Russ - Are you OK out there?
Carlo
I'm worried about the same thing. Russ?!
My wife's got family in Westlake Village and Thousand Oaks. Most of them have evacuated.
Quote from: Carlo on November 10, 2018, 06:55:36 AM
Russ - Are you OK out there?
Carlo
Let us know Unc??
Jerry
