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You are here: Home / Climate Change / Wildfires / Fire Check-in for Our California Peeps

Reader Interactions

131Comments

  3. 3.

    BigJimSlade

    We’re not sure about my mom’s house, but she is safe at my brother’s. I’m at a friend’s house with the kitty (my wife is out of town visiting family). We’ve heard our place is still ok, even though the palisades fire started maybe a mile away as the crow flies. It would have to back track up the canyon against the wind to get to our group of townhouses. So far we’ve been lucky, but it was crazy how quickly it spread and multiplied

  4. 4.

    Ksmiami

    Here in the South bay. Everything is fine but I’m so sorry for the victims. It’s gray out from the fire clouds, not regular clouds.

  5. 5.

    Hungry Joe

    Here in San Diego we’re on alert: 72 degrees, wind picking up, humidity 17 percent. Go Bags are packed.

    Nothing happening anywhere near us, but when things do happen, they happen fast. During the Cedar fire a decade-plus back, a friend in Scripps Ranch (a neighborhood of San Diego) was awakened by a firefighter pounding on her front door. He said, “Grab your car keys and GO!” She said, “I’ll just get my — “ He said, “No! Car keys. GO!” She lost everything but the car and the clothes she was wearing.

  6. 6.

    surfk9

    Mrs Surfk9 and I are supposed to pull our trailer down to San Diego this Sunday and stay for two weeks. Normally we would go down HWY 5 to 210 and then down 15 to San Diego. 5 does not look doable as the fire is right by the Junction with Hwy 14. Hwy 1 and 101 do not look good because of Pallisades fires. We could do Hwy 5 to 138 and go through Antelope valley to HWY 15 if the fire does not spread north to the 138 junction. This is not good, I wanna see the grandkids

  7. 7.

    dmsilev

    I’m near the Eaton fire, though outside the evacuation zone. I have a bunch of friends and coworkers who have bugged out though; talked with one (along with his family and pet) sheltering here on campus.

    Outside the fire zone, we’re dealing with lots of smoke and ash in the air (good thing we all have boxes of N95s…) and many trees down. Some neighbors and I spent an hour or so last night removing a tree that fell off our property into the road and partially blocked an intersection. I’ve seen full size trees blocking roads, and branches down everywhere. Big big mess, even without the whole “stuff burning down” part.

  9. 9.

    laura

    Roadie brother the elder has checked in from Van Nuys with the all clear for now. UCLA is holding classes, so the family treasure is off at school. Fingers crossed for all our SoCal friends, family and neighbors.

  11. 11.

    dmsilev

    One of my minions who does live in the evacuation zone reported seeing 15 or more overturned semi trailers on the highway as he and his wife bugged out for safer ground.

  19. 19.

    Trollhattan

    Am well to the north of it all, and can only provide a “why” as to current conditions in the middle of winter.

    droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?CA

    Not presented on the drought map showing most of the south state in moderate drought is the prior two wet years, which provide fuel for the current conflagrations. The infamous Santa Ana winds (strong, dry, offshore) ensure any small blaze in the wrong area will become large to huge in a scant few hours. They were said to hit 100 mph yesterday.

  20. 20.

    VFX Lurker

    Lost power for 6 hours last night. Woke up with power but no broadband Internet. I installed Watch Duty on my phone for volunteer-driven updates from govt sources.

    I’m not in an evac location zone just yet, though the edge of the Eaton evacuation zone is about 10 miles East of me.

    Hoping everyone else is safe.

  21. 21.

    Trollhattan

    Thank god for the moment we have a president who will provide federal emergency relief and not withhold it to “make a point.” Leave that asshole and his rake in Florida.

  23. 23.

    FelonyGovt

    In the South Bay and all is ok so far, just smoke and ash and awful wind. An acquaintance in Santa Monica had to evacuate and my daughter’s work colleague has lost his home.

  24. 24.

    Jackie

    @Trollhattan:

    Thank god for the moment we have a president who will provide federal emergency relief and not withhold it to “make a point.”

    Or withhold emergency relief because “they” didn’t vote for him.

