View Full Version : Santa Ana WINDS (The Devils WINDS) 2007 FIRES!!!


redspork02
October 24th, 2007, 01:21 AM
POST PICS of YOUR hood or area.!


Los Angeles County
1)Buckweed Fire
Santa Clarita, California the night of October 21, 2007 As of 23 October 2007 the Buckweed fire in Agua Dulce and the Santa Clarita community of Canyon Country has burned in northeastern parts of the county.[23] The communities of Santa Clarita, Leona Valley, Green Valley, Acton, Agua Dulce, and Mint Canyon are threatened. At least 925 firefighters are battling the blaze. Over 15,000 people and 5,500 homes have been evacuated.[24]


2)Canyon Fire
The Canyon Fire has burned around Malibu, California, specifically in Malibu Canyon.[25] 600 residences, 200 commercial buildings, and 100 outbuildings are threatened, while 500 homes have been evacuated.


3)Magic Fire
The Magic Fire started near The Old Road at Magic Mountain Parkway. Flames came within a few yards of West Ranch High School and a large housing development in Stevenson Ranch, but were pushed away. The fire is believed to have been caused accidentally by welders at a construction site.


4)October Fire
The October Fire burned a small area in Santa Clarita, burning several homes in the Canyon Breeze Mobile Home Park.[13]


5)Ranch Fire
Since 20 October 2007, the Ranch fire has burned 54,500 acres (221 km²) along the Los Angeles-Ventura county line, in the Angeles and Los Padres national forests. The fire surrounds the Ventura County community of Piru and also threatens the communities of Fillmore, Ventura and Ojai. Three homes have been destroyed, and 500 residences lie in the fire's path. As of 7:00 a.m. local time, the fire was 10% contained. Evacuations have been recommended in all of Piru and portions of Fillmore. Highway 126 is closed between Main Street and Chiquita Canyon Road in Piru. Angeles National Forest officials are implementing a total forest closure, effective October 23.


Orange County


6)The Santiago Fire
began shortly before 5:55pm on October 21, 2007 in the foothills north of Irvine and east of the city of Orange in Orange County. Fire officials have attributed the source of the fire to arson; the fire was reportedly started in three separate spots.[27] The fire has burned over 18,000 acres (73 km²) and is 30% contained.[13] Strong winds have stalled suppression efforts and forced a dozen firefighters to seek emergency shelter under protective tents after the fire charged them.[28] Two homes, one mobile home, and one outbuilding have been destroyed. Several other buildings damaged, and four firefighters had minor injuries as a result of the blaze. Damage estimates put the fire's cost at $5.5 million.[28]

San Bernardino County




7)Slide or Green Valley Lake Fire
The Slide Fire has burned at Green Valley Lake, west of Lake Arrowhead. The Green Valley Lake, Arrow Bear, and Running Springs communities are under evacuation. Reports indicate water pressure in local systems was lost and conditions were too extreme for fighters to continue efforts in some areas.[13] The fire has burned a camp owned by the Boy Scouts of America's local council, the California Inland Empire Council, called "Camp Helendade." Helendade was originally given to the council in 1960 to replace another camp that had been burned. [31]


8)Grass Valley Fire
The Grass Valley Fire is burning just north of Lake Arrowhead.[32] An online appeal from firefighters near the blaze at Lake Arrowhead revealed that resources were spread thin:

"Immediate threat to 100 structures and possible threat to thousands ... Multiple downed power lines. IC (Incident Command) asking for resources from anywhere ... Lack of resources hindering suppression efforts. Unable to fly aircraft. All local engines are depleted."[4]


9)Martin Fire
The fire began at near Martin Ranch Road at Meyers Road.


10)Walker Fire
This fire was in the Ontario, California area. It damaged several buildings.[33]


11)Devore and Glen Helen Fires or Cajon Fire
Together the fires forced the closure of Interstate 15 in the Cajon Pass. One fire was started by an overturned semi-truck.[9] This fire has burned 250 acres. It is currently 50 percent contained. 107 firefighters are assigned to this incident.

