This has been an extremely stressful week; the fires have consumed not just acreage, but sapped emotional energy as well.  Having this feeling of utter powerlessness in the path of raging wildfires is daunting.  Now that most of the fires are at least contained somewhat, some relief from the smokiness, and, thank God on high, there's even been a little rain.  Adding to the stress of the fire was the added stress of my wife's Grandfather, he's 86, having had his heart episode.

Monday was a complete whirlwind, with Tuesday came the heart attack scare with Granddad, and then on Wednesday all of the evacuations seemed to really increase.  The winds had died down somewhat, but it seemed that every hour or so they would report new fires.  In addition to the Harris and Witch fires the fire at Camp Pendleton began to rage, and threatened San Onofre Nuclear Power station.  We ere warned continually that we needed to conserve energy, not doing so might put strain on existing power grids; can you say rolling "brown outs?"  The Horno Fire, the one nearest San Onofre, could cause huge problems as a major electric power grid is supplied by the lines from there. 

Having Granddad here I have ran our central air conditioning constantly, the fans were mainly on to recirculate the air.  Without that recirculation I was worried that it might affect Granddad's respiration.  Senior are very susceptible to getting pneumonia, and with his heart condition I didn't him to have any additional distress. Regardless, it seemed that we were about to turn the corner toward some semblance of normalcy when another fire erupted, this time within 2 miles or less.

The back gate to Camp Pendleton is less than 2 city blocks from us, and the fire broke out just on the inside of Camp Pendleton.  I really felt like this would be very dangerous for this neighborhood.  Watching the fire for it's inception race up the hillside toward officer housing had my heart racing, and I felt that I needed to get the family out.  My wife didn't want to leave, didn't want to get separated from me.  I begged with her to take our daughter and get away from the danger.  It was very difficult and emotional.  I may have jumped the gun on insisting that she go, but I felt that it was better to be safe than sorry. 

Again, thank God that this fire broke out where it did.  The fire crews from Camp Pendleton jumped all over it, the civilian fire department and the military mobilized instantly.  The Marines threw at least 6 helicopters to battle the flames; the fire was out, not just contained, within an hour.  That was amazing.  The helicopters were outfitted with a bucket, and the quick response was amazing to watch.  It made me wonder why it is so difficult to do the same throughout San Diego County.

Does that occur because of politics?  Does it happen because someone doesn't want their toes stepped on; chains of command definitely make the process murky.  The California Fire Department want to be in control, the military wants to be in command, etc.  The other problem seems to be the fact that the military doesn't have the necessary certifications.  Now, I am going to pose what I believe seems like reasonable solution.  If a fire breaks out in situations that the confluence of multiple events, Santa Ana winds, high temperatures, Red Flag warnings, once the fire begins looks as though the conditions are ripe for rapid spreading the Governor should declare a "Wild Fire Emergency."

The declaration of a "Wild Fire Emergency" then suspends all normal requirements for certifications, and immediate lines of command set up.  Then deploy helicopters immediately, fixed wing aircraft as soon as possible.  Throw everything at these wild fires within hours, not days.  Unfortunately these are becoming all too frequent, and preparations should be in place now.  These are going to be a fact of life, so we should be ready.

Okay, soap box just collapsed. Now, to the Chargers.  They have decided to play the game tomorrow at Qualcomm.  Yeah!  But, even better is that my brother-in-law pulled through, he got he and I tickets to the game.  Not just any tickets, but in the Skybox!  Wahoo!  Free food and beer.  Now that's normalcy at it's finest...

Go Chargers!!!

Google Earth has satellite images of the fire perimeters, you must have the application downloaded.  The latest updates from the San Diego County Emergency center:

10-26-07 4:15 a.m. Bottled Water Available for Ramona Residents

10-26-07 2:35 a.m. Boil Water Order for Campground in Jamul

10-25-07 11:00 p.m. Countywide Map Perimeter

10-25-07 11:21 p.m. New American Red Cross Shelters 

Confirmed damaged or destroyed structures in unincorporated areas (Updated 10-25-07 6:30 a.m.)

GoogleEarth maps of the fire perimeter and evacuation areas. NOTE: Markings are approximate and can be dated.  GoogleEarth application needed (San Diego County Emergency Center).

The debate goes on regarding the Charger game that is set for Sunday against the Houston Texans.  It would seem to me to be prudent to play the game outside of San Diego.  One argument for doing so is to not pull emergency resources to the game, ie.: San Diego Police Department.  They have enough to deal with without having to deploy to be security for an NFL game.  The other concern is health related, the air quality is pretty bad for people not exerting themselves.