    Right on cue, TCFG is blaming Newcom for the fires…

  26. 26.

    FastEdD

    100 miles north of me, but we’re on alert. Almost lost our house in 2012.

    California-I still love this place.

  29. 29.

    Almost Retired

    @Ksmiami: I’m in the South Bay, too.  Super smoky, but the winds have died down, at least here.  I have quite a few friends and colleagues who have evacuated, but no one has lost a home yet to my knowledge.

  30. 30.

    Scout211

    Thank you for this thread, WaterGirl. We all worry about our fellow jackals at times like this.

    According to Watch Duty, the Palisades Fire is 11,802 acres and 0% containment. The Eaton Fire is 10,600 acres and 0% contained.

    NBC reports two deaths.

    Hoping for the best for all the jackals and SoCal residents affected.

    CalFire (and LAFD) are now back in the air so that’s a positive.

  31. 31.

    martha

    @VFX Lurker: I’m in Colorado, and I’ve found Watch Duty to be really helpful, unfortunately. Very unnerving when the notification sounds, but it’s better to know. It also steered us around two big fires in Wyoming this Fall.

  32. 32.

    princess leia

    @Jackie: One of the local stations had Rick Caruso (billionaire) criticizing Newsom, so they have their orders. He is looking at a run at governor, and is willing to change political affiliation depending on where the $ might be.

  33. 33.

    EmbraceYourInnerCrone

    @Trollhattan: Yeah, the malignant Orange foolius is blaming Governor Newsom because governors can magically change droughts and stop the Santa Ana’s from blowing.

  34. 34.

    Old Man Shadow

    Safe, we’re about an hour to ninety minutes (by driving) from the fires. Air quality is bad, but otherwise things are normal.

    Not a super religious man, but fire plus up to 100 mph winds last night had me praying and thinking about how apocalyptic things could get.

    I’m not up on which charities are moving in to help and which ones are problematic, but I imagine World Central Kitchen will be here soon if they aren’t already… probably Red Cross too… someone who has time maybe could put together a list of good places to donate.

  35. 35.

    dmsilev

    @Old Man Shadow:

    I’m not up on which charities are moving in to help and which ones are problematic, but I imagine World Central Kitchen will be here soon if they aren’t already

    According to the LA Times, they’re already here and handing out food.

  37. 37.

    Sister Golden Bear

    @surfk9: I would stick to taking the 5 to the 138 to the 15, and then 215, which will be a little shorter. 138 should be OK since it’s upwind of the fires. However, if a wildfire breaks out near the Cajon Pass, you might need to detour further.

    I’m in NorCal, so safe up here. Thanks to all the rain we’ve had (which missed SoCal) our fire danger is low.

  38. 38.

    Sister Golden Bear

    Watch Duty, which is also available as an app, is a great source of info—often ahead of official announcements since they use volunteers who monitor radio traffic. It’s a must-have if you’re a Californian living anywhere near a potential wildfire area, e.g. pretty much the whole state.

    They’re a non-profit and you can used it for free, but it’s useful enough that I got their voluntary $25/year membership to help support them.

  39. 39.

    Sister Golden Bear

    @Jackie: He’s blaming Newsom for not diverting huge amounts of water from NorCal to LA (something, something, ginormous faucets turned off…). Nevermind that it’s not like we can set up massive sprinkler systems across tens of thousands of acres of wildlands.

  40. 40.

    comrade scotts agenda of rage

    @EmbraceYourInnerCrone:

    Orange Foolious, good one.

    I can’t stand Newsom (although he did gain brownie points in standing by Biden this past summer) and dread his run for presidency in 28 but jfc, how can this be laid at his doorstep?

    Okay, we know the answer to that: the right will simply make up shit and repeat it ad-nasuem.  But has anybody seen what the made-up shit is?

  41. 41.

    Scout211

    @Sister Golden Bear: Watch Duty covers most of the Western states but only California has the Alert cameras attached to the fire information and maps.

