California WildFires 2017

If it provides a teeny bit of comfort, many of those pets are being rescued by groups in the Bay Area. As I mentioned upthread, fosters are helping care for them.

These two were taken in by Hopalong in Oakland. Please have your friends check all the shelters and rescue organizations. I can get together a list if there isn't one already.

everybodhi said:

This is killing me.
All the animals.
The woodpeckers, hummingbirds and great blue herons that come to my yard.
All the pets people couldn't find when they had to evacuate, quickly, in the middle of the night.
Ubey.

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The photos of kitties with bandaged legs makes me so sad. http://www.hopalong.org/help-please-sonoma-fire/

What horror they must have gone through! So true of all the animals in these infernos.

I don’t think we have a list of animal rescue facilities on the thread if you want to put one together BOP. That’s a wonderful idea!

Bird of Paradise said:

If it provides a teeny bit of comfort, many of those pets are being rescued by groups in the Bay Area. As I mentioned upthread, fosters are helping care for them.

These two were taken in by Hopalong in Oakland. Please have your friends check all the shelters and rescue organizations. I can get together a list if there isn't one already.

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Thank you. :cat::heartbeat::wolf:

Fire has no mercy I lost my home due to fire,burned to the ground.The only thing standing was the brick steps and chimney.Thank God we were not home,I had left to take my son to a speech therapy class and left my clothes dryer running.They say the clothes dryer caught the house on fire.You learn then that material items are not important,it's lives.
My house burned down in 17 minutes according to the fire report.The worse part was arriving on scene,never will forget the firefighters still putting out what was left.They are brave beyond belief.

My heart goes out to all these communities and I pray for rain that's what they need right now.Much rain.

KQED Forum has really good coverage every morning about the fires, if you like radio, you can listen here, or live every morning for two hours, on KQED online, at 9AM PT.
Forum with Michael Krasny
This is the best media source of information about the fire that I have found, I listen every morning.
They said, as of this morning, 168,000 acres have burned.

margarita25 said:

(Slightly o/t,

Push to get cell phone users to sign up on Alert San Diego System
http://www.cbs8.com/story/36587921/push-to-get-cell-phone-users-to-sign-up-on-alert-san-diego-system

"(NEWS 8) - The wildfires in Northern California are severely hampering communications and with more people ditching their landlines for cell phones, it’s especially important to make sure you are able to receive notifications in an emergency.

Authorities have issued new and winder evacuation orders as the wildfires in wine country continue to spread – a somber reminder to San Diegans during this season of wildfires to be prepared." )

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Following Hurricane Katrina, the shores along the Gulf of Mexico were installed with an alarm system that spreads the noisy warning signal far and wide. It quite possibly has saved lives. Please push for the alarms or for any early warning measure meant for protecting citizens as it helps those who cannot hear well or that sleep deeply.

We live in dangerous times. I believe this will be considered arson in the neighborhoods once the investigations are complete whether that is what will be revealed to the public remains unknown.

My sorrow for the extensive loss is shared by many Americans. We need to make America safe again.

200 Female Inmates Are Fighting Fires in California
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/The-Female-Inmates-Fighting-Fires-in-California-450438783.html

"We have female crews from other camps working on the Canyon Fire in Anaheim and also up in Napa," said Bill Sessa, a spokesman for the corrections department. "The crews from the Malibu camp are on standby and also have to provide back-up fire protection for L.A. County."

The status of the crews could change quickly depending on conditions, he said.

About 3,800 inmates, both women and men, fight fires in California, making up about 13 percent of California’s firefighting force. The fire program saves taxpayers $124 million per year, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

In the fire program, the women do the same work as the men."

KQED has compiled a list of animal rescues:

https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2017/10/10/how-to-help-animals-affected-by-northern-california-wildfires/

I will add another: Tony LaRussa's Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF)

Many of the rescues have set up donations pages which will help with supplies and medical treatment.

Also, many pets are now microchipped. This is a good time for all of us to remember to keep that information up to date so if your pet is found, the contact number on the chip is accurate.

I posted a link to the free Airbnb's for evacuees and I went to copy it for someone else and noticed that link isn't working, so here is a good link.
https://www.airbnb.com/s?collection_id=239873657&disaster_id=107&s_tag=q-nHwaVA&allow_override[]=
You just need ID from an evacuating area to qualify and many of them take pets.