12)Little Mountain Fire
The Little Mountain fire threatens several homes and other structures.[34]


Santa Barbara County

13)Sedgewick Fire
The Sedgewick Fire was the northernmost of the October 2007 California wildfires. It ignited around 6:00 a.m. PST on October 21, 2007 from a downed power line. The fire burned a total of 710 acres (2.9 km²) near Los Olivos. Approximately 2000 people were affected and 800 homes threatened before the fire was 100% contained around 5:00 p.m. on October 22.[35]


Riverside County

14)Roca Fire
The Roca fire began at 3:52 p.m. on October 21 in Aguanga, and burned 269 acres (1.09 km²) east of Temecula. The fire was 100% contained on October 22. One home was destroyed and one injury was reported from the fire.[13]


15)Rosa Fire
The Rosa fire began at 11:00 p.m. on October 22 in western Temecula and has burned 411 acres (1.66 km²). There are mandatory evacuations and road closures in this area. The fire is 50% contained; 100% expected by October 24 at 6 p.m.



CNN SAYS>>>>>

SAN DIEGO, California (CNN) -- More than a half million people had been ordered from San Diego County homes Tuesday as wildfires rage from the Mexican border to north of Los Angeles.



About 1,000 homes have been destroyed in San Diego County alone.

A second civilian has died in the wildfires, the U.S. Forest Service said Tuesday afternoon. It provided no details.

Fears grew north of Los Angeles that the winds may fan three wildfires into one monster blaze. Some officials feared there were not adequate resources available to fight such a blaze. Watch a fire official describe "utter devastation" »

Those fires threaten more than 56,000 homes.

In San Diego County, at least 513,000 residents had been ordered to find refuge in shelters, schools and stadiums as fires pushed into new areas Tuesday. Twelve thousand more were advised but not ordered to evacuate.

The U.S. Navy ordered sailors out of barracks in the area and onto ships to make room for evacuees.

A spokesman for the county's emergency effort told Sacramento TV station KCRA that the evacuations amount to "a mass migration."

New evacuation orders are being added frequently to the San Diego Office of Emergency Services Web site.

San Diego City Councilman Brian Maienschein is walking neighborhoods and helping compile a list of homes that have been destroyed or badly damaged. He said officials will post the list on the city's Web site soon.

"People are worried," he said. "They just want to know, even if their homes are destroyed."

And officials said the crisis is far from over.

"It will not end ... until it reaches the ocean or the winds turn around," San Diego Fire Battalion Chief Bruce Cartelli said Tuesday.

Firefighters expected no break from the winds fueling the fires until midday Thursday, said Harvey Johnson, deputy administrator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

At least 17 wildfires have scorched about 425 square miles from north of Los Angeles to southeast of San Diego since the weekend. Three of those fires were added to the list Tuesday.

Despite having 21 years experience as a firefighter, Arthur Jackson marveled at the fires he battled. "It is just amazing how this fire selects whatever it wants and burns whatever it wants," he told CNN.

Despite toiling in 24-hour shifts, Jackson said he and his fellow firefighters were "holding up pretty good." What weighed heaviest on them was not so much the physical exertion, he said, but knowing they had failed to protect all of the structures.

For some, the failure was more than a professional concern. "Some of the firefighters -- their own homes have burned up," he said.

In an e-mail to CNN, Jonathan Gallen, a doctor in Poway, described how the fires quickly closed in on his neighborhood Monday.

"My pool was completely black with soot. Like the 'Creature From the Black Lagoon' was about to walk out of there," Gallen wrote. "The soot was falling so heavily that it blocked out the sun. There was a smoke cloud above our home that seemed to stretch for miles. This was bad."

National Guard troops were posted at Qualcomm Stadium, home to the NFL's San Diego Chargers, as it became a temporary home to 12,000 to 15,000 fire evacuees, according to the mayor's office in San Diego. Watch evacuees try to pass the time as they worry about their homes »

Volunteers tried to keep spirits up by handing out chairs, cots, food and water. Many evacuees had red eyes from fatigue and smoke irritation.

Among the volunteers was Tony Bradley, a restaurant worker by night and a magician by day. He strode through the crowd captivating youngsters by twisting balloons into the shapes of animals. "That's what I'm here for, just to make them happy, make them forget about what's going on," he said.

Five of San Diego's 23 emergency shelters reached capacity Monday evening.

Sean McGough and his family fled their home in El Cajon for Qualcomm early Tuesday as the flames arrived.

"I looked out and saw the mountain engulfed in flames with a trail at least three miles long coming down," McGough said.