    This past summer I was shocked that there were so many spot fires all around me (I’m in Calaveras County) that were contained rapidly by CalFire and local Fire Departments. Without the Watch Duty alert notifications I would never had known there were fires near me. And as we see now in SoCal, when the wind picks up, fires can explode in size. So I was really glad I had the app.

  42. 42.

    Sister Golden Bear

    @Old Man Shadow:

    Not a super religious man, but fire plus up to 100 mph winds last night had me praying and thinking about how apocalyptic things could get.

    A few years ago, one of the Santa Rosa fires with similar windspeeds had embers blowing a mile ahead of the main fire, and the fire itself moved so fast they found animals burned to death that were still standing where they died, i.e. they were caught so quickly they didn’t even have time to hunker down. Apocalyptic didn’t even begin to describe it.

  43. 43.

    Trollhattan

    @Jackie: @EmbraceYourInnerCrone:

    Good lord, he is and it’s even thinner “thinking” than usual.

    In a Truth Social post, President-elect Donald Trump blamed the fires on Newsom not signing a “water restoration declaration” that he said would have allowed the state to preserve water resources. The governor’s office called it “pure fiction.”

    “He wanted to protect an essentially worthless fish called a smelt, by giving it less water (it didn’t work!), but didn’t care about the people of California,” Trump wrote. “Now the ultimate price is being paid.”

    Uh, wut?

  44. 44.

    dlwchico

    @Hungry Joe: In the Camp Fire a friend of my mom’s was in her house sitting on the toilet when she felt heat on her back.

    She looked out the bathroom window and saw fire.  Got up, shouting for her husband that they had to go.

    She got in their big camper van and he got in their car and they took off.

    She said she looked in the rear view mirror and saw the garage she just pulled out of was already on fire.

  46. 46.

    Trollhattan

    @Sister Golden Bear:

    CA101 was their impregnable firebreak, until the day is no longer was. Boggled.

    A few years later when we were delivering Runner Girl to her uni dorm for freshman year, we saw fire in the upper edges of American Canyon north of I-80. On the trip home that fire had marched down the hill, jumped 80 and marched south from there, spreading east and west, even closing all but critical functions at Travis AFB. Our 90-minute drive became 5 or 6 hours meandering the farm roads and Delta before we could get home.

    And it wasn’t windy!

  47. 47.

    Kathleen

    Glad to hear your family is safe, WaterGirl.

    I hope the BJ contingent in the danger zones stay safe and unharmed. Praying for everyone, especially first responders.

  49. 49.

    raven

    @dlwchico: My friends in Paradise had two cars so they jumped in them and tried to flee. They got bogged down and decided to get in one car so they could die together. They lived and rebuilt.

  50. 50.

    karen gail

    Trump and minions have no clue just how big California is or the number of different water districts that exist.

    Before the railroads Los Angeles was small desert community; not only is it still desert but being surrounded by mountains it is hard to get water to the area. I am thankful that I have never experienced the Santa Ana winds at 100mph, I so know that firefighters are taking their lives into danger by fighting fires in such conditions.
    Personally, I think California would be better off succeeding from US; seems like every GOP politician wants to blame California for problems. I still remember growing up with hearing I had lived in land of “fruits and nuts” and wasn’t to be trusted.

  51. 51.

    karen gail

    @Trollhattan: There are no real firebreaks when the wind is that high; I have no idea how wide a firebreak it would take to stop fire driven by high winds like they have seen the last couple of days. This is the equivalent of a hurricane driving fire rather than rain.

  52. 52.

    VFX Lurker

    @karen gail: Personally, I think California would be better off succeeding from US; seems like every GOP politician wants to blame California for problems. I still remember growing up with hearing I had lived in land of “fruits and nuts” and wasn’t to be trusted.

    I have no problem with California succeeding. We rock!

    I do have a problem with my state seceding. For one thing, all of my assets are in United States currency. Plus, we’d have a hostile military along our border. Plus water concerns.

    I’d rather stay and make MAGA miserable.

  54. 54.

    Trollhattan

    @karen gail:

    It’s tough. The Franklin Fire that hit Malibu in December destroyed some homes and buildings, nothing like the current one.