Gitana and Everybodhi, please know that my prayers are with you, and anyone else who is affected.

Here's a live feed.

[video=youtube;0bYu649MuQo]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bYu649MuQo[/video]

DeDee said:

Following Hurricane Katrina, the shores along the Gulf of Mexico were installed with an alarm system that spreads the noisy warning signal far and wide. It quite possibly has saved lives. Please push for the alarms or for any early warning measure meant for protecting citizens as it helps those who cannot hear well or that sleep deeply.

We live in dangerous times. I believe this will be considered arson in the neighborhoods once the investigations are complete whether that is what will be revealed to the public remains unknown.

My sorrow for the extensive loss is shared by many Americans. We need to make America safe again.

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I live out in the mountains west of Santa Rosa, and it is remote. There is a fire tower on the highest ridge around and if they see smoke, there is a very loud horn you can't miss, it will wake you up at night. They don't have fire ranger lookout towers in the city, but it might not be a bad idea in CA.
What happened in Santa Rosa, according to what I heard from the fire experts on KQED, is the wind drove the wildfire down from the hills onto Fountaingrove Parkway, creating a funnel effect into Coffey Park, which is the neighborhood in most of the photos. The Hilton and the Fountaingrove Inn are at the end of the Parkway, near the 101. The wall of wildfire funneled down Fountaingrove Parkway riding a 70 mph wind, jumped the 101 and devoured Coffey Park.
It happened at around 3AM, when most people are in a deep sleep, you had to wake up and move fast. There are a lot of burn victims in the hospitals, besides the dead and the missing.
The wind was so strong that night, my yard was full of broken limbs, as was my daughter's yard, up by Willits. We are both elevated on mountains and the sound of the wind woke me up, and woke her, 3 hours away. It was a creepy, screaming and moaning wind. We knew nothing about fires yet, because they weren't there when we went to bed but she texted me, "do you hear that scary wind at your house?"
We were creeped out but we had no idea what was happening around us, the smoke hadn't reached us yet.
It is so dry here at this time of year, the slightest spark, or a flick of a cigarette ash, can start a fire and burn thousands of acres.
The wind is what makes it so scary because you want to be able to outrun it, but I can't drive 70 on my winding mountain road.

DeDee said:

Following Hurricane Katrina, the shores along the Gulf of Mexico were installed with an alarm system that spreads the noisy warning signal far and wide. It quite possibly has saved lives. Please push for the alarms or for any early warning measure meant for protecting citizens as it helps those who cannot hear well or that sleep deeply.

We live in dangerous times. I believe this will be considered arson in the neighborhoods once the investigations are complete whether that is what will be revealed to the public remains unknown.

My sorrow for the extensive loss is shared by many Americans. We need to make America safe again.

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My mom and sister work for Cal Fire and step dad was with CDF for over 30 years. . .right now they are saying most of the fires were caused by very high winds and power lines.
So sad

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

DeDee said:

I believe this will be considered arson in the neighborhoods once the investigations are complete whether that is what will be revealed to the public remains unknown.

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This is a terribly irresponsible thing to say, and nothing could be further from the truth.

For anyone looking for coverage, the weather channel has provided the best I've seen. Absolutely heartbreaking interviews, etc.

moo

everybodhi said:

I live west of Santa Rosa, I went there on Tuesday with a friend to check their house and it is gone.

I evacuated yesterday, I have a small ranch with animals and we are all safe now but the smoke is awful. I am in the Westin in SF where they have good filters for air and offering amazing rates if you have ID from an evacuated area. What a blessing.
Also, Airbnb has many free houses and rooms for evacuees, donated by the home owners.
Link for Free Airbnbs
I'm just trying to gather my wits now, and will drive to my daughters house in LA tomorrow or Saturday, as soon as I am up for it.
I am trying to hold it together, but, dang, y'all, it is devastating to see your town gone overnight.
I just hope my little Sonoma County dream home is still here when I get back.

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thank goodness you were able to move (I hope you moved your animals, too?). Kudos to Airbnb for their efforts to truly be helpful! Unfortunately, your photos depict the sadness and losses that are happening — a needed reminder for those of us who cannot comprehend what it must be like. We need people like you to help us by bringing the reality to us.