Another debate is being waged regarding the efficacy of the fire fighting assets (and perhaps tactics) that San Diego County employs.  What makes San Diego County differ in its ability and available assets differ from those of Los Angeles County?  Is there a difference?  It has been suggested that San Diego residents voted against a bond issue that would have been used for fire fighting.  So, is there a difference in available funds for fire fighting assets?

Again, being so near Camp Pendleton it amazes me that we don't utilize the military assets more effectively.  Why is there any question about when to use military helicopters.  When the fire broke out within 2 miles of our home the Marines, along with civilian fire fighters, knocked down the fire in less than an hour.  It threatened officer housing and could easily have spread to the surrounding hills, namely to our neighborhood.  They threw 6 helicopters with water buckets.  Why is there not better coordination between the military and California Department of Fire?  Why doesn't San Diego purchase 100 water buckets and then attack these fires before they get way out of hand?  I am not casting criticism, and certainly don't blame the county for its efforts. 

Those efforts have been Herculean.  I believe the county, cities and communities governments have done a fantastic jobs.  More than 500,000 people were evacuated, and the loss of life has been very low.  Officials should be proud of saving countless lives, and structures.  No recriminations here, just that an assessment needs to occur to find a way to be better prepared.  These fires are now more common than not.   Conditions on the ground dictate that we are serious about the future...

I have often said, and I will gladly say it again, Michael Yon's dispatches are the best reporting on the war in Iraq anyone can read.  He is fair and balanced in the truest sense of the words.  His unbiased look at the war through the eyes of a former soldier and is not tied to any political agenda driven sensationalism that passes as journalism in today's world.  His most recent is a prime example, Beauchamp and the Rule of Second Chances.

The AP, the NYTimes and others could learn a great lesson from sending in truly independent journalists, those with no particular ax to grind other than reporting what they see and the feelings and emotions that the everyday soldier endures in Iraq.  What passes as mainstream media (MSM) today is is blinded by it's own PC driven, agenda driven, liberal bias that it is hard to even get past headlines, let alone taking in an article in it's entirety. 

The newsroom is so biased and loaded with liberals that when asked they will tell you they are neither Dimocratic nor Liberal.   A Republican and/or conservative journalist is typically a token to balance out the unbalanced, unfair journalism that they would claim as neither.  When gathered together editors and/or reporters, as well as anchor persons they all espouse how fair and balanced they are.  Unfortunately, they all suffer from being locked in a room together and suffer from myopia.  When everyone in the newsroom is liberal there are only shades of liberalism, there's the far out leftists (NYTimes) and then there is left on center.  In their world left of center is considered conservative.

Okay, okay, I will step off the soap box and get to my point about Michael Yon and the Beauchamp affair...

To his credit, and to the discredit of his editors at the New Republic, Beauchamp was given a choice, a second chance.  Following his lurid fictional writing, thoroughly "vetted" by TNR, he was discovered as charlatan.  His stories were just that, fictional yarns dreamed up to enhance his writing skills.  His choice, leave or continue to serve as a soldier.  As Michael describes, to his credit, Beauchamp chose to remain.  Whatever personal demons he might have had leading into his going to Iraq in the first place, they may well be exorcized by grueling combat in Baghdad, and he could pay the ultimate price, with his life.  That is admirable, I will grant that as well.  Michael saves his best for last, absolutely excoriating The New Republic, even going so far as to call them out as cowards!

And I quote:

"Though Beauchamp is close, I’m not going to spend half a day tracking him down when just this morning I woke to rockets launching from nearby and landing on an American base. Who has time to skin Beauchamp? We need him on his post and focused.

As for The New Republic, some on the staff may feel like they’ve been hounded and treed, but it’s hard to feel the same sympathy for a group of cowards who won’t ’fess up and can’t face the scorn of American combat soldiers who were injured by their collective lapse of judgment. It’s up to their readers to decide the ultimate fate.

The New Republic treed like a bandit . . . personally, I think they would make a nice Daniel Boone hat."

Once again, great stuff Michael, that is Pulitzer writing.  But, just as the Nobel Peace Prize is now politically motivated in it's awards, so too is the Pulitzer, tarnished by it's own myopia...

What say you?

Okay, the wife, child and I went down to the beach to catch a little lunch and then to go for a walk at the beach.  Nice.  Then we got home...

A fire broke out near the San Luis Rey Gate of Camp Pendleton, the gate is a city block away from us.  I was on my way to get Granddad from Tri-City Hospital when I realized I didn't have my phone.  Upon pulling a u-turn on Vandegrift I could see the dark, black smoke rising fairly near the house.  Oh man...said a prayer and high tailed it to the house. I then got up on our roof to see the flames on the hillside.  Needless to say my heart began to race. 

It grew fairly quickly, and we knew exactly where the fire was and where it was headed.  There is a horseback riding stables that are situated right where the fire began.  The fire raced up the hill to northeast, right at the military housing that is visible from Vandegrift.