    The fire map shows it entering a bit of Pepperdine U but mostly encircling it. I’ve been there and they have prepped campus well, including a couple large ponds in a well-mown green space, which can be used by firefighting helis to refill their tanks rather than returning to an airfield.

    earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/153722/franklin-fire-leaves-its-mark-on-malibu

    New construction in the Berkeley Hills after that infamous fire is far different than before. Some lessons are learned slowly (including no more eucalyptus).

  55. 55.

    feebog

    Checking in from North San Fernando Valley.  The Hurst fire is nearest to us.  Last alert had it at over 700 acres and zero containment.  We are packed and ready to evacuate if necessary.  However, winds are expected to decrease considerably this evening.  The worst is the Pacific Palisades fire, absolutely devastating.  The fire in Altadena/Pasadena has also destroyed a lot of homes and businesses.

  56. 56.

    sempronia

    I grew up in Pasadena and have a lot of family and friends in the area, including the foothills. They’ve all evacuated, and at least one has lost a house. The fires are throwing embers a crazy distance. There was a small fire (couple acres) last night in Pasadena that was believed to be a spot fire from the big Eaton fire, three miles north. And I was hearing of fires starting overnight SOUTH of Huntington Drive too. Even my relatives in South Pasadena are under evacuation warning. They decided to leave for Vegas today without waiting for an official order. Apparently several blocks around the Rose Bowl are ablaze, so it may be coming down the Arroyo. I can’t really find any good updated fire maps.

  57. 57.

    sempronia

    On the bright side, the Getty Villa in Malibu seems to be weathering this with collections intact. They are very well defended against fire.

  58. 58.

    karen gail

    @VFX Lurker: Spelling has always been a weak point for me. Dad bought me a dictionary to help me spell, but even a thesaurus didn’t always help; sadly, spell check doesn’t help when can’t come close.
    What Trump and minions have also forgotten is the military bases in California. I didn’t realize just how stupid all these people are, who are about to be in control of government, but then they bought that raked forests didn’t have fires.

  61. 61.

    karen gail

    @Ruviana: I blame the idiots who thought it was a good idea to build housing in “wilderness.” People want to live in wooded area, yet they don’t build with fire resistant materials, no they build with materials that go up quickly. They plant “fuel” up against homes and wonder why embers blown into yard burn.
    Had a friend who wanted house in middle of woods that contained a lot of pines; they built with concrete shingles and siding, the outer frame was built with steel and while it was well insulated and had wooden inside walls everything exposed was “highly fire resistant” it cost them a little more but were pleasantly surprised to find out their insurance was cheaper than neighbors. One fourth of July fireworks caught the woods on fire, their house was the only one left standing; even boat was safe in garage. Stopped by to see them after, they were power washing soot off.
    People want fancy homes, in woods but ignore possibility of fire.

  63. 63.

    Super Dave

    My sister-in-law lives just west of JPL in La Canada. She’s in Mammoth Lakes right now, so she’s safe, but she already has friends in Altadena who have lost their homes. The fireline at last check was about a mile from her home. She couldn’t get to her home anyway since major highways are closed. Hoping for the best. Like many, she has decades of memories in her home. She has her cat, Huck, with her in Mammoth.

  64. 64.

    Sister Golden Bear

    @karen gail:

    There are no real firebreaks when the wind is that high; I have no idea how wide a firebreak it would take to stop fire driven by high winds like they have seen the last couple of days.

    The only firebreak that works under those conditions is the Pacific Ocean. I’m not being snarky, it actually was the only thing that stopped a number of past wildfires in the Santa Monica Mountains.

  65. 65.

    Melancholy Jaques

    I’m in West LA. The sky was dark gray & brown this morning; now there is a thin gray haze. Most of what I see online is hours old.

  66. 66.

    Mj_Oregon

    My daughter lost her home to the Eaton fire in Altadena this morning.  She just sent me a text with a photo showing it burning.
    Thankfully they’d self evacuated at 3am yesterday morning because of the winds and loss of electricity and they had go-bags ready to go.  You never really think when you evacuate that there’ll be nothing left when you go back.