Bless you and stay safe. I am just so very sorry anyone has to go through this.

everybodhi said:

They have cadaver dogs in Santa Rosa now.

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:tears: it is good they are working to find everyone while the fires are still raging, but boy does this hit me like a real kick in the gut. To think there are possibly people in those charred remains is about the hardest part for me.

I can only pray for the missing and hope the majority are safe somewhere and will be able to check with proper authorities and family/friends soon.


Thanks to all who are able to post current conditions, links, pictures, and support.

Couple survived 6 hours in pool as wildfires raged

Santa Rose, Calif. — Jan Pascoe and her husband, John, were trapped. The world was on fire, and Jan was hyperventilating from fear. Then they remembered their neighbors’ pool.

“You’ve got to calm down, Jan,” she told herself. “You can’t go underwater and hyperventilate.”

At 12:40 a.m. Monday, Jan called 911. She reached a dispatcher.

“We are going to get into the neighbors’ pool, should we do this?”

The dispatcher said, “Get anywhere safe.”

“Please. We will be in the pool,” Jan replied. “This is where we are.”

“In my naivete, all night long,” she would tell me later, “I thought someone would come to get us.” ...

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/nation/2017/10/13/california-survivors-pool/106585196/

The CalFire dispatch center is on the summit south of Willits, just to the east of Highway 101. At one point, it was menaced by the fire's approach from the east. Thankfully, it was saved. Imagine the chaos if the headquarters for the fire suppression effort had caught fire!

Jerrod said:

This is a terribly irresponsible thing to say, and nothing could be further from the truth.

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There are always conspiracy theories, nowadays, in every tragedy.
These fires popped up miles from each other Sunday night, far too many miles apart to be humanly possible for one person to drive over mountainous terrain and start multiple fires in the timeframe.
It would take a large team of arsonists, which is more rare than a large team of serial killers.
Psychopathic arson, the kind of arson this would be classified, is done by loners, it's not like vandalism arson done by a group of adolescents burning cars in the city.
Arson is a crime of anger and revenge. I can see why someone would fantasize that a large group of crazy CA haters would try to burn the state down, but that is a fantasy.

I don't know why people doubt the obvious, 70mph wind blew down power lines, causing sparks and transformers to blow. The downed lines and blown transformers are where the fires started, it doesn't take a rocket scientist..
I know PG&E has trouble maintaining their lines, I see the tall yellow grass around them, the trees growing up into the lines and vines growing across them. They have trouble maintaining their gas lines too, they blew up a suburban town by SF not that long ago. They make a good profit though, for their investors.
Forensics will tell us the truth, and some won't believe the forensics because it doesn't fuel their fears. The chances of an evil gang starting these fires is as believeable as thinking God is hitting the US with multiple disasters because of who we elected president.
PG&E should shut down the power when high winds come through during fire season, a brown out for a few hours is better than fire. Especially, considering this happened in the middle of the night, many wouldn't have even noticed a brown out.
The winds are coming back this weekend, I wish PG&E would shut down electric this weekend when the wind hits to avoid this happening, again.

Spellbound said:

thank goodness you were able to move (I hope you moved your animals, too?). Kudos to Airbnb for their efforts to truly be helpful! Unfortunately, your photos depict the sadness and losses that are happening — a needed reminder for those of us who cannot comprehend what it must be like. We need people like you to help us by bringing the reality to us.

Bless you and stay safe. I am just so very sorry anyone has to go through this.



:tears: it is good they are working to find everyone while the fires are still raging, but boy does this hit me like a real kick in the gut. To think there are possibly people in those charred remains is about the hardest part for me.

I can only pray for the missing and hope the majority are safe somewhere and will be able to check with proper authorities and family/friends soon.


Thanks to all who are able to post current conditions, links, pictures, and support.

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My animals are all evacuated and safe. There are several boarding facilities available for large animals, in Sonoma, Marin and Solano Counties.
Also, the Westin has been amazing, letting us bring several pets into their hotel, dogs and cats, we even have bunnies in our room.
Some of the burned areas had huge dairy farms with hundreds of cows, I wonder if they were able to evacuate them all.