Katrina vs the San Diego fires: Compare and contrast
posted at 1:03 pm on October 23, 2007 by Bryan
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Remember the fiasco that was NOLA after Katrina struck? The mayor running around calling for buses when he knew he had dozens of them within a mile of the Superdome? The police chief of a partially ghost police force spreading rumors of rapes and murders in the convention center and the dome that turned out to be unfounded? The state governor blocking Red Cross aid from entering the city while conferring with Clintonistas on how to politicize the whole deal?
California is dealing with an immense catastrophe right now. It’s not on the scale of Katrina and probably won’t get there, but it is a sizable disaster area. It’s the largest evacuation in state history. Are Californians running around blaming the world for the natural disaster and descending into madness?
Like Hurricane Katrina evacuees two years earlier in New Orleans, thousands of people rousted by natural disaster fled to the NFL stadium here, waiting out the calamity and worrying about their homes.
The similarities ended there, as an almost festive atmosphere reigned at Qualcomm Stadium.
Bands belted out rock ‘n’ roll, lavish buffets served gourmet entrees, and massage therapists helped relieve the stress for those forced to flee their homes because of wildfires.
“The people are happy. They have everything here,” Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared Monday night after his second Qualcomm tour.
That quote has a bread and circuses quality about it, but it does seem that the governator is handling the situation well, and so are the people who’ve crowded into the stadium.
At Qualcomm, thousands of tents, many set up by relief organizations, provided temporary roofs, while hundreds of people slept on open-air cots. Some elderly evacuees were housed in stadium club boxes.
Aggressive efforts by disaster-response officials to bring supplies helped ensure civility. A heavy police contingent and National Guard troops with automatic weapons stood by just in case.
The New Orleans evacuees had dragged themselves through floodwaters to get to the Louisiana Superdome in 2005, and once there endured horrific conditions without food, sanitation or law enforcement.
The comparison isn’t entirely fair, since much of Katrina’s disaster zone was unreachable and that disaster unfolded so slowly that its full extent wasn’t really grasped immediately. But the difference between responses then and now seems to come down to leadership, starting at the local and state level and then up to the federal level.
In other words, while Bobby Jindal will probably make a great governor for Louisiana, there’s a very good reason that Kathleen Blanco didn’t run for another term. She would have lost, because she failed when her state needed her the most.
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Ouch! Zing!
RushBaby on October 23, 2007 at 1:04 PM
What makes you say that? Nagin got reelected.
Savage on October 23, 2007 at 1:13 PM
I don’t want to sound alarmist or anything, but doesn’t anyone else think that these horrible fires were just too sudden and severe to be accidents? Is someone trying to tie up our first responders?
HockeyTemper on October 23, 2007 at 1:17 PM
Things are going rather well here even with the evacuations and the like. Only one casualty, but the county/city managed to move 250,000 people ahead of the fires with no problem and the stadium is well stocked as is the fairgrounds. Only real problem is that its hard to find a hotel room :-p
Defector01 on October 23, 2007 at 1:19 PM
I guess while our (California) state government may be full of leftist-socialist wackos, they can still manage to run their state during an emergency.
Not to worry, however, given them enough time, they’ll get down to Louisiana incompetence. I have that much faith in my government.
Weebork on October 23, 2007 at 1:20 PM
Blanco originally stated an intention to run again, but later backed down. It was my understanding (through the state rumor mill) that the Dems here basically let her know they would not be supporting her and that it would be best for the La. Dem party if she did not run again.
Well, we have Jindal now, and since N.O. STILL ISN’T moving on recovery, then hopes are high he will step in and get things going.
reine.de.tout on October 23, 2007 at 1:21 PM
Hockey, I believe at least some of the fires were started by arson. Now, as to their relation to terrorism, I haven’t the clue.
My Magic 8-Ball is on break today. Damn unions!
Weebork on October 23, 2007 at 1:22 PM
i think you’ve understated this point. the comparison is unfair. yes this is evidence of the right way to deal with a disaster…but this disaster has been far from catastrophic.
ernesto on October 23, 2007 at 1:22 PM
It proves that you can’t fix stupid.
drjohn on October 23, 2007 at 1:23 PM
“Automatic weapons?” Please.
