The New Huntmastersbbs!: Local Fires

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Posted by Leonard (Member # 2) on October 26, 2003, 09:46 AM:

Well, this was a close one. It's national news, so I guess everybody has heard at least something about our brush fires.

As for us here, I should have cranked the awnings, and removed the umbrellas before, but other than that, no permanent damage.

We have sooty ash everywhere, in the pool, all the decking, in the house, even! I hosed everything down twice yesterday, but you would never know it, this morning. It makes a messy mud, but sweeping it up is a waste of time.

Came real close, but thankfully, the wind wasn't exactly right, or there would have been thousands of homes burnt, not hundreds.

Can't understand why they didn't use the bombers, this time? High wind, poor visibility, they say?

Not over yet, but perhaps, at least the "worst" is over?

(Department of One Track Mind):I bet we have a bunch of coyotes hiding in the landscaping, driven from the hills?

Good hunting. LB

Posted by onecoyote (Member # 129) on October 26, 2003, 10:39 AM:

It's good to hear you guys are ok Leonard. Yeah, I can see it all real good from here, looks like WWII on the other side of the hill. Charlene and I took a drive yesterday through Cajon pass and down close to you, to much darn smoke. I saw the news and they said over 200 homes were lost last night. As you know it's not so much the fire as it is the high winds that does that. My 56 year old younger brother is fighting those fires as I speak. All I have to say is if you don't want to die in a airplane crash, don't fly, if you don't want your house burnt down in a forest fire, don't live in the forest. The houses that burnt in this fire were not in the forest but were backed up to brush so thick it was unstopable with the wind. If this fire gets to Arrowhead or Big Bear with all the dead trees WATCH OUT. This type of thing happens out here more then it should, probably because we have to many people of which some are fire bugs. Like earthquakes, it's just a part of living in southern California and that's why I'm trying to get out of this place lol.

Posted by Leonard (Member # 2) on October 26, 2003, 12:19 PM:

My boss lives over on the other side of Benson. Talked to him on Friday about the fires and he was complaining about his fire insurance going up by $400, this past year. Wait until he gets his next bill. He wasn't worried though. That was Friday, 24 hours later, he barely escaped. This fire appeared to move ten-twelve miles during the night. We're used to it, but it's still hard to believe.

Good hunting. LB

Posted by onecoyote (Member # 129) on October 26, 2003, 01:16 PM:

I can look out my back window and see the fire heading right at Arrowhead, I don't think they can stop it this time. After Arrowhead is Running Springs and a few other little places then Big Bear. I hope it don't get there but I don't see anything in the way to stop it. On this side of the mountains it looks like the whole mountain range is on fire from Mt Baldy to Arrowhead, it's a bad one. [Frown]

Posted by Norm (Member # 240) on October 26, 2003, 01:58 PM:

Leonard, Glad to hear you are safe. Fire is a dangerous and unpredictable item.

Take care of yourself there.

Posted by John/Alaska (Member # 25) on October 26, 2003, 05:17 PM:

Leonard -

Glad you came through the fire alright. I've been watching it on the LA news channels via my satelite service. Have a family cabin in Arrowhead and a friends in Running Springs as well as Green Valley. All my old huants as a kid. We've had our share of fires here too having to do the evacuting thing a couple of times. Last one was 2 1/2 years ago when a fire flared up and started moving at the rate of 5 miles per hour towards me. Wind changed slightly when it was a 1/4 mile away and it went past plus the bombers showed up to protect structures!

Anyway glad you made it. Doesn't sound as if there is an end in sight for atleast the next couple of days.

Danny - Don't move to Alaska if you want to get away from earthquakes or fires. We have 10 times more quakes then So Cal does. Did I tell you about the little 7.9 one last Nov?? Couldn't get home for a couple of days as part of the highway disappeared. My well is still messed up!

Posted by Tim Behle (Member # 209) on October 28, 2003, 05:35 PM:

Leonard,

Next time you and your friends plan a big fire, I wish you'd do a better job of watching the weather.

The wind seems to have shifted 180 degrees and the haze from those fires is severely hampering my solar panels. I had to fire up the generator tonight, my battery bank actually lost power by the end of the day. [Frown]

Posted by bucksnort (Member # 202) on October 28, 2003, 05:36 PM:

Leonard and Danny, are you guys OK out there? We see the fires are running wild. Hope you guys are OK. Let us hear from you.

Posted by NASA (Member # 177) on October 28, 2003, 06:30 PM:

Danny should be OK out there in the desert, but, Leonard.... I have relatives in San Dimas Canyon who were evacuated. LB is East of there and just might have sparks in his back yard by now. I hope for the best, guys.

Posted by Lone Howl (Member # 29) on October 29, 2003, 12:32 PM:

Leonard, lets hear from you! You ok down there?

Posted by Merle (Member # 45) on October 29, 2003, 02:12 PM:

Leonard,
Glad to hear you, your family and home are OK.
How did the other people in your neighborhood fare ?

Posted by Barry (Member # 34) on October 29, 2003, 03:43 PM:

Any truth to the report that a lost hunter started one of them with a flaregun?Who takes a flaregun hunting?They're hard to site in.

