I have friends in this area who invited us to stay with them when our home in Northern Cal was threatened. Now, we are offering them refuge. Worst year ever, and still going strong. Sheesh…
The GOP will be helping by passing a tax bill that eliminates casualty-loss deductions for wildfires and earthquakes. Our state needs to dump a few more GOP Representatives.
For those outside of California – fire season is usually done with by early November. We should be getting some rain by now. Bone dry here in San Diego.
We didn’t draw the short straw this year on fires, but the next fire is only a matter of time. In just the last 15 years, the county had fires that ranked 1st and 7th by size in California (since accurate records began in 1932). The current fire in the Ventura/Santa Barbara area ranks 3rd, but probably will be the largest by the time it burns out.
Trump: the solution is simple – we just ban the word “wildfire.” Hey presto – no more wildfires!
I don’t miss this time of year in California. We were only under the threat of evacuation twice in the 30 plus years we lived in Orange County but the potential damage from the Santa Ana winds was always unnerving.
My sister, who is a police officer in Ventura, says that 1009 structures have been destroyed and 250 were damaged and another 18,000 are at risk. My niece in Santa Barbara is under mandatory evacuation orders.
The causes of these fires, and the ones in Northern California, are still under investigation.
Why can’t I shake this feeling that they were started purposely by people who really don’t like California and its voters?
OK, OK, conspiratorial, I know. But in light of what’s going on in this poor country in the last two years . . . I can’t shake the thought.
Cousins in Santa Barbara live near a preserve on the cliffs not too far from Hendry’s beach. Do you know if that area was evacuated? Thanks.
Many fires in CA are started as a result of lack of maintenance by power companies.
No, Susan, I don’t know where my niece lives – she’s a community college student. My sister, whose name is also Susan, says that the 101 is shutdown on the north bound side north of Venture. Southbound is open to permit evacuations.
My sister says the fire is 40% contained.
She had to evacuate for the fire in Ventura – some of the houses in her neighborhood were burned.
The vegetation is super dry – anything can set it off, e.g., a spark. Most of them start by accident – we have always had fires but it’s really severe now.
Thanks. Just heard that cousins are packed and ready to leave if mandatory order comes through. Hope your niece is safe.
“When the sundowners surface in that area and the fire starts running down slopes, you are not going to stop it,” Mark Brown with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said at a news conference. “And we are not going to stand in front of it and put firefighters in untenable situations.”
That’s right. My thoughts are with the poor lost firefighter, the lost horses and other animals, the families and friends of those who have perished and with all who have lost their homes during this belated fire season. So, so, very heartbreaking.
We evacuated this morning from Montecito and are now taking refuge in Solvang. The Hendry’s Beach area appears to be safe, neither being classified by the fire authorities as a mandatory nor voluntary evacuation area.
Thank you. Hope all goes well for you.
My thoughts are with all of you who are having to run from the fires. What a hot mess to rain down and during the holidays. But you do have Solvang. I hope you find some comfort there.
Have they determined how California is fires were started?