NO isn’t recovering because of its people, not the government.
PRCalDude on October 23, 2007 at 1:29 PM
The fires are almost seasonal here in Southern California. Some of them do end up being started by some idiot pyro, while other times it was a bum who simply wanted a fire. It’s usually something stupid rather than an act of nature.
Anyway, there isn’t usually that much we can do to restrict the fuel for the fires because the open space these fires usually end up in are quite large by default. There have been attempts at thinning certain areas, like the hillsides around homes, but some other areas are forbidden to be thinned because it trespasses on sacred ground and all the environmentalist wackos come out of the wood works, to pardon the pun, and litigate the hell out of any attempt at reasonable thinning. The end result is what we are seeing on tv to people’s homes. Not all of it, but either some or most of it.
Weebork on October 23, 2007 at 1:34 PM
Simple.
Local vs. State.
People just had enough of Kathleen “what do I do, I’m drawing a” Blanco.
And many regret not voting Jindal four years ago.
soundingboard on October 23, 2007 at 1:34 PM
slow down. i just caught a glimpse of it under the “stark apologises” story:
jummy on October 23, 2007 at 1:36 PM
Dare I say, the culture is like day and night in comparison.
Kini on October 23, 2007 at 1:40 PM
So did Marion Barry.
[all politics is local]
It’s the electorate stupid.
fogw on October 23, 2007 at 1:44 PM
Or, stupid electorate … no offense Savage.
fogw on October 23, 2007 at 1:45 PM
PRCalDude,
Indeed, liberals have many misperceptions about firearms. Not only do they consider the word “automatic” in conjunction with firearms to be terrifying, they also go crazy over the concept of “armor piercing”. FMJ rounds are considered armor piercing.
To add, here in California right after those guys attacked a Bank of America in Hollywood with AK-47s and full body armor, the state legislature passed an “assault weapons” ban. What did they classify as a “assault weapon”? One of the state legislators who proposed the assault weapons ban bill opened up a catalog of firearms and went through the pictures and determined to ban all of the rifles that either looked militaristic or looked mean. This gives you an insight into how my state government works their legislative magic.
(Sorry to get off topic, I couldn’t resist!) :)
Weebork on October 23, 2007 at 1:45 PM
The state is handling this disaster as well as could be expected. Until you live through a Santa Ana condition with a raging fire, you haven’t seen devastation. 500,000 people relocated. The only upsetting is that every year, and I mean every year, Malibu get hit and it makes the news. Hint, don’t live in Malibu canyon, it will burn next year again.
And we don’t want anything to happen to Lake Barrett, that’s where my state record bass (the one I am going to catch) lives.
My prayers to the citizens of California, and to the fire fighters…there are none more brave and dedicated.
right2bright on October 23, 2007 at 1:46 PM
There, fixed it for ya…
E L Frederick (Sniper One) on October 23, 2007 at 1:48 PM
A fair amount are started in fact by undocumented campers. Ahem.
PatrickS on October 23, 2007 at 1:50 PM
Well, his Cyberdyne programming has given him plenty of experience dealing with massive post-apocalyptic destruction and cities in flames.
ScottMcC on October 23, 2007 at 1:52 PM
PatrickS,
I use the term “bum” loosely there. :)
Weebork on October 23, 2007 at 1:52 PM
Hint, don’t live in New Orleans, it’s 15 feet below sea level in a hurricane zone.
Hint, don’t try to leap the water fountains in Caesars Palace, everything’s made of concrete.
Hint, don’t live in the middle of the Sahara Desert, there’s no food or water there.
As Art Linkletter used to say …. “People are Funny”.
fogw on October 23, 2007 at 1:54 PM
1. She’s not chocolate, and
2. She would need votes from outside of the Chocolate City.
Jaibones on October 23, 2007 at 1:59 PM
Bryan you can credit the state to an extent, but let’s not forget that the county’s involved are by and large Republican counties, and the cities affected (except Malibu, off the top of my head) are generally Republican as well. (This of course makes Glenn Beck’s comment even more stupid.)