  67. 67.

    karen gail

    @Sister Golden Bear: I know you aren’t being snarky; once the Santa Anas kick up all one can do is run.
    A few years ago part of northern Minnesota caught fire; since there were only a few small communities between the fire and Lake Superior the decision was made to do back burns around those communities and hope the strong dry winds wouldn’t send more embers than local could handle. I don’t remember how long it had been since it had rained, what I do remember was the biggest marshes were dry or nearly dry. The fires burned until they reached the Lake and finally died; they got the people out, most large animals were able to flee; but as one elder said “man is nothing compared to power of Nature.”

  68. 68.

    Wapiti

    @karen gail: After fire went through and destroyed a large part of Paradise, CA, I went and looked at the google map street view “before” pictures. Almost every lot had several pine trees near the house.

    Having said that, I can’t imagine living in the Central Valley with no shade. But I guess it should be metal or, perhaps, solar panels.

  69. 69.

    Sister Golden Bear

    @karen gail:

    Had a friend who wanted house in middle of woods that contained a lot of pines; they built with concrete shingles and siding, the outer frame was built with steel and while it was well insulated and had wooden inside walls everything exposed was “highly fire resistant” it cost them a little more but were pleasantly surprised to find out their insurance was cheaper than neighbors.

    There’s a reason the rough-cut “wood” siding of the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite is actually made concrete stained to look like redwood, and the rest of is steel and granite.

  72. 72.

    MTCinVA

    Moved to CA from VA about a year and a half ago and having been in both hurricanes and Santa Ana winds, I would take the hurricanes over this.  Am now in Burbank and are thankfully safe, but in the middle of 4 fires to the west, east, and north, so keeping a close eye on the news.  Agree with everyone who recommended the Watch Duty app…it’s a little disconcerting with how frequently the alerts come through, but it does give a better sense of the steps that are being taken to fight the fires and the resources available to those having to evacuate.  Stay safe everyone and please pray that the high winds end soon.

  73. 73.

    UncleEbeneezer

    We are safe at a friends but 99% sure that our house burned down along with te vast majority of the city we love of Altadena.  We can’t even get back up there to confirm but every indicator is that our whole development of cottages was wiped out.  We are stunned, devastated, scared and trying to figure what the hell to do.  There are places like All Saints taking people in for anyone who needs them.  But many are already full.  It looks like the Apocalypse or a war zone.  Not fun…

  74. 74.

    Will

    @WaterGirl: I understand it’s unfortunate circumstances for Karen and it has only been a day, but voters tend to punish these sort of inconvenient moments. Luke Ravenstahl’s political career was pretty much over after Pittsburgh got two feet of snow and he was out of town partying hours away at a resort for some sort of bash.

    People will be upset and want to blame someone, and the easiest place to place blame is on a leader half way around the world.

  75. 75.

    Interstadial

    @Wapiti: The Camp Fire was also driven by high winds.  Buildings were the main fuel.  Over large areas of the town the flames roared through nearly horizontally under the pines, with some pines actually surviving while the buildings nearby burned.

    Claims by Trumpers that the town burned because of pine needles negligently left on a rooftops ignored the fact that the winds that morning almost certainly swept the rooftops clean.

    A large part of the commentary afterwards about that fire was based on politically motivated supposition. We’re already seeing that with these fires today.  A narrative that sounds plausible and reasonable can be highly misleading if you don’t have deeper knowledge of the subject.

  76. 76.

    Sister Golden Bear

    @Wapiti: Paradise, CA is actually at 1,800 feet although it still hits 90 during the summers. So it’s less about shade and more about wanting rustic surroundings.

    Wildfire areas in CA do have requirements for clearing “defensible areas” around buildings, where all dead plants, weeds, and pine needles need to be removed (including from roofs), and trees need to be trimmed, but doesn’t ban trees.

  79. 79.

    Jerszy

    I’m in Palms, in relative safety. I’ve got a friend staying here while her place in Brentwood is evacuated. And another friend fled his home in Pacific Palisades late last night, and found it burned down today. So sad all around.

