mad at now, pray tell? The fact that Cali's governor shot down marriage equality?
Posted by: Amore | Oct 22, 2007 8:20:17 PM
Glen Beck over at CNN has already started blaming the victims with some crap about those who hate america getting what they deserve. the idiot is so stupid he doesn't even realize that San Diego county is one of the most republican areas of California.
Posted by: jimmyboyo | Oct 22, 2007 8:40:17 PM
I'm afraid we're witnessing California's Katrina.
My thoughts and prayers are with you guys in California.
Posted by: Zeke | Oct 22, 2007 9:24:55 PM
I think you're right, Zeke.
Hello my darlings. And my prayers for everybody touched by this tragedy and to all fellow San Diegans. Me and the hubby just happened to go Palm Springs this weekend and we are staying here until it all blows (excuse the expression) over. namaste.
Posted by: the queen | Oct 22, 2007 9:50:23 PM
It was the strangest thing.
I went out with a friend to the Santa Monica beach. It was a very beautiful hot summer like weather day. But to the north we could see major smokes coming from the Malibu area.
VERY STRANGE
And the Beck should shut up. I'm surprised he saying anything considering that in Irvine and San Diego it's way more conservative than Los Angeles.
I don't care what party you're from, but we are all part of the human race and we should care for EVERYONE whether it be those suffering in Katrina or in these fires.
My prayers for EVERYONE.
Posted by: FunMe | Oct 22, 2007 10:13:30 PM
It's a bit odd you never hear environmentalists come out during these disasters and say: see, we told you so. Religious nuts often do, but not environmentalists.
Posted by: anon (gmail.com) | Oct 22, 2007 10:53:43 PM
I wonder if Bush is going to treat SoCal with the same neglect he gave New Orleans. I suppose I don't have to wonder much!
Posted by: Marc | Oct 22, 2007 11:07:43 PM
Dear Anon. When you live in an area that burns every year, has earthquakes, alternates between drought and floods, leads the country in bad traffic and air, dominates the news with rude people and obnoxious celebrities, defines the term "expensive slums," has more than its fair share of crime and neglect, what's a president to do? Even Hillary won't be able to fix all of these issues. I'm going outside now to watch the pretty fires and the crowded freeways, full of people fleeing with what little belongings they could manage to stuff into their gas-guzzling vehicles headed to who knows where.
Posted by: Ken P. | Oct 23, 2007 12:07:47 AM
Today I had to take my dog to a veterinarian who practices in Thousand Oaks, which is north of Malibu. (The navigation system in my car was directing me to drive PCH through Malibu...I don't think so!). As I made my way down the 101 toward Thousand Oaks, I could see giant plumes of smoke just over the hills. As I got closer to my destination, ash began to fall on my car. And once I got to Thousand Oaks, the sky was dark with an orange-ish tint. The air smelled thick with smoke. When I got into the veterinarian's office I commented on the fact that my knowledge of Southern California geography isn't what it should be and that I didn't know they were so close to the fires. They looked at me strangely and said "We aren't close to the fire. We're tens of miles away from it."
As I headed home I picked up a message from my mom who said that a family friend, his wife and their three kids had to evacuate because the fire was literally in their backyard.
And though I agree with JMG that the picture is beautiful, the reality is not.
ZEKE, I have to disagree with you that this will be California's Katrina. These fires are primarily affecting middle class, upper middle class, and the truly wealthy. I don't believe it will be as devastating as Katrina simply because the people affected have the financial resources to hop in their Range Rovers, drive to the nearest (available) hotel and bed down for a couple of nights or however long it takes insurance to reimburse them. It will be terrible for them...but it won't be the tragedy that was Katrina.
Posted by: peterparker | Oct 23, 2007 12:49:37 AM
Another Irvine citizen a fellow Towleroad reader? Whodathunk! I thought I was the only one.
I agree with the sentiments that this is not the same Katrina. The disaster is probably equal to Katrina in severity but the people here (for the most part, lets not generalize) have the resources to survive.
Which, ironically, makes it more likely that Bush will not neglect us here. Sad irony.
The whole thing is tragic though. Not only are homes going up in flames but the beautiful area that I have called home my whole life. I cherish this area and its aesthetic beauty and its wholesomeness. All of that up in flames.