My hat is off to the fire department on Camp Pendleton as well as the Marines.  They threw everything they had at this thing.  At one point there were at least 6 helicopters dumping water on the fire.  They knocked the fire out in 45 minutes to an hour.  Now that is response time!  I have pictures which I will download later today.  I have to head off to the doctor myself, to get a cortizone shot in my sacral ileac joint, ouch.

The latest map of the San Diego County Emergency Center shows no active fires burning at the Rice Canyon Fire, but both the Witch Fire in east county (which merged with the Poochma(sp) fire) and the Harris Fire in the south county still have active fires burning.  the weather has changed, with winds coming from the west, and it is supposed to cool down considerably today.  Thank God.

10-25-07 4:56 a.m. County Environmental Health Recovery Info

10-25-07 3:30 a.m. Updated Countywide Map Perimeter

10-25-07 12:40 a.m. County of San Diego Recovery Assistance Information/Damage Assessments

We have had enough excitement for the year, make that a decade.  It will be nice to get to some form of normalcy around here.  It is very scary to think that you might lose your home and everything in it.  Deciding what to take and what to leave behind is a heart wrenching decision.  My wife was in the office and going through her desk when she found a glass bauble my son gave her.  She lost it at that moment, knowing that we may loose many things that we can't even think of at the moment.  She got her composure and I begged her to take our daughter and get away to some friends home.  I stayed and watched to see if we were going to get the evac. order.  Thank God Camp Pendleton is so good a fire fighting. They tend to light a fire once a week, so they have lots of practice.

And that brings me to my last thought for the morning.  If someone in DC or Sacrament would get their head out of their rear end, they would get the military involved immediately.  Having seen 6 helicopters go at one small fire leads me to believe that  we might avoid some of these huge, HUGE, destructive fires.  This time around the government (city, county, state) did some things right and I am sure saved many lives.  The reverse 911 system has worked nearly flawlessly, a lesson learned from the 2003 fires. There just has to be more that can be done to prevent and/or lessen the severity of these fires.  I can't imagine the terror that would be spread if this became a yearly ritual...

Latest Updates from San Diego County Emergency Center:

10-24-07 5:30 a.m. Updated Countywide Fire Map Perimeter

10-24-07 5:00 a.m. Updated Countywide Fire Map Perimeter

10-24-07 5:26 a.m. Birch Hill Evacuations Near Palomar Mountain/Shelter Info

The fire here in North County San Diego is known as the Rice Fire (named for the origination point Rice Canyon) has grown to more than 8000 acres.  A new fire is being battled in the Camp Pendleton area, it is now known as the Horno Fire.

Interstate 5 has been closed Northbound at Mission Avenue and Southbound may now be open.  This fire is problematic due to the nearness of San Onofre Nuclear plant.  The military has deployed it's fire assets, and they are extremely good at battling fires.  Living so close to Camp Pendleton a fire seems to break out there weekly, and it is usually out before the end of the day.  A major power line runs through the area that is affected, and they are on top of the fire.

The latest on the fire here is that evacuations are in place for all of Fallbrook and now the community of Bonsall is being evacuated- North of the 76, San Luis Rey Heights.  I am watching the fire closely up here as we are now very close to Bonsall as the crow flies...

Unfortunately I am going to have to leave the house to assist Granddad at the hospital.  I am concerned about being away from my wife and daughter.  I don't want to be away if they get evacuated.  I had tried to get my wife to head out of town yesterday with Granddad and my daughter, but she wasn't ready to leave.  Perhaps, that was a blessing in disguise as we were close to the hospital for Granddad.  I just don't want to get cut off...

Lot's of prayers today.

I had to rush off to the hospital to have Granddad looked at, chest pain, breathing problems, so off to Tri-City Hospital...now I have returned.  He is under observation, and they are not suspecting heart trouble, he may well have coughed too hard and strained something, more tests tomorrow.  I am now at home...

Updates most recent from San Diego Emergency Services:

10-23-07 6:00 p.m. Countywide Fire Map

10-23-07 Safe cleanup of ash

10-23-07 5:28 p.m. County offices, libraries, parks closures

10-23-07 D.A. warns against looting

Due to the Rice Canyon Fire in northeastern San Diego County there have now been announced evacuations in the Camp Pendleton area:

The following housing complexes are being evacuated:
        De Luz
        Serra Mesa
        
Trying to get more information on these evacuations....

Here is the most recent link to the county's evacuations mandatory and voluntary: 

10-23-07 3:15 p.m. Countywide Fire Map

My understanding is that there is no containment on the fire east of us, known as the Rice Fire, and they have limited resources to throw at it...