     

    Curious why anyone’s furious at Karen Bass, as if this was a scheduled event she’s skipping. Do they believe she’s the critical firefighter with the keys to the one hydrant, making a real difference?

  82. 82.

    KatKapCC

    I’m around 200 miles north of the major situations down there, but I’ve got a lot of friends in those areas and have been trying to balance checking in regularly with not wanting to cause them more anxiety than they’re already experiencing :(

  86. 86.

    hotshoe

    @Jerszy: The furious people — even stupid MAGAts — are not stupid enough to believe she’s actually to blame.

    Well, stupid Dumpster Don might believe it, but he lies constantly so whatever words come out of his mouth don’t tell us what he actually believes.

    Really, it’s just angry Thugs who need to blame a woman/Democrat and will lie to themselves to pick Karen Bass as their target of the day.

    Sadly since the LA Times and other mainstream media have fallen to the Cons, voters are going to hear no end of propaganda against her even though it’s all lies.

  87. 87.

    KatKapCC

    @UncleEbeneezer: I’m so sorry. What a frightening reality to confront. Hopefully folks here might be able to help out a bit when you need it, in whatever ways we can <3

  88. 88.

    Will

    @hotshoe: I don’t think you are correct. It’s not like Pittsburgh is filled with MAGA. Voters get mad, and they blame the leader. To say people are going to blame her because she is a woman or Democrat is lunacy. I guess people blamed Ravenstahl because he was white and a guy, people always blame that combination, right? People are losing their homes, please stop expecting everyone to react 100% sane.

  92. 92.

    WaterGirl

    @Will: I haven’t been following the news about Karen Bash, just knew that she was out of town when this started.

    Is she even trying to get back?

    But it sounds like you’re saying it won’t matter whether she does or not, she’s toast.

  95. 95.

    Will

    @WaterGirl: I think she should land close to LA at any moment if she hasn’t already landed. She didn’t waste time getting on the first flight back.

    But yeah, situations like this, unfortunately it’s going to be an impossible political situation for her. Every low info voter is going to wonder why she was in Ghana in the first place and are likely to be very angry about it, even more so if the lost the house or even worse, loved ones.

    These are the kind of political black swans that good politicians fear the most.

  102. 102.

    hotshoe

    @Will: I don’t expect anyone to behave sanely, not you, me, or the other humans. And that doesn’t mean I can’t call out the insanity, when I happen to have a moment of clear thinking and time to respond.

    It is insane to blame a city mayor for global climate change, for a year of drought after two years of fuel-growing rain, for a hydrant going dry when the demand for water is four times what the system was constructed to handle, for signing on to budget cuts for the fire dept when voters demand that the budget be transformed to increase money for police (mainstream media at fault, again, for pushing the fake narrative that crime has increased ) etc etc.

    It’s insane for you, me, or anyone else to forgive those people’s stupid reaction of blaming the one politician who didn’t cause the tragedy and could not have ever fixed it, no matter where in the world she was at the time. It’s bad to sagely nod our heads and say, well whadaya gonna do, humans gonna be dumb humans, and someone’s head has gotta roll. It’s inevitable, it doesn’t have anything to do with manipulation of media, it’s only a problem for the politician in each case and doesn’t signify any problem for our society as a whole. 
    No, that’s bullshit!

    Well, I would forgive temporary insanity and stupidity for those folks under stress of losing everything, but that doesn’t mean I’m not gonna call out the systemic problem of rightwing control of media and at least four decades of “liberals” not caring enough about media to do anything about it. But since it’s not actually gonna be temporary insanity, since it’s baked into politics for the rest of my life, I just despair about getting anyone (including you, me, and the rest of BJ) to pay attention to systemic factors rather than falling for the “individual responsibility” blame game.
    So I try, when I can, to point that out …​

  104. 104.

    karen gail

    I am sorry for everyone that has lost their homes and all the memories they contained.
    My personal opinion is that we place too much emphasis on the stuff since we are able to justify the danger to firefighters “just doing their jobs” putting their lives in danger to protect stuff.
    I really wish firefighters could just get people and animals out and stand back rather than risk their lives to fight against a “fire hurricane.”