"When I went to bed at midnight, nothing in the East County was any immediate threat. ... Two hours later is when we got the news we needed to get out of our homes."


Anticipating more arrivals at the stadium, the Federal Emergency Management Agency delivered 25,000 cots early Tuesday afternoon.

President Bush issued an emergency declaration Tuesday for seven California counties, clearing the way for federal disaster relief. The president will visit the area Thursday, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said.

Emergency officials asked for food and water for evacuees and told those still in their homes to cut electrical use so the power grid is not strained.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and Federal Emergency Management Administration chief David Paulison flew to California Tuesday to get a first-hand look at relief efforts.

The response has been improved because of lessons learned from the disastrous response to Hurricane Katrina, officials said.

The Witch Fire consumed 164,000 acres, 500 homes and 100 commercial buildings between Sunday afternoon and early Tuesday, moving on a fast 20-mile westward path from its origins near Ramona into the more populated San Diego city limits and across Interstate 15. The Pacific coast was barely five miles west of the fire line early Tuesday. See photos of the fires »

"It's probably the worst this county has ever had, well in excess of the Cedar Fire. ... It looks like it's going to get worse, and we want everybody to be prepared and understand," San Diego County Sheriff Bill Kolender said.

Bush's declaration covers the same seven counties that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger cited Monday: Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Santa Barbara and Ventura. See where fires burn across Southern California »

The U.S. Marines' Camp Pendleton, north of San Diego, told only "key and essential personnel" to report to duty Tuesday. The Rice Fire is burning east of the base. At about 1 p.m. PT (4 p.m. ET), there were two fires burning on the property of Camp Pendleton.

Residents of Fallbrook, adjacent to Camp Pendleton, evacuated as the Rice Fire burned 1,500 acres, destroyed 50 homes and damaged 30 more in nearby Rice Canyon.

A "major natural gas line leading into" Fallbrook was ruptured Tuesday afternoon and is on fire, according to the California Highway Patrol Web site.

Southeast of San Diego, the Harris Fire burned 25,000 acres. The blaze claimed the one life on Sunday and injured 17 civilians and five firefighters. Watch report of a man who fled fire in Chula Vista »

Officials said they're concerned about the fire spreading to San Miguel Mountain, the site of important communications towers.

Early Tuesday, a new fire was reported on the La Jolla Indian Reservation, northeast of Escondido, according to a state fire report monitored by the San Diego Union-Tribune. The fire has destroyed 40 houses, and people were being evacuated to the nearby Palomar Observatory, the report said.

In northern Los Angeles County, three fires have charred nearly 93,000 acres, and fire officials said they fear the Ranch, Buckweed and Magic fires could merge.

"We want to keep these fires as small as we can," said Capt. Barry Parker of the Ventura County Fire Department. If they come together, he said, "the only good thing is we would be able to share more resources."

He added, "But we would rather keep the fires individually fought."

The 54,000-acre Ranch Fire grew by nearly 20,000 acres overnight and is two miles away from the 1,200-acre Magic Fire. The blazes were straddling the line between Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

Parker said he wasn't sure if they had enough resources.

"We're using a limited amount of resources to go in and fight these fires," he said. "We've got about 600 people on the Ranch Fire; we normally would have about 1,500.

"So we have to be absolutely surgical in how we plan and how we tactically use our fire equipment because we just simply don't have enough fire engines in the state of California to battle these blazes."


Two fires that erupted Monday in San Bernardino County near Lake Arrowhead have destroyed at least 123 structures and charred 1,800 acres, said Loretta Benavidez, a spokeswoman for the San Bernardino National Forest. Several communities in the area, including Green Valley Lake, Arrowbear and Running Springs, were evacuated.

:ohno::ohno::ohno::ohno::ohno::ohno::ohno::ohno::ohno:

redspork02
October 24th, 2007, 01:22 AM
http://i.l.cnn.net/cnn/2007/US/10/23/wildfire.ca/art.satellite2.nasa.jpg

Im Driving east to Redlands, to see if i can take pics from my moms house in the VAlley, she says its raining Ashes. :(

alex3000
October 24th, 2007, 10:39 AM
It's funny.