:-(
Posted by: Allen | Oct 23, 2007 2:57:03 AM
A fascinating Katrina-comparison article here:
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20071023/D8SETS4G0.html
Two cities, two disasters, two evacuations, two stadiums: It is striking to me how much more civilized the victims in San Diego are behaving, compared to those in New Orleans.
I can't find any news reports referring to any acts of widespread looting in San Diego, either.
Definitely a higher class of citizenry in San Diego, making this disaster nowhere near as bad as Katrina.
Posted by: cassius | Oct 23, 2007 9:04:34 AM
Cassius - I couldn't disagree with you more.
I don't think any of us in SoCal have come to an evacuation site by passing through neighborhoods with dead animals and the occasional dead body. When we got to the evacuation site the red cross, medical teams, and govt representatives are there to greet us, assure us, and to help us. We're dry, in a lighted, working facility and kept comfortable. There is food, television, people we know, and we are out of danger.
This is nothing like Katrina, and your suggestion (and the article you cite) smacks of racism or at least, a TV perspective of Katrina. The very fine, if not eclectic, people of New Orleans deserve better than what you've proposed.
www.theskinofmyteeth.com
David B.
Posted by: David B. | Oct 23, 2007 9:33:24 AM
It's odd to me that you would think my post (and an Associated Press article) smack of racism, when neither mention race.
Posted by: Cassius | Oct 23, 2007 10:07:30 AM
I'm not saying you are necessarily racist, Cassius, but it's a bit disingenuine to say that a statement (or article) is not racist based on the fact that race is simply not mentioned.
What is known is that San Diego and Irvine have nowhere near the diversity of race (and class) of New Orleans. That's just a well-established fact. To extrapolate that those in San Diego are somehow more civilized or a "higher class of citizenry" (based on a few days of television observation of the fires) is a misrepresentation and a poorly-formed argument that still includes race as a factor regardless of whether the facts about the population diversity are asserted.
Posted by: Rey | Oct 23, 2007 10:24:27 AM
Not to belabor a point, but here's a true picture of the fires in SoCal posted on LAObserved:
http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2007/10/what_a_fire_photo.php
The firefighters are trying to save themselves in their emergency protection blankets (those shiny gold sheets).
Posted by: David B. | Oct 23, 2007 10:42:11 AM
Cassius, you knew what you meant when you posted. So why backtrack? Own it!
Posted by: Jason | Oct 23, 2007 11:40:15 AM
Jason, no; I meant what I said, and said what I meant. No more, no less.
The fact is, as the AP article demostrates, "Civility Reigns" at the emergency evacuation stadium. If people want to bring race into this comparison, that is their perogative. It is not me (nor the AP article) that brought this up.
I think that's wrong, in fact.
Are not the citizens of San Diego deserving of praise for their relatively orderly and civilized behavior in the face of tragedy?
Should not the shortcomings of other cities (who denigrated into lawlessness, looting and violence in similar circumstances) be pointed out, so that the example of San Diego can shame them (and others) into better civic behavior in the future?
Seems to me this is a cultural difference, not a racial one. Which is good news; barbaric cultures can eventually be uplifted by good examples.
Posted by: Cassius | Oct 23, 2007 1:01:22 PM
david B and Rey ^5 Kudos and DITTO. Casius their is no comparison between NO and SD. One. The city of SD is not being evacuated!!!!!! It is the suburbs!!!!!!!!!! NO the city had to be evacuated with many more - millions upon millions more people, dead bodies and animals floating by, the evacuation HELP occuring days AFTER said catastrophe where as teh evacuations in SD county are occuring pre being hit with fire / before the fire reaches them. etc etc ad infinitum.
Casius the dry cleaner called and said that the blood stanins in your Klan robe wouldn't come out.
the AP = racism? Uhm, HELLO racism underlines everything in america still to this day. Prime example of AP racism is from the NO flood. Whites looting food and water = foraging for supplie where as blacks looting the same 7-11 for food and water was called looting. Add to than CNN showed video of both right beside each other running together and called the white's foragers and survivalists while calling the blacks looters etc.
Stop being stupid, naive, and racist
Posted by: jimmyboyo | Oct 23, 2007 1:24:47 PM
PS SD county evacuation sights = power still running
NO= power went out, water went out, etc
Dude you are soooooooooo stupid.