Ventura, Orange, San Bernardino, and San Diego counties all voted Bush in 2004 and 2000.
Nessuno on October 23, 2007 at 2:00 PM
Also, I should point out, the google map both Bryan and AP linked only shows the San Diego area fires.
So as menacing as that map appears, the real situation is even worse and more of a strain on resources.
Nessuno on October 23, 2007 at 2:05 PM
Kini @ 1:40 p.m
Absolutely! Say it because it’s true. I’ll say it. I live in New Orleans and as I read this article I was thinking that very thing. The residents there in San Diego are much, much different(in a good way).
Nolamom67 on October 23, 2007 at 2:06 PM
Oh, I’m well aware. Happily, the gun laws here have become so Orwellian and convoluted that many are just now choosing to ignore them. I can’t be expected to use a sub-standard semi-automatic rifle like a Mini-14 when it comes to defending my family. No, only an AR-15 will do.
PRCalDude on October 23, 2007 at 2:09 PM
Katrina caused hundreds of millions of dollars of improvements to New Orleans.
BelchSpeak on October 23, 2007 at 2:10 PM
So did Marion Barry.
Unfortunately, the 90% of black registered voters who always turn out to pull the (D) lever will vote to re-elect even a convicted criminal in doing so. I’m not sure what can be done about that “Chocolate Reign”, other than trying to get Baldilocks and LaShawn reproduced.
The Monster on October 23, 2007 at 2:14 PM
New Orleans did not FOR Nagin it voted AGAINST Landrieu, that is something lost on the nation. That is why Nagin received 80% of the white conservative vote.
The Feds pumped BILLIONS, repeat BILLIONS of dollars into Louisiana and the governor has done all she could to hold on to it. She even publicly stated that the state had not received the Fed dollars promised when the Sec of Treasury for Louisiana stated that it had just been sitting in the bank or months.
FYI, there have been pretty good claims that at least some of the Superdome allegations were actually true. The mother of one of my tenants (Loyola Student) says that some of the rapes really did happen per friends who could not get a flight out and back home to FL. These are not dumb people making these allegations. They are well educated people able to afford to send their children to private universities. (Tulane is certainly one of the most expensive in the nation.)
Kermit on October 23, 2007 at 2:31 PM
I have a friend who is a fireman/paramedic who is fighting these fires. He’s been involved in a lot of these. They just learn to expect them. It’s always a relief when the fires are over and we know he is ok. The last major fire his wife didn’t hear from him for two days.
Rose on October 23, 2007 at 2:41 PM
ernesto, just STFD and STFU………..While I respect Bryan I must politely disagree. I AM RIGHT HERE IN THE VERY MIDDLE OF THIS CATASTROPHIC EVENT. The two main fires are less then 5% contained, the Witch creek fire has already burned over 200,000 acres all by itself. There are eight fires burning in San Diego county alone.
Well over 300,000 people have been evacuated so far, with no end in sight. The Witch fire isn’t expected to be contained until Nov. 11th…California has already been declared a national disaster, this fire is anticipated to be 4 to 5 times larger than the 2003 Cedars fire.
The 40 to 60 MPH Santa Ana winds driving this fire are not expected to stop until Thursday or Friday. The Witch fire has already burned from where I live in Ramona to within 3 miles of the pacific ocean, thats a distance of 40+ miles.
The Harris Fire, which is on the Mexican border has covered an even greater distance, it has covered something in the neighborhood of 65 miles…Currently there is no part of San Diego county that is considered truly safe. California especially San Diego is the driest it has been in over 135 years.
The total acreage already burned in San Diego county has already exceeds 350,000 acres. If this fire were in N.O, it would have burned the entire city to the ground already. The number of homes burned to the ground has already exceeded 1500 and the fire is less than 5% contained.
doriangrey on October 23, 2007 at 2:44 PM
Much as it will pain people to see me say it the Katrina relief issues weren’t just at the local and state level. As hard as it was to get the media to report that Blanco and Nagin screwed up back then is there really any rational reason for trying to portray Bush and FEMA as guiltless here?
