Fires

[Ohio Buckeye]

Are any of our people close to the fires around the country?
I hope not.  They showed pictures of smoky California on the news.

[okarol]

The fires are north of us, nothing local so far, but the temps are near 90, so it's definitely a concern.

From the news:
Santa Barbara Thursday became the 11th California county to be placed under a state of emergency due to wildfires that have burned more than 505,000 acres.
The county became the newest and southernmost front in the ongoing war against 1,781 fires burning as far north as the Oregon border.

The blaze near Big Sur is one of more than 1,100 wildfires, mostly ignited by lightning, that have scorched more than 770 square miles and destroyed 64 homes and buildings across northern and central California since June 20, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

[Sluff]

I'm a little concerned for our California members. Those fires keep jumping the boundaries.

[twirl]

I hope fire works are off limits for California
be careful
and carry a big jug of water

[Sunny]

We've had 3 major fires in Santa Cruz County (CA) where I live this season.
Last week-end one of them was two freeway exits South of us and we were very worried. Firefighters from all over Norther Cal were here to
help and did an excellent job of putting out the fire before it spread. About ten houses burned down. Fireworks have been banned.
We had a thick layer of ashes on everything for about a week because it would catch the wind. There were a few days when the sky
turned an eerie yellow color because of particles in the atmosphere. Right now the Big Sur fire in Monterey County (South of us) is out of control and
they had to evacuate. It is sparsely populated so nobody has been injured. Let's hope things get better soon.

[paris]

When we were visiting AlohaBeth, much of the area was obscured with smoke. She said Everygreen Lodge has ash on it daily. She called a couple of days ago to say the fire had jumped the river and is now 2 miles from the Lodge. They do have fire hydrants and they now have hoses hooked up and ready. They have an evacuation plan in place.  My concern is that there are more people there than there are vehicles and the Lodge sits at the end of a 7 mile road, which is the only way out.  Beth has her important papers, etc packed, ready to grab. Air quality is horrible and people are having trouble breathing.  She assures me everything is fine. BUT, I am a Mom, and it is my job to worry!   I am doing a rain dance for California

[kitkatz]

The smoke was bad for a day up where we vacationed, then the coastal eddies blew it off the area and the weather and air was much better.  There was a thick layer of smoke to the north of Winsdor, CA where we were staying. No fires close to us though. Ukiah has it bad.

[kitkatz]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080727/ts_nm/yosemite_fire_dc


The Yosemite area outside the park is on fire. 

[paris]

AlohaBeth,  PLEASE come back to North Carolina!!      She called last night.  The sky is bright orange and ash is falling like snow.  Several local employees can't make it to work at the lodge because they are being evacuated. Beth has her things ready to go if they need to.  Her brother is ready to buy her a plane ticket to bring her home.  He worries about his baby sister as much as I do.    Kitkatz, thanks for the article.  We aren't getting much info here, so I keep searching for any news.    How are other Californians doing?  Stay safe.

[okarol]

I hope Beth is safe and the fire can be contained.