Here are the most recent updates from the San Diego County Emergency Center, including the most recent evacuation map:

10-23-07 12:15 p.m. Countywide Fire Map

10-23-07 Coping With Stress of Natural Disasters

10-23-07, 10:26 a.m. Fairbanks Ranch evacuations

10-23-07, 9:13 a.m

For those exiting Fallbrook and Bonsall a make-shift evacuation center has been set-up at the Towne Center Plaza, at the junction of College Blvd. and Highway 76.

There will certainly be questions of gas price spikes, already at $3.09 yesterday they have jumped to $3.19.



I am unsure what transpired here but there were four police cruisers that had pulled this truck over. Fallbrook is under mandatory evacuations...could this truck be coming from there, loaded with loot?


This is the view of Sleeping Indian Road facing north...

Here is the intersection from where the above picture was taken.

This is the backside of Sleeping Indian, recall that this is the hill we have a view of from our balcony.

This view is loooking downhill on Sleeping Indian, the view is of part of the Fallbrook area.


After coming down the hill I decided to go as far east as I could. Two miles down Highway 76 at the one-stop-light intersection in Bonsall. The Sheriffs department had all of us blocked. No where to go, except back via the San Luis Rey Golf Course...

The golf ourse is San Luis Rey Downs, I belong to the men's club, and there really people playing! Can you imagine, playing with a mask.

The hood of my Ford Expedition is covered (as everything here is) in ash.


This view is looking southeast of our home, and upper corner you can barely make out the sun. It is mid-morning and one would expect lots of sun and clear sky.

This is a shot of our home in Oceanside.

The air is getting heavy as the ash and smoke have settled in around here. I am trying to convince my wife to go to Los Angeles to stay with family for the sake of our daughter and her Grandfather (heart and respiratory problems).

Here is the latest from San Diego County Emergency Center. There is a site for large animals, here is the Bosall-Oceanside area that is good news.

10-23-07, 9:13 a.m. Horse evacuations

10-23-07, 9:04 a.m. Clinics open

New report that the fires are causing evacuation orders for Deer Springs Road west of the Interstate 15...

New map is at San Diego Emergency Services....reverse 911 call going out to 3900 residents...

10-23-07 5:30 a.m. Countywide Fire Map

I am unable to get the map up, server problems...

Warnings for stress on the power lines today, we are all being asked to reduce power consumption.  The weather is said to be hotter today than yesterday...and there was a main power line somewhere that is down...

My wife has employees in the Orange County, so here is a link to the Orange County Fire Agency:

http://www.ocfa.org/ocfamain.asp?pgn1=3

Our prayers are with everyone in Southern California, especially for those who are fighting these nightmarish fires...

The fire started as 20-30 acres, now as much as 15,800 acres burned, source is reported as ARSON...

Here are the most recent links from San Diego County emergency services:

 

10-23-07, 5:13 a.m. Countywide Fire Update

10-23-07 3:55 a.m. Countywide Fire Update

10-23-07 12:48 a.m. Countywide Fire Map

10-22-07, 8:36 p.m. Latest Countywide Fire Map

10-22-07, 8:36 p.m. Countywide Fire Update # 25


If anyone has questions/comments please email me at ejadding@cox.net or ejadding@gmail.com.

The best evacuation map and potential evacuations from San Diego County Emergency Services at this link.  While looking at the map we are in the upper reaches of San Diego County, near what has been deemed the Rice Fire.  The evacuation zone does not quite reach us, and there are several farms and green zones between our home and the fire.  When you look at the map, resizeable, we are at Vandegrift, the very large expanse to our north is Camp Pendleton.

We have had power all day and night, and I think that is my greatest fear at this point.  The fire is far enough away to not pose a threat, but I have filmed our rooms, loaded our Ford Explorer with camping supplies, and packed our most important papers.  Several of our neighbors have left town just as a precaution, they and their children have asthma.  Our cul-de-sac still has 2/3 of its inhabitants.  I will be keeping an eye on the news and updates as the day proceeds, as the weather today is just as bad as yesterday.  So far no sighting of fire, my sister in-law called last night from El Cajon, south and east of us, and they could see the flames from their home.  We have offered them shelter if it became necessary.

I guess the thing that I am unsure of is where the heck we would go if we had to evacuate.  It just seems strange to be thinking of abandoning our home.  I kind of want to send the wife and kid off, and stay to battle the flames, if it became necessary.  The other thing that concerns me would be the potential for looters.  It does seem kind of weird that some of the nicest neighborhoods have been the most affected.

Malibu, Rancho Santa Fe, Encinitas, Del Mar all evacuated...but the size of the fires here in San Diego are so huge, make that HUGE, that it has affected every economic social strata.  I have heard of multi-million dollar homes that are nothing but ash, and similarly there have been mobile home parks suffering the same fate.  I am working on a few pictures that I took yesterday...