The fact is that Katrina more than anything was a total screwup by our government on every level.
Benaiah on October 23, 2007 at 2:51 PM
This is dreadful. Please keep posting local news, dorian!
RushBaby on October 23, 2007 at 2:51 PM
Katrina was also a disaster of personal citizenship.
RushBaby on October 23, 2007 at 2:53 PM
It’s worse than that, its CATASTROPHIC. For those of you who still dont really have any clue what is going on here, here is a link to what has already burned. Note the shaded red areas have already burned.
doriangrey on October 23, 2007 at 2:59 PM
Chocolate State?
The US government’s reaction to Katrina was one of the best in history. The Fed’s, citizens and churches all made a huge effort. Disasters such as this shine a light on the problems with state and local government and those people who need to be taken care of on a daily basis. These people were dispersed nation wide and brought their particular brand of behavior from sea to shining sea including buying porno, booze and drugs with their federal, taxpayer provided dollars. The manure about blowing up levees and trying to perform ethnic cleansing turned out to be be all hogwash, as expected.
Hening on October 23, 2007 at 3:07 PM
Doing well here. Qualcomm Stadium is right up the street from me. Not terribly smoky here, although my eyes and sinuses aren’t very happy.
We’re a largely military town. We take care of one another.
Thanks for your thoughts. I feel so badly for those who’ve lost their homes.
Brian the sailor on October 23, 2007 at 3:10 PM
Ladies and gentlemen, the King of Understatement.
Nonfactor on October 23, 2007 at 3:11 PM
Savage on October 23, 2007 at 1:13 PM
you guys forgot one, Detroit’s own Kwame Kilpatrick was re-elected too, promptly costing the city over 5M bucks in a whisleblower law suit.
stupid is as stupid does.
swami on October 23, 2007 at 3:16 PM
Sorry - did not mean to understate - catastrophic is right.
RushBaby on October 23, 2007 at 3:16 PM
There is speculation that this Sunday’s Texans - Chargers game will be played in Arizona.
Mike Honcho on October 23, 2007 at 3:17 PM
Thanks for the update. I hate feeling so powerless to help.
RushBaby on October 23, 2007 at 3:18 PM
I spent Monday gathering my belongings and going over plans to evacuate with my family, should the need arise. Other than the reverse 911 calls, I never once thought about the government coming to help me. The firefighters need to concentrate on the fire, not rescuing people who wanted to take their chances. I am thankful to have local government and news agencies that aren’t trying to score political points during a disaster.
BDavis on October 23, 2007 at 3:19 PM
A friend told me he could see the actual fire from Fountain Valley at 5 in the morning when looking towards Saddleback, and to make things worse it seems like the Santa Ana winds are picking up.
Nonfactor on October 23, 2007 at 3:19 PM
Honcho, that’s possible. Or they might just play it right here. We’re used to it. Every couple of years we burn up.
Brian the sailor on October 23, 2007 at 3:20 PM
dorian is right, this thing is absolutely massive. If you don’t live here in SoCal you probably haven’t seen the news coverage of what a huge disaster this is. San Diego county especially, is getting hammered worse than I can remember, and I’ve lived here all my life. Check out this sat photo of the region.
infidel4life on October 23, 2007 at 3:20 PM
You’re really Barbara Bush aren’t you?
scooter on October 23, 2007 at 3:23 PM
The thing is 500,000 acres burning isn’t an unusual thing (and isn’t too much land when looking at a topographic map), the problem here being that almost all these fires are taking place in areas with a high concentration of people.
Nonfactor on October 23, 2007 at 3:24 PM
Thanks RushBaby.
Brian the sailor on October 23, 2007 at 3:25 PM
interesting note here in SD
I tried to volunteer at two of the evac sites (Qualcomm and the Del Mar Fair) and I was turned away because they are stuffed with volunteers, National Guard and the like. Kinda feel worthless for not being able to help but its a great sign.
Defector01 on October 23, 2007 at 3:25 PM
What is the point of this post anyway? Is it solely to point out how ineffective Blanco and Nagin were in the face of Katrina and the flooding of the city? Or is it an indictment of the people of New Orleans for failing to pull themselves up by their bootstraps, as some comments suggest?
