San Diego Fires

The scene today about six miles away from my home.

For those concerned about the San Diego fires, you will be pleased to know that I am safe. The area where I live, off of Freeway 15 in Rancho Penasquitos, is on the edge of a dangerous area that is very vulnerable to fires. However, my home is in no immediate danger.

Since the fire is so unpredictable I have to be prepared for the worst and I have good reason to. It is scary that I am on the very edge of the evacuation area. Only one block north and one block east everyone has been ordered to evacuate. So far around 500,000 people have been evacuated and we are lucky for now. Probably half of my neighbors have already fled. Those of us who stayed are looking out for each other.

The smell of smoke is very strong. There is quite a bit of ash on my balcony and near my windows which I had open yesterday. That was a big mistake! Amazingly the sun is making it through the haze which is a good sign, but when watching videos from areas where reporters were covering raging fires, they experienced the same condition.

I am now almost fully packed and ready to go at a moments notice. I will take my computer if evacuated so I wont lose any data.

The situation is very tense because the fire is raging out of control and cannot be stopped with these high Santa Ana winds. Due to these winds our aircraft have not been able to contribute to the firefighting efforts as much as they could, but unlike the 2003 fire, this time San Diego did not send the bulk of its assets up north only to find that the fire spread down here as well. About 1,000 firetrucks from northern California are on the way down to pitch in.

In 2003 the big object of concern was the flammability of shingle rooftops. This time everyone is pointing out how eucalyptus trees are quick to catch fire. I think that in the future you are going to find a lot less of these trees in Southern California just like shingle rooftops have went the way of the dodo bird... At least in neighborhoods vulnerable to fire.

Thank you for checking in to see if I’m OK.

Update: 10/23 6:54pm PDT

Things have dramatically improved for the city of San Diego. Residents just east of me in Scripps Ranch have been allowed back in their homes. You may recall that this neighborhood was hit really hard in the 2003 fires. The community lost the most homes in that disaster, a total of 343. This time only a small portion of the city limits has been damaged. Unfortunately, the fire still rages in almost all directions; north, east and south.




I am proud to say that the reaction to this fire is dramatically better when compared to the 2003 debacle. None of the confusion that we had last time was in evidence. The Governor immediately came to San Diego and was not combative like the Davis Administration. Governor Davis and his staff took serious offense to our local Congressman, Duncan Hunter, who criticized his slow allocation of federal resources and his bureaucratic attitude. Basically Hunter had secured some C-130 firefighting aircraft from the military and all Davis had to do was ask for them, yet Davis refused.

The Director of the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, Dallas Jones, sarcastically remarked that Hunter was “all wet”... Now lets take a deep breath here. This is not a partisan attack on Davis. I voted against the recall election that targeted him. He should have completed the term of office that he was elected for, instead of falling victim to the power-grab of that special election. I will admit that his handling of the energy crisis and California’s budget problems was lackluster, but he is not the only person that deserves blame. Regardless, the reaction of his office to the disaster in 2003 was miserable.

Right off the bat it was incongruous of Jones to say that Hunter was “all wet”. That was the problem to begin with. He wasn’t all wet. The man lost his home and everything except an old station wagon in that fire. I saw Congressman Hunter in a press conference yesterday during the height of the emergency and he is hardly the political sideshow hack that Davis painted him out to be. Although the speaker gave Hunter a friendly introduction and the opportunity to use his time in front of the media to promote himself, Hunter was all business. He said what he needed to and allowed public officials to continue their dissemination of vital disaster information. Hunter didn’t take the opportunity to campaign or even pull at the public’s heartstrings, despite the fact that the speaker introduced him as a victim of last year’s fire. This is why Hunter will not win the presidency. He is a public servant that puts his job before his political ambitions.

Anyways, I’d like to thank the firefighters who are still battling the blaze in 90-degree temperatures against 1,000-degree flames. They have cleared fire control lines, set backburn fires to redirect the flames away from inhabited areas and made heroic stands to defend individual homes. Firefighters have come down from Sacramento and Camp Pendleton, despite the fact that the fire has reached the Marine base.

Our authorities have done a fantastic job protecting our lives and property. The backwards 911 system has worked almost flawlessly. When a neighborhood needs to be evacuated our emergency services call each home to give them the warning. This has doubtlessly saved many lives and only two are confirmed dead so far. Such procedures are especially important because this fire is much larger than the 2003 disaster, which killed 15 people in San Diego County. (Note: the NY Times has erroneously stated that the 2003 fire was bigger. They included the total acreage burned by all 15 fires during the 2003 Firestorm. These were separate fires throughout California.)

San Diego has pulled together. Volunteers and donations have been pouring into our biggest shelter, Qualcomm Stadium. So many donations were received that authorities declared that no further donations are needed unless requested. Although I have been thoroughly dissatisfied with Governor Schwarzenegger and wont be voting for him in the next election, I have to admit that he is much more effective than the hapless Governor Davis. Military C-130s have already arrived to fight the fires.

My thoughts go out to those who are still in danger as I write. Thanks to everyone who has pitched in!