Here in Camarillo (between Santa Barbara and Los Angeles), we could see the huge, dark cloud of smoke descend on us. It was kind of sureal.

The Santa Ana winds are the worse I've seen, and I've lived here over 30 yrs.

Many trees down (one smashed a nice Mustang car right in front of me in the parking lot...No occupants)... Trees blocking the road to my work this morning.

Now, the wind is still in high gear, and the air is smokey... The sky goes from dark to hazey-light, and sometimes look like Mars.

There's something kind of exciting about it all... like we're in some sort of apocalyptic movie... I would NOT want to be a fireman today.

Hold on, there seems to be some commotion from the cemetery next door... It sounds as if my office is being surrounded by... something.
There are soft, pounding thuds all around me.

A quick glance outside reveals pretty much what I feared. I should have paid more attention to the previous zombie article.
They seem pretty slow... Wonder if I can make ot to my truck.

Hope to type more la.. Cripes, they're inside!...

So far we've been lucky. Closest fire is 15 miles from where I live. (Knock on wood, cuz there's a lot of brush around.). One fire was arson.

it's bad here. im in the city of san diego, but i live up in north county. i have friends who have been evacuated, and there are so many people who have had to leave their homes. it's terrible. many people are evacuating to Qualcomm Stadium. I'm going over there now to drop some things off. While I'm there I'll ask what they are asking for as far as more donations...

I wonder if the fires in Greece were just a test for trying it here.

Religion of Peace (and Arson)?

Will libs in California refuse the help of soldiers looking to help with the fires?

hey jim,

thanks for posting that up there. the number of displaced persons has been reported as high as 250,000. but i need to look around more to verify that...that is the number that many reports are using.

i do know that the local news has placed the number of people at Qualcomm at around 7,000 people so far. I just got back from there, and there are so many people there.

there are hundreds of people who are donating things, helping to unload, and just being amazing. piles of water, food, clothes, blankets. it's great to see. the police, national guard (i think they were national guard), and everyday civilians are all coming together and working hard to help out.

companies like Ikea and Costco have donated as well. Local restaurants too.

These fires are devastating. But in the midst of all that, it's really great to see how many people are willing to step in and help out those who have lost so much.

I was in the Oakland Firestorm of 1991, so my heart really goes out to all the folks who are losing their homes.

Pray for the Santa Anas to die down.

ryan a ~ Thank YOU for keeping us updated. I heard on the news that the 250,000 is the number of residents authorities recommended evacuate . . . I hope most took the advice. Fires like this move so fast that many may not get a second chance if it turns their way.

jim,

ya, that number sounds about right for the number of people that have been told they SHOULD leave. the good news, from what i hear, is that most people are listening to police and firefighters when they say it's time to go.

the evacuation area is HUGE. huge. i went back to the stadium again tonight to drop off some more things and arrange to help tomorrow. so many families are there, trying to build a semblance of home in the parking lots and walkways inside the stadium. it's been a LONG day for those people.

the donations are absolutely amazing though. and the national guard and police are doing a good job of getting everything more organized.

even though my home is safe, it was a long day. close friends were displaced, and since i grew up around here there are many more who are potentially in danger. i was glued to the news all day today, when i was supposed to be writing papers for classes. kinda hard to concentrate in times like this...

Fires like this move so fast that many may not get a second chance if it turns their way.

ya, my good friend told me that his neighbor tried to head back out to her house and get some more things, but had to turn back because it was too dangerous. she also told him that the fires were just above his place when she last saw it. needless to say, he's really worried...especially since there's really no way to find out anything about his house at this point. and that's just one story.

hopefully these damn winds calm down. that's what everyone really needs. i'll try to drop in and give you some updates tomorrow.

We should start by putting those enviromentalists wackos on their fires