I keep looking at the weather on my iPhone and it says that it's going to be sunny all week long, but because of the fires, you look outside and it looks as if it was cloudy.

redspork02
October 24th, 2007, 04:03 PM
This is the view From Redlands on the Santa Ana River lookin North Towards the San Bernardino Mountains, The city lights below the fire is East Highlands. Where the NEW 210 Freeways meets the 330 highway towards Running Springs/ Big Bear Lake.

1)http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f383/redspork02/Slide%20Green%20Valley%20Lake%20Fire%20October%202007/Picture026.jpg

2)http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f383/redspork02/Slide%20Green%20Valley%20Lake%20Fire%20October%202007/Picture027.jpg

3)http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f383/redspork02/Slide%20Green%20Valley%20Lake%20Fire%20October%202007/Picture022.jpg

4)http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f383/redspork02/Slide%20Green%20Valley%20Lake%20Fire%20October%202007/Picture017.jpg

The Sky over the Basin
5)http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f383/redspork02/Slide%20Green%20Valley%20Lake%20Fire%20October%202007/Picture016.jpg

redspork02
October 24th, 2007, 05:51 PM
New evacuations, power shortages as fires stretch into fourth day


SAN DIEGO, California (CNN) -- More San Diego County residents faced orders to leave their homes Wednesday, but others got permission to return home as wildfires swirled through smoke-choked Southern California.

Residents were being ordered from communities in inland north San Diego County, while evacuees from some communities closer to the coast were allowed home.

San Diego County residents returning to their homes, and those who had never left, were warned Wednesday morning to conserve electricity.

Officials said fires severed key connections to the regional power grid, creating what San Diego County Supervisor Ron Roberts called "a precarious situation."

An estimated 950,000 people have sought refuge from the fires in shelters, hotels and at friends' homes.

President Bush on Wednesday boosted federal aid to the fire-ravaged area by signing a major disaster declaration. The declaration will speed federal dollars to people whose property losses aren't covered by insurance.

The possibilty of further losses was real Wednesday.

The National Weather Service said a red-flag warning for extreme gusty winds was in effect for San Diego through 6 p.m. PT (9 p.m. ET) Wednesday.

Forecasters said firefighters should see an end to the Santa Ana winds that have fueled the fires by Thursday.

"It's all dictated by the weather," said San Diego Fire spokesman Maurice Luque. He said the combination of the driest conditions in 200 years and the Santa Ana winds were "a recipe for disaster."

Some residents won't have to wait for Thursday to get home. People who evacuated earlier this week from Scripps Ranch and Del Mar Heights can go home immediately, San Diego emergency spokeswoman Lynda Pfieffer said Wednesday morning.

More than 20 fires have scorched 400,000-plus acres from the Mexican border to northern Los Angeles County and inland into the San Bernardino Mountains since the weekend. Almost 1,500 homes have been destroyed. Watch firefighters battle on the front lines »

The blazes have killed one person and injured at least 70 more. Thirty-four firefighters have been hurt, authorities said.


Firefighters received help from Mexico, the state and federal governments and even inmates from California's prisons. About 7,000 firefighters were battling the blazes, including 2,300 inmates from California's Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, according to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Officials have evacuated nearly 350,000 homes in San Diego County alone, where the worst of the fires are blazing. Based on numbers from the 2000 census, as many as 950,000 people may have been affected.

Among the evacuees are more than 4,000 military personnel from bases in the area.

As the fires burned, stress took its toll on evacuees, according to a U.S. Navy medic at Qualcomm Stadium, now a shelter to more than 12,000 people.

"A lot of people are watching TV while they're here -- they're watching their houses burn," Petty Officer Daniel Brautigam said. "People are just worried sick. That phrase alone explains it all."
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Christie Williams, who lost a ranch in Ramona, said she takes strength from her 4-year-old daughter, who repeats after her mother: "We're strong people."

"So we're going to make it," Williams said.

And she said she'd rebuild her ranch, called Shangri La.

"It's my home. My kids took their first steps there. I can't just leave it," she said as tears filled her eyes. "I can't just walk away."

Bush is scheduled to visit the area Thursday, the White House said. Chertoff arrived in San Diego on Tuesday afternoon for a look at the devastation.

Chertoff called federal efforts "phenomenally better" than the 2005 response to Hurricane Katrina "because we have been preparing and planning and training together for the last 2 ½ years." Watch the Federal Emergency Management Agency's take on helping evacuees »

Schwarzenegger said he was "heartbroken" after touring the Lake Arrowhead area, where the Grass Valley and Slide fires have burned 5,000 acres and destroyed more than 200 homes.