I really commend the folks of SoCal for handling this so effectively, not to mention prayers for all you guys (take care Dorian) but I can’t get anything other than a mean spirited attitude out of this.
SouthernDem on October 23, 2007 at 3:26 PM
pMSNBC just said a second confirmed death. :(
mimi1220 on October 23, 2007 at 3:29 PM
First and foremost, I hope everyone is alright. If you live in the area and know anything we can do to help out, post it (thanks).
I’d be careful with the NOLA comparisons. They’re not remotely the same the situation, regardless of how serious the wildfires have become. Any second now you’re going to start hearing about people listening to rock music at Qualcomm, compared to people waiting for food at the Superdome, followed shortly by some variation of “Bush really doesn’t care about black people.”
RightOFLeft on October 23, 2007 at 3:34 PM
I mean this in the most respectful way: We must learn from one and we must learn from the other. How can we learn without honestly comparing and contrasting?
RushBaby on October 23, 2007 at 3:36 PM
He’s just pointing out that there have been no reports of police or firefighters walking off the jobs, video of police looting the stores along with everyone else, hyperventilating reports of child rapes going on inside the stadium, fabricated reports of white police blocking bridges to white areas, etc, etc.
I blame Bush.
pedestrian on October 23, 2007 at 3:42 PM
Of course, it’s also helpful when people take responsibility for themselves and help themselves. The underclass doesn’t always do that, which is, of course, why it’s the underclass.
If you sit around like an empty vessel waiting for the world to pour itself into you, you may find yourself waiting forever.
paul006 on October 23, 2007 at 3:58 PM
Is there anything we could do to keep that one going?
James on October 23, 2007 at 3:58 PM
Ya know I think you might just be a little more compassionate with your comments if you were watching home after home after home burn to the ground on your TV screen.
infidel4life on October 23, 2007 at 3:59 PM
Anyone heard from Entelechy? She in approximately the danger zone.
Pablo on October 23, 2007 at 4:00 PM
I was talking directly about Blanco and Nagin, nothing more. Read through these posts on my old blog and you’ll see that this is an issue I’ve been covering for quite some time now.
Bryan on October 23, 2007 at 4:06 PM
Sorry, just had to add my personal perspective to an otherwise outstanding post.
doriangrey on October 23, 2007 at 4:08 PM
Fair enough, but I just don’t see how you can compare the two disasters. For one thing, could they even reach the Superdome as they are so readily accessing Quallcom?
There are plenty of valid points to be made concerning the aftermath of Katrina and how locals and the government reacted, but the two situations just seem so vastly different that any comparison doesn’t make sense to me.
SouthernDem on October 23, 2007 at 4:09 PM
I know Fat Al and his legions of bobble heads are going to blame this on “man-made global warming” sooner or later.
I just KNOW it.
Ryan Gandy on October 23, 2007 at 4:12 PM
“but this disaster has been far from catastrophic”
But if the early stages had been handled like Katrina, the disaster could have been VERY catastrophic. Had authorities waited and failed to evacuate people in time, the loss of life could be much higher than Katrina. You can survive a flood by getting to a roof or a boat, but no boat and no roof will save you from fire.
Had authorities in San Diego wasted time like the authorities in New Orleans did, we would have many deaths. That it is far from catastrophic is itself a testament to the leadership difference.
crosspatch on October 23, 2007 at 4:18 PM
Yeah, buddy, I’m down here too. I’m truly, truly, sorry that I couldn’t inject a bit of compassion into my statement of facts. May God be with you, I love you, I love you, I love you.
Nonfactor on October 23, 2007 at 4:20 PM
All right you nutbags……time to do something positive (I know its difficult for some).
Monetary donations are needed. Donations may be made through the Red Cross web site, at http://www.redcross.org, or by calling (800) RED-CROSS.