Posted by: jimmyboyo | Oct 23, 2007 1:26:11 PM
ps sorry for my typos.
Posted by: jimmyboyo | Oct 23, 2007 1:27:25 PM
ps sorry for my typos.
Posted by: jimmyboyo | Oct 23, 2007 1:28:30 PM
Jimmyboyo, I seem to remember it was the AFP (a French wire service) that depicted white New Orleanians as foragers. Are you saying the French are racist? Along with all of America too?
Again, I never mentioned race. And going back to that AFP example, I remember seeing that, I disagreeing with it. Those white scum were looters, not "foragers."
It seems to me the reason people think "HELLO racism underlines everything in america still to this day...!" is that they actively inject race into every discussion, even when it was never mentioned in the first place (like in this discussion).
Posted by: Cassius | Oct 23, 2007 1:55:33 PM
Talk about
1- SD CITY proper not evacuated, its the county suburbs stupid. Where as NO city proper was ravaged by flood and needed evacuating. Totally different
2- Power, water, and sewage being out at NO evacuation sites. where as all 3 still running at SD evacuation sites
3- NO evacuees wading past dead bodies. SD evacuees not seeing any dead bodies.
There is NO comparison what so ever
Posted by: jimmyboyo | Oct 23, 2007 1:59:25 PM
From about.com:
"The nation's most costly natural disaster, Katrina killed more than 1,600 people ... destroyed 200,000 Gulf Coast homes ... displaced about 1 million people. News reports place insured property damage at $25.3 billion in 1.7 million insurance claims -- 975,000 of them in Louisiana."
Additional info:
"Area affected by Hurricane Katrina covers 90,000 square miles, greater that the area of Great Britain."
From CNN:
"16 wildfires have scorched about 425 square miles from north of Los Angeles to southeast of San Diego. 72,000 homes threatened as wildfires spread."
From LA Times:
"2 deaths and at least 20 civilian injuries were reported; nine firefighters were injured...300,000 evacuated."
The homes are "threatened" but still exist (at this time). The 300,000 are "evacuated" not homeless, and as mentioned above, there's still power and much of the area is funtioning. Yes, the fires are a huge natural disaster, definitely going to be worse before they get better. The final cost of the fires--both financially and emotionally--will be huge. But until thousands die & nothing is done for two years to repair the disaster comparisons to Katrina isn't right or necessary. For that matter, neither are bringing race into the equation or namecalling.
Although the fores currently threaten
Posted by: basis4insanity | Oct 23, 2007 2:13:02 PM
How does seeing a dead body justify one carrying off a plasma screen TV? One of the more memorable (to me) images of New Orleans was a black looter carrying off such a clearly marked item, wading through the streets with it on his shoulder.
Seems to me, Jimmyboyo, you are trying to conjure up justifications for looting, which I find rather immoral. It does not speak well of your character.
Posted by: Cassius | Oct 23, 2007 2:14:04 PM
cassius you imbecile I didn't justify any such thing you racist ass fucker.
You talked about the things that occured at the Dome. I busted you on the fact that
1- SD CITY proper not evacuated, its the county suburbs stupid. Where as NO city proper was ravaged by flood and needed evacuating. Totally different
2- Power, water, and sewage being out at NO evacuation sites. where as all 3 still running at SD evacuation sites
Now you grasp straws because you are aracist imbecile.
PS there are those looting in SD There has been property stolen in SD county you racisty numb nut.
Stick to the subject you started
You tried to infer that there was a different class of people between the people at the NO dome and the SD evancuee sites.
You are a waste of air, space, and life
Posted by: jimmyboyo | Oct 23, 2007 2:21:00 PM
sorry for my typos
Posted by: jimmyboyo | Oct 23, 2007 2:24:53 PM
sorry for my typos
Posted by: jimmyboyo | Oct 23, 2007 2:26:44 PM
Also this is day 2 of the problem. the Tv incidence you mentioned happened how many days into NO catastrophe? Many more than 2
Same will occur in SOCAL after more days pass. last fire 2003 saw many reports of looters about a week out from that fire. The most famous being the 3 in San Bernidino at the University.