The combination of dry terrain, searing heat and hammering winds created "the perfect storm for fire," the governor said. See photos of the fires »

Chertoff said cots, blankets, water and other supplies have been moved where they are needed, and more are coming. FEMA delivered 25,000 cots to Qualcomm early Tuesday. See where the fires are burning »

In San Diego County, the Witch Fire in the north, which has grown to 200,000 acres, is a priority because of its significant threat to structures, said Ron Lane, the county's director of emergency services.


Also in the county, a utility spokesman said the Harris Fire expanded and damaged a 500,000-volt transmission line, which will be out of service until at least Wednesday. Other transmission lines have been destroyed.

In Los Angeles County, the fire situation was improving Wednesday. As of 7:40 a.m. PT, state officials reported containment between 40 percent and 80 percent on the county's five active fires. E-mail to a friend

redspork02
October 24th, 2007, 05:59 PM
Santa Ana winds expected to die down as pressure system shifts eastward


(CNN) -- The hot, dry Santa Ana winds were waning Wednesday, a boon for firefighters and Southern Californians who hope the lull in "devil winds" is more than a respite.


The Santa Ana winds stoke a wildfire burning near California's Lake Arrowhead on Tuesday.

The winds, which brought top gusts of 100 mph Tuesday, were expected to fizzle Wednesday afternoon to between 15 mph and 35 mph, with maximum gusts in the region predicted to be cut in half.

Even diluted, the winds still pose a danger, as they can carry wildfire embers into other vulnerable patches of parched woodland.

"This will be the last morning of offshore winds for this week's powerful Santa Ana event," said a morning wind advisory from the National Weather Service.

"Advisory level wind gusts will peak to 50 mph around dawn over the windiest mountain and valley areas. These winds will diminish further below advisory criteria by afternoon." Map of affected areas »

Wind advisories will remain in effect until noon (3 p.m. ET) in parts of the region, and red-flag warnings will remain in effect in some areas until 6 p.m. (9 p.m. ET) but could be extended until the humidity in the area recovers.

The humidity is expected to climb in coastal areas but could take until Thursday or Friday in some of the areas farther inland, the weather service said.

According to the weather service, the improving conditions can be attributed to an eastward shift in the high pressure over the Great Basin, the desert region that comprises most of Nevada and spawns the Santa Ana winds.

However, winds are unpredictable, and firefighters and residents had warnings to exercise caution, especially as the Santa Anas collide with the strengthening sea breeze coming ashore as the inland pressure heads east.

"Erratic, shifting winds are possible near the coast as the sea breeze and weakening Santa Ana winds interact," the weather service cautioned. "Fire crews need to stay alert to possible wind reversals." Watch firefighters douse the blazes from ground and air »

The Santa Anas fall into the category of katabatic winds, called chinooks in the Rocky Mountain regions of the United States and foehns or mistrals in parts of Europe.

The term essentially refers to a downhill wind. In the case of the Santa Anas, the winds generally form in autumn and winter when temperatures begin to drop in the Great Basin. The high pressure over the Great Basin causes the cold air to sink, making it denser, according to the University of California-Los Angeles meteorology Web site.

The dry, heavy air begins to descend from the basin's plains -- parts of which are more than a mile above sea level -- into the valleys and canyons of Southern California, according to the American Meteorological Society.

As the draught flows down from the plateau, warm air compresses and heats the wind, causing it to pick up speed, much like East Coast hurricanes and tropical storms gather strength over the balmy Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean.

The wind picks up even more speed as it's channeled through the canyon passes and into the heavily populated coast of Southern California.