  105. 105.

    UncleEbeneezer

    Thanks everyone.  Appreciate and love you all.  We had to race to our cars to get out and could see the mountain ridge in flames only 1/2 mile away and coming fast.  Then we drove 3 miles with streetlights out and downed trees, three panicked cats, smoke and ash everywhere.  It was truly the stuff of nightmares.  We have ourselves, our kitties, important documents, clothes on our back, phones, car, tennis rackets and one guitar.  Everything else is gone.

  107. 107.

    Sister Golden Bear

    This is officially Not Good… New evacuation order for the area just north of downtown Santa Monica (north of Montana from Pacific Coast Highway to 11th), with an evacuation warning areas* east of 11th, and north of Wilshire from PCH to 10th. These are densely populated neighborhoods.

    *Not required to evacuate, but need to be ready to evacuate at a moments notice.

  111. 111.

    something fabulous

    hi hi! I am miles from any fires thankful to say, but whole neighborhood was without power til a few minutes ago. checking in all the places. have packed a go bag for me and one for Gigi Marie (from calendar B!), just in case but so far all is ok for us!

  113. 113.

    Maxim

    @raven: My nephew in Paradise had to drive out through the flames. He’s still traumatized. He and his family lost everything but their lives.

    In the current conflagration, one of my cousins had to evacuate from the Eaton Fire with all her animals. We don’t know about her house yet, but as of last night (before the fire exploded to 10k acres) she could see the fire across the street from her driveway, so it would be miraculous if it survives.

    We’re up in the desert, which is safe for the moment. I’m not a fan of deserts, but they do provide a lot less fuel for fires at times like this.

    My thoughts are with everyone affected.

  114. 114.

    hotshoe

    @Sister Golden Bear: ​
     
    Now I’m curious what has changed that makes the city think this larger evacuation is necessary.
    As far as I can tell from fire maps, the Palisades fire is not any closer to Santa Monica today than it was last night. I hope it’s simply an abundance of caution, given that the entire LA area is now overstretched as far as fire-fighting.

    I don’t think any of the Juicers who have given status updates in this thread are from that neighborhood. Wishing for good news for all the ordinary folks who just want to be able to go home when this is over.

  116. 116.

    bjacques

    @WaterGirl: JPL is where my dad worked 60 years ago and the reason why Altadena was my first home. I think this is the second time it’s burned down.

  121. 121.

    dlwchico

    @raven: My buddy lived up there.  When they evacuated they left in all three of their cars.  By the time they actually left Paradise (just a few miles) they were all piled into one.

    I live down the hill in Chico now but used to live in Magalia (basically part of Paradise) and the house my dad and the rest of the family built up there in the 80s burned down.

  122. 122.

    NaijaGal

    @UncleEbeneezer: Oh my God – I’m so sorry!  We live near Santa Monica but far enough that we didn’t have to evacuate.  Sky is a weird gray color and I really, really hope the winds die down.

  124. 124.

    Almost Retired

    @UncleEbeneezer:  I am so sorry.  Altadena is a special place – economically and racially diverse – with a sense of community that a lot of neighborhoods in Los Angeles don’t have.

  125. 125.

    wonkie

    @karen gail: Your points are valid–in some places and under some circumstances. The current fire is a structure to structure fire that started inside the city. There are already shots of the burned area that show intact vegetation by houses that are gone. Paradise was a structure to structure fire. This is not to say that vegetation isn’t an issue, but when the fire is driven by wind, the access point for ignition is the roof ventilation ducts, any cracks and crannies in the structure with dry debris that could ignite from a wind-driven spark.

    Where I live houses are more of an issue than vegetation. It is entirely possible to burn a house down without igniting the trees. It is also possible to burn the trees down without igniting the house–if the roof and area within five feet of the house has been kept clean as perfire safe protocols. On the other hand, if there is a wind, a house with a dirty roof a mile away could catch.  I’m not sure there is anything that areas like Pacific Palisades could do except install massive sprinkler systems and have fire proof roofs and paving stones or cement skirting around the houses.