Posted by: jimmyboyo | Oct 23, 2007 2:29:44 PM
TONIGHT'S FORECAST: DARK...WITH PATCHES OF LIGHT IN THE EARLY MORNING HOURS...:)
Posted by: CLIFF | Oct 23, 2007 2:31:01 PM
PS add in that it has already been reported that Irvine Fire was Arson. Irvine being one of the whitest and most republican areas in California
cassius you waste of protoplasm
Posted by: jimmyboyo | Oct 23, 2007 2:31:56 PM
summed up klan member cassius
Do the minimum bit of research required before spouting off nonsense.
The white republican area Irvine arson blows your tv looter different class theory schtick out of the water. In all catastrophes amongst all types there are imbeciles. You most definetly are one of them
Posted by: jimmyboyo | Oct 23, 2007 2:38:06 PM
I know there's lots of fires, but all we here in unburned Hollywood can think is "But how's Britney doing?"
Posted by: Anja Clarke | Oct 23, 2007 3:01:12 PM
Cassius, you completely spooked yourself with this comment. ______________________________________________
"How does seeing a dead body justify one carrying off a plasma screen TV? One of the more memorable (to me) images of New Orleans was a black looter carrying off such a clearly marked item, wading through the streets with it on his shoulder."
Posted by: Jason | Oct 23, 2007 3:13:47 PM
I lived twice in CA.,but it was in northern CA. Nonetheless, it gave me my freedom and strength as a gay man all those years ago.I'll always have a love for it, and wish everyone well as this tragedy unfolds.
Posted by: FidBit | Oct 23, 2007 3:45:26 PM
Yeah, where are the christians condeming this fire as an act of God against the sins of the wealthy??!! I take it that Irvine is a wealthy part of town? How come they conviently make up their ridiculous fables/claims that God acts to punish only gay-related events....hmmmm, I smell a religious hypocrite rat.
Posted by: Nikko | Oct 23, 2007 4:33:33 PM
Yeah, where are the christians condeming this fire as an act of God against the sins of the wealthy??!! I take it that Irvine is a wealthy part of town? How come they conviently make up their ridiculous fables/claims that God acts to punish only gay-related events....hmmmm, I smell a religious hypocrite rat.
Posted by: Nikko | Oct 23, 2007 4:33:55 PM
Who cares about these comparisons and telling a poster that he is a waste of life? Some people need to seriously grow up. The bottom line is that people are in peril and may need some assistance by the rest of us (just like Katrina).
Posted by: Mike | Oct 23, 2007 5:07:52 PM
Mike. A piece of shit coming on here trying to make a racist comparison between NO and SD evacuees is a waste of a life. this is the 21st century , not the 1700's. I am sorry you lack testicles. Boo hoo, lets all just get along. WRONG. Foolishness is foolishness. Ass turds are ass turds. Promoters of false steriotypes need to be called out.
Posted by: jimmyboyo | Oct 23, 2007 5:22:37 PM
I will say it out loud and proud
Racists are wastes of life
Homophobes are wastes of life
Speed the day when they drop dead.
Nice kind words will not change them.
Posted by: jimmyboyo | Oct 23, 2007 5:24:55 PM
The photo reminds me of the end of Antonioni's Zabriskie Point.
Posted by: Gianpiero | Oct 23, 2007 7:36:21 PM
Jimmyboyo....take a pill! Isn't there enough negavity going on in California without you spouting hate. I do believe Cassius got your point as, unlike you, he let it drop, while you just kept posting your black comments. I pray for everyone in California...ohoh, does that mean that all you Christian haters are going to chew me up cause I am praying for everyone's safety.
Posted by: from Canada eh! | Oct 24, 2007 1:13:30 AM
Thanks, From Canada Eh.
Posted by: Cassius | Oct 24, 2007 11:53:10 AM
The comparison to Katrina victims to Southern California wild fire victims was suspect--it was more than suspect. Jimmyboyo wouldn't let it go by.
Thanks, Jimmy, I just didn't have the energy.
Posted by: Derrick from Philly | Oct 24, 2007 12:05:34 PM
The more I read peoples' comments on this site the more I think some people come here just to argue.
Posted by: MY2CENTS | Oct 24, 2007 12:21:27 PM