Any donations made to the American Red Cross in support of San Diego fire recovery efforts should be made payable to “American Red Cross San Diego Fire,”
This ensures the money will be used for local fire recovery efforts only……
Come on, take the time and write a check.
scooter on October 23, 2007 at 4:20 PM
That said, you also have a different quality of populace. San Diego is one of the nicest towns you’ll ever find, and it surprises me not at all that it’s people would band together to help each other as opposed to bitching about what they don’t have and blaming who might ought to have given it to them. It’s also a pretty brown town, which has scant little to do with it.
The comparison can be made a million times over, from Folida to Texas and even to Mississippi in the very same storm. Virtually every time you make the comparison, NOLA is going to look horrible. You can then compare the murder rates in the same places, and you’ll get the same result.
Pablo on October 23, 2007 at 4:23 PM
Yes, there were thousands of people in there. They got there however they could. Despite one liberal blogger’s completely unfair and grotesquely intentional misreading of this post, I don’t blame the residents of NOLA for reports that came out of the Dome. They were smeared by their own local leadership and by the news media that propagated rumors of all kinds of crimes, rumors that turned out to be mostly unfounded. As I said in the post, actually.
Bryan on October 23, 2007 at 4:23 PM
Err…Florida.
Pablo on October 23, 2007 at 4:24 PM
Yes, that was the Grand Nagin Plan: stick everyone in the Superdome and hope it doesn’t flood.
Very true, that. Remember when the po’ black folks was eating corpses that didn’t exist, just in order to survive? Utter hogwash, from race baiting morons.
Pablo on October 23, 2007 at 4:28 PM
Down here where, I personally am in Ramona California and watched this whole FireStorm roar past me Sunday night/Monday morning and still can see dense brown smoke choking the sky all around me.
Yes, thats right the Witch fire burned its way right past my house missing me by about a mile. Sunday night I could see the flames from a dozen different fires burning all around me. No just some smoke or a dull red glow, but the actual flames jumping hundreds of feet in the air.
doriangrey on October 23, 2007 at 4:30 PM
“readily accessing Quallcom”
You don’t live here so I’ll clue you in. Many of the roads here are clogged with traffic, closed to travel or ON FIRE. I think most people would be happy to wade through some water rather than try to outrun a brushfire. The difference is that people heeded the warnings in time to avert disaster. NO had a week of warnings, we had a couple of hours. You do the math.
BDavis on October 23, 2007 at 4:30 PM
She is out of town for a week on a scheduled business trip. A distant cousin flew in to visit for a couple of weeks was at her home, and has been evacuated. Her animals are safe with neighbors. Several homes in her neighborhood have burned. No word from her since last night.
RushBaby on October 23, 2007 at 4:31 PM
All politics is local. Nagin prior to Katrina was a reform candidate but NOLA was in such bad shape he was overwhelmed with just the day to day stuff. Then you throw Katrina on top of that and well you saw what happened.
FWIW the immediate federal response was pretty good but Blanco wouldn’t let some agencies into NOLA. There was also the looting, shooting and thuggery that took place. And yes it did take place. With all the violence it was difficult to get Red Cross, EMS, etc… to help.
Our transport team got 27 NICU babies out of a hospital in NOLA with no bad outcomes. These guys were great and were helped by military pilots.
Blanco is an idiot and the Louisiana Democrat party is as corrupt as any third world country.
Hope things get better for those in California. They seem to be handling things much better than we did here in Louisiana.
roux on October 23, 2007 at 4:32 PM
bryan, looking at the trackbacks, all I can say is that you’d have to look pretty hard to find a more abject idiot than Chuck Adkins. Don’t waste your concern on him.
Pablo on October 23, 2007 at 4:33 PM
Many thanks, RushBaby.
Pablo on October 23, 2007 at 4:35 PM
I am not comparing the disasters. I am here as a student, not a teacher.
RushBaby on October 23, 2007 at 4:35 PM
“readily accessing Quallcom”
I would have a hard time putting it any better BDavis, well said. I will add this small bit, just to emphasis what you have said. sunday night when Ramona came under mandatory evacuation notice, I got in my car and pulled out into traffic. I spent three hours in bumper to bumper pure unbridled grid lock, I got 1/2 a mile from my house before my car so completely overheated that I had to pull off to the side of the road and let it cool down. I managed to limp my car back the 1/2 mile to my house in about 5 minutes.