Los Angeles County fire inspector Sam Padilla said the union of low humidity, high winds and dry heat -- temperatures that in some cities have reached into the upper 90s -- make a combustible combination. Scenes from the path of devastation »

"This is a windstorm with fire," Padilla said Tuesday. "That is why they call it a firestorm. Once the fire starts, it gives it that ignition, then it's on. Everything around it is dry and ready to go." E-mail to a friend

Taylorhoge
October 24th, 2007, 06:24 PM
oh this is somewhat good news about the winds.Already a million people have been evacuated from there homes in San Diego and Los Angeles.

xXFallenXx
October 24th, 2007, 06:33 PM
Here's some pics from the freeway and my back yard:
http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff10/x-XFallenX-x/Fire%20pics/Firepics019.jpg
http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff10/x-XFallenX-x/Fire%20pics/Firepics018.jpg
http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff10/x-XFallenX-x/Fire%20pics/Firepics009.jpg
http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff10/x-XFallenX-x/Fire%20pics/Firepics008.jpg
http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff10/x-XFallenX-x/Fire%20pics/Firepics006.jpg
http://i239.photobucket.com/albums/ff10/x-XFallenX-x/Fire%20pics/Firepics002.jpg

Kenni
October 24th, 2007, 10:04 PM
"Los Vientos de Satanas"!!!! or the Devil's (Satan's) Winds......that's what the Spanish settlers called these yearly winds, a Southern Californian phenomenon indeed.

redspork02
October 24th, 2007, 11:00 PM
Found this intresting photo on Fox News, its The OC
http://www.myfoxla.com/myfox/photo_servlet?contentId=4730198&version=1&locale=EN-US&subtype=MIMG&siteId=1003&isP16=true[I]The buildings of South Coast Plaza, left, the San Diego Freeway, middle, and and John Wayne Airport, right, are seen through the thick smoke of the Santiago Fire in Irvine, Calif., Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2007. The devastating wildfires in Southern California have caused at least $1 billion in damage in San Diego County alone, officials said Wednesday, as easing wind gave firefighters hope that they could begin to gain ground against the flames.[I]

godblessbotox
October 25th, 2007, 01:58 AM
oct 21st am
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2035/1734864205_feb6e27961_o.jpg
oct 21st pm
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2106/1735721480_ef81d26133_o.jpg
oct 22nd am
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2278/1735724354_a4332e0907_o.jpg
oct 22nd pm
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2361/1734912943_6cc71995f2_o.jpg
oct 23rd am
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2287/1735770202_883e3f183c_o.jpg

godblessbotox
October 25th, 2007, 02:10 AM
some cool images of the latimes reader gallery
http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2007-10/33450599.jpg
http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2007-10/33424724.jpg

yamota
October 25th, 2007, 04:43 AM
I thought Santa Ana was named after a Mexican General and former President of Mexico?

Kenni
October 25th, 2007, 09:39 PM
I thought Santa Ana was named after a Mexican General and former President of Mexico?

The word "Santa Ana" doesn't only refer to the Mexican General you mentioned, Santa Ana was a common name given by the settling Spanish to rivers, mountain ranges, towns etc. It means Saint Anne...of course. Saint's names were popular......San Diego de Alcala (San Diego), San Francisco de Asis (SF), San Buenaventura (Ventura County), San Bernardino, Santa Monica, San Jose, etc. Los Angeles took the short name from "Nuestra Señora, la Reina de Los Angeles" (Our Lady, Queen of The Angels")

So the name source has two possibilities.........................

from wikipedia................

Etymology

Santa Ana winds may get their name from the Santa Ana Mountains in Orange County, the Santa Ana River or Santa Ana Canyon, along which the winds are particularly strong. There are also claims that the original form is Santana winds, from the Spanish vientos de Satán ("winds of Satan", Sanatanas being a rarer form of Satanás), and that this in turn is a translation of a native name in some unspecified language.

godblessbotox
October 26th, 2007, 10:38 PM
due to the new on-shore flow southern california is now receiving. all that smoke that has been poring into the pacific for the least week or so is now on its way back to us. this means a dramatic increase in particulate matter in the air. if you dont already have one, i would highly recommend a particulate mask for any outdoor activities for today and tomorrow.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2366/1764370760_af5786ba11_o.jpg

xXFallenXx
October 26th, 2007, 10:39 PM
^^ yay!
i live under one of the two most polluted areas there.

chicagogeorge
October 27th, 2007, 03:55 AM
some cool images of the latimes reader gallery
http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2007-10/33450599.jpg
http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2007-10/33424724.jpg

Holy shit, these pics look lie the end of the world!

soup or man
October 27th, 2007, 04:13 AM
I don't have a camera but the sunsets out here in Riverside the past two days have been extremely creepy. When the sun hits the smoke, it turns a brillant red and everything turns into this dreamy nuclear winter color.