  126. 126.

    Scout211

    The Watch Duty app made the news on NBC.

    Los Angeles residents are turning to a free nonprofit-run app to help them navigate the catastrophic fires ravaging the area.
    Watch Duty, which launched in 2021 and is now in 22 states, provides live updates to users about nearby wildfires and firefighting efforts. The app is powered by a team of volunteers and staff — active and retired firefighters, dispatchers and veteran storm watchers, according to its website.

    Throughout Tuesday and into Wednesday, many Angelenos circulated screenshots of the app across social media, encouraging others to download it and calling it a lifeline amid rapidly changing weather conditions.

    The Los Angeles fires, sparked by a combination of dry conditions and powerful winds, are having a huge effect far beyond the danger zones. As of Wednesday morning, at least two people had been killed, with fast–moving fires continuing to engulf the area. The fires have prompted mandatory evacuations of more than 80,000 people.

    Watch Duty is currently No. 1 on Apple’s App Store, topping ChatGPT, Lemon8 and Threads. More than half a million people have downloaded the app in the past 12 hours, Nick Russell, the app’s vice president of operations, told NBC News on Wednesday.

    . . .

    While the app isn’t new, its popularity has increased in recent years as climate-related weather events continue to impact communities. In December, the app said it increased its yearly active users to 7.2 million from 1.9 million in 2023.

    Among the many users are first responders, including the Los Angeles County sheriff, the Butte County sheriff and the Office of Emergency Management, according to Watch Duty. Tanker pilots, dozer operators and firefighters who are out on the front lines also use the app.

    The app’s interface is a map with flame icons shown in regions where fires are blazing. Users can zoom in on certain areas — as well as see their precise location — and see the latest updates. The map also offers a street, satellite or topographic video of the map.

    Users can also access information on evacuation routes and any official evacuation orders. Images and official posts from government organizations are also shared, depending upon which fire a person is looking at.

    Highly recommend.

  127. 127.

    Another Scott

    WhiteHouse.gov:

    January 08, 2025
    President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. Approves California Major Disaster Declaration

    Presidential Actions

    Today, President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. declared that a major disaster exists in the State of California and ordered Federal aid to supplement State, tribal, and local recovery efforts in the areas affected by wildfires and straight-line winds beginning on January 7, 2025, and continuing.

    The President’s action makes Federal funding available to affected individuals in Los Angeles County.

    Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.

    Federal funding also is available to State, tribal, and eligible local governments and certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis for emergency work in Los Angeles County.

    Finally, Federal funding is available on a cost-sharing basis for hazard mitigation measures statewide.

    Mr. Curtis Brown of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has been appointed to coordinate Federal recovery operations in the affected areas.

    Damage assessments are continuing in other areas, and more counties and additional forms of assistance may be designated after the assessments are fully completed.

    Residents and business owners who sustained losses in the designated areas can begin applying for assistance at http://www.DisasterAssistance.gov, or by calling 800-621-FEMA (3362), or by using the FEMA App. Anyone using a relay service, such as video relay service (VRS), captioned telephone service or others, can give FEMA the number for that service.

    FOR FURTHER INFORMATION MEDIA SHOULD CONTACT THE FEMA NEWS DESK AT (202) 646-3272 OR [email protected].

    I’m so terribly sorry for UncleEbenezer and everyone else affected. This is tragic. :-(

    Keep us in the loop on your status and progress. We’re all pulling for you and we know that similar disasters can happen to each of us at any time. We have to help each other.

    Best wishes,
    Scott.

  129. 129.

    UncleEbeneezer

    @Almost Retired: I know.  We”re pretty heartbroken about that.  And from what we’ve seen it’s almost all gone.  So many historical houses, businesses, etc. :(

  131. 131.

    Ruckus

    I’m OK. not a lot of fire near me on the north eastern edge of LA county.

    But if we get the sort of windstorm we had 2 days ago I could be. 50 mph winds off the hills just a few miles north can spread/start fires extremely easily.

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