Monday afternoon I tried again to leave, I got about 4 whole miles before my car blew a head gasket and died. So I am still right here in Ramona, the fire has thankfully gone around me for the time being, but if the wind should change, well who knows.
doriangrey on October 23, 2007 at 4:38 PM
They give you 7 days notice to get out the way of a hurricane. I live in Louisiana. The next hurricane headed for NO, Nagin should just offer everyone man woman and child 10k to leave the city but you have to pick up the check in little rock. The city would have deserted and much of our issues would have been solved. With no incentive to leave no one took personal responsibility to get out. My heart goes out the real victims of the California fires.
riccangolf on October 23, 2007 at 4:39 PM
Oh, don’t worry, I’m not concerned with him. But his meme might get picked up by a bigger blog one way or another. Media Matters makes its living off of mischaracterizing what conservatives say in just the way Adkins has, for starters.
Bryan on October 23, 2007 at 4:42 PM
Between the head injury and the head gasket, you have not had a good week, doriangrey. Best wishes that the fire continues to avoid you.
———
Re: The Katrina angle, here’s the obligatory link to the Popular Mechanics study:
Karl on October 23, 2007 at 4:43 PM
Similar situation here in Santa Clarita. People evacuating clogged the roads to the point of total gridlock Sunday night. No one could get anywhere. Stay safe dude.
infidel4life on October 23, 2007 at 4:51 PM
Bryan,
You’ve throttled them before, you’ll throttle them again.
I’ll be applauding.
Pablo on October 23, 2007 at 5:03 PM
Damn………you live in a vampire infested town……..Opp’s sorry couldn’t resist, Loved the movie “The Lost Boy’s” Hey just keep your eyes open and don’t get caught down wind of any fire…
doriangrey on October 23, 2007 at 5:11 PM
You’re in my prayers, dorian. Stay as safe as you can.
Bryan on October 23, 2007 at 5:13 PM
Thanks for trying to hook some sistas up! :-)
Here in South (Central) LA we are far away from the fires but even here it’s very evident that they’re serious: very smoky skies (and you know that it’s bad if it’s noticeable in LA); small flakes of ash visible in the air; cars covered with it; red, itchy, burning eyes (me and many others).
I can’t imagine what it would be like to lose my home and the treasured items in it. Be safe, folks, and you have my prayers.
baldilocks on October 23, 2007 at 5:16 PM
riccangolf,
I agree with you 100%.
Nolamom67 on October 23, 2007 at 5:18 PM
Thanks for your responses Bryan.
By the way, I sincerely hope none of you SoCal folk thought I was assuming you were having an easy time of it. I can’t imagine what you guys are going through.
SouthernDem on October 23, 2007 at 5:19 PM
Some would say the opposite but the response to any disaster should be in this order: local, state, Federal.
docdave on October 23, 2007 at 5:32 PM
No disrespect intended, but you are right, no you cant imagine what were are going through. this is something that you literally have to live through to be able to grasp. Watching a fire rage on television is absolutely nothing like seeing a fire race at 60+ miles per hour past your house.
It’s like nothing you can imagine to be over a mile away and still feel the heat sucking the moisture off your skin. Television does not justice to seeing flames that reach 100 feet in the air jumping up the side of a mountain faster than a truck can drive. Nothing prepares you for the experience of hearing your car or truck start to bog down because the fire is consuming the air your car or truck needs for the motor to run.
doriangrey on October 23, 2007 at 5:37 PM
What he said.
PatrickS on October 23, 2007 at 5:40 PM
How’s the electric/utility system holding out in the area?
RushBaby on October 23, 2007 at 6:01 PM
Electricity is fine, water however went out about an hour ago. I have about 5 gallons on hand and the liqueur story across the street has a pretty good supply of bottled water if it comes down to that.
doriangrey on October 23, 2007 at 6:16 PM
Oh man. If the electricity goes out, I guess there goes your internet connection as well. What about local communications?
Did all your neighbors leave? Does anyone know where you are?
RushBaby on October 23, 2007 at 6:21 PM
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