xXFallenXx
October 27th, 2007, 04:17 AM
^^ yep, it does the same thing here in Temecula.
The moon right now looks creepy to, it bright orange.

redspork02
October 27th, 2007, 10:44 PM
From far and wide, helpers pour into a fire-stricken San Diego By Candice Reed
Fri Oct 26, 4:00 AM ET



San Diego - Rachel Hanley arrived in San Diego Wednesday after a 12-hour drive from her home in Colorado Springs, Colo. She parked her truck at the Del Mar Fairgrounds, home of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, and set to work caring for some of the more than 2,500 horses that have been given shelter there from the region's firestorm.

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"There are a lot of displaced folks, but they seem to be taken care of," says Ms. Hanley. "But these animals are really scared, and not a lot of people can handle them. People are helping the fire victims of San Diego in all sorts of ways. Mine just happens to be with horses."

At least 1,000 volunteers have turned out in recent days, arriving at the fairgrounds and Qualcomm Stadium, evacuation central, to offer their services to the fire-besieged – everything from medical skills to yoga instruction.

Likewise, fire crews who've been battling the blazes since Saturday are seeing reinforce- ments arrive, as fires that had blackened nearly 500,000 acres by Thursday morning continue to burn throughout San Diego County. Eight deaths have been attributed to the southern California fires, and in a bit of bad news that represents the opposite spirit of the volunteer corps, authorities reported that arson is the suspected cause of two wildfires to the north – one in Orange County and one in Riverside County.

Among the firefighters who have worked to contain the San Diego fires are crews from Tijuana and Tecate in Mexico. "It is very important for Mexico to cooperate with the United States in situations like these because these fires affect the environment on both sides," said Capt. Marco Antonio Garambullo, Tecate's Fire Department director.

Mexico has also sent electricity to the area. A fire cut a main power link with Arizona, and a blaze near the Marine base at Camp Pendleton was, at press time, threatening the main north-south power corridor that connects San Diego with the rest of California.

The Mexican firefighters have since returned home to battle their own fires, but caravans of fire crews from northern California, Oregon, Idaho, and Washington continued to roll into San Diego on Wednesday. About 950 firefighters from the US Forest Service will arrive soon, the Federal Emergency Management Agency reported.

Away from the fire lines, average Americans with strong arms and big hearts threw their energies into helping all creatures, great and small, survive the fires as comfortably as possible.

Among those pitching in alongside Hanley to tend to displaced horses and other livestock were Future Farmers of America students from Eureka, Calif., who drove 700 miles nonstop to help.

At the stadium, where evacuees rested on cots and makeshift beds assembled on sidewalks, students from the University of Kentucky, Hawaii Pacific University, and Utah State University reported for duty. Church groups from Providence, R.I., and Yuma, Ariz., manned information booths and led prayer groups, and a motorcycle club from San Francisco roared into action, moving stacks of food and toiletries.

"I wanted to help because I couldn't do anything during the Katrina hurricane," says Dan Alves of Oakland, Calif., who adds that he had tried to volunteer in New Orleans but was turned away. "It wasn't as well organized. We went out there, but they said we couldn't help. This is a well-oiled machine."

San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders, speaking Wednesday at Qualcomm Stadium, praised the volunteers and donors who have reached out to displaced residents. "This is the best of San Diego," he said. "This is where we take care of each other." Experienced medical personnel are still needed at all San Diego County shelters, Mayor Sanders added.

The American Red Cross is training 3,000 volunteers to lend a hand in coming weeks. So much food and water have been donated that officials at the fairgrounds and the stadium stopped accepting them Tuesday, asking for monetary donations instead. The two major evacuation centers are asking volunteers to help at smaller shelters.

Some of the 500,000 evacuees are being allowed to return to their neighborhoods, but others must remain in shelters or with friends until firefighters can contain – and then extinguish – the flames. That effort is unrelenting, and some firefighters at last were getting much-needed rest before returning to the fire lines.

"We sleep when we can, usually on the lawn," said engineer Randy Smith of Sacramento, encamped at Kit Carson Park in Escondido, command center for the Witch Creek fire. "Every time someone new arrives, it gets a little easier. But we all help each other and if this happens to us [in Sacramento] you'll see these same faces. It's what we do."

• Wire services were used in this report.