Posted by Leonard (Member # 2) on October 29, 2003, 05:03 PM:

Last things first.

Yes, embarassing, but apparently it's true that a lost "hunter" fired a signal flare and started what they call the Cedar Fire, which has the highest loss of life, so far, including a firefighter. That's generally to the southeast of us, in San Diego county.

Our fire, called the Grand Prix, was the first one, and it's still burning in some directions, but not near here. It has merged with the "Old" fire in the San Bernardio mountains, and the last I heard, with the wind shift, was moving north toward Hesperia, although it has quite a ways to go before that happens, if at all.

Now, what happened here Saturday night, was that Nancy and I went to the movies, and by the time we got back, the fire had crossed the foothills in a westerly direction, a distance of at least twelve miles, from the Alta Loma area, clear into north Claremont.

Now, back ground. Los Angeles County leases two "Super Scooper" fixed wind aircraft every fire season from somewhere in Canada. These planes sat on the ground, on standby, but did put out a small blaze in Malibu, but somehow, the authorities allowed this fire to sweep across Rancho Cucamonga and North Upland, and didn't put those planes in the air until the fire crossed the county line between Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties, and also the same boundary which divides Claremont and Upland.

They say that these planes are credited with "saving" 1000 homes in Claremont? Although they lost about the same amount of very expensive homes in the Claraboya section of Claremont and San Antonio Heights, which is the unincorporated S.B. county area, north of Upland. Something like 35 to 50 multi-million dollar homes in each community? More homes than that, in Fontana, Lytle Creek and Ranch Cucamonga, to the east. Not all that much, compared to a grand total, to this point, statewide, of something over 1600 homes.

The wind here was blowing sideways, and I think what we have now, is sort of a cleared area, not much fuel at the lower elevations, so if the fire was to backtrack, it would have a difficult time jumping to the denser housing, that was spared by a fickle Saturday wind.

But, it's been like that. These fires are switching directions, daily, and sometimes; hourly. We have that Santa Ana condition blowing in from the desert, that began all this, the humidity was extremely low, and the air temperature was mostly over 100º for several days.

Now, the wind seems completely unpredictable. I heard that the "Old" fire, which appeared to heading right for Arrowhead, instead, went around Arrowhead, and is now burning in a southerly direction, between Arrowhead and Big Bear.

And, this is just one of many fires in Southern California. I sincerely doubt that any of these (what?) maybe fourteen different fires were anything but deliberate?

Okay, that one dumb ass firing a flare gun; that's an accident. And, boy howdy! The media has not missed a single opportunity to remind us that a stupid hunter caused the largest fire.

All of this is well known, to those that are news junkies, but for what it's worth. California scores another catastrophe, making us the (unwanted) center of attention, once again.

There you have it....reporting live, from the front lines: LB

Just went into AOL, and they are reporting 2,000 homes lost. Three hours ago, I believe I was correct, when I wrote 1,600? Wow!

[ October 29, 2003, 05:09 PM: Message edited by: Leonard ]

Posted by bucksnort (Member # 202) on October 29, 2003, 05:12 PM:

Leonard, glad to hear you and Nancy are OK. Man, we were getting worried about you, not hearing from you for a day or two. Again, hope all is well.

Take care.

Posted by John/Alaska (Member # 25) on October 29, 2003, 06:37 PM:

Leonard -

Glad all is well where you are. I have a family cabin in Sky Forest. It was built about 94 years ago! family has had it for about 50 years. So far the fire has burned to the north, east & south. The fire has been within a mile. That is as much info as I can get at this time. Sis in law who now mans it knows less than I do unfortunately. Thought today would be the "trigger" but now have to wait till tomorrow.

Posted by NASA (Member # 177) on October 29, 2003, 07:07 PM:

Leonard, glad to hear you made it OK. I just got a call that S/E Hesperia has been evacuated. They sent everyone to Victorville. I heard over a thousand square miles, total, have burned. Nasty.

Posted by Norm (Member # 240) on October 30, 2003, 03:34 AM:

Leonard, thanks for the update. We are thankful that you and Nancy are ok.

Take care and be careful.

Posted by Jack Roberts (Member # 13) on October 30, 2003, 08:49 PM:

First real snow in the valleys today. Maybe an inch total, some of that, big round snow pellets. Enough to settle the dust and allergens(sp?).
Pretty cool this afternoon. Below freezing by 2:30.

Jack

Posted by Leonard (Member # 2) on October 31, 2003, 04:42 PM:

Weird weather. We had that heat wave, followed by Santa Anas, fires, and now, overcast, cold and drizzles. (shakes head)

Good hunting. LB

Happy Halloween! I'm off to see Rocky Horror Picture Show

Posted by onecoyote (Member # 129) on November 02, 2003, 12:29 PM:

Jack, the wife and I left Elko last Wed. morning just missing the snow. This morning we had frost all over and it snowed in the local mountians yesterday helping with the fires. Leonard, I plan on going on that trip to Southern Arizona, e-mail me when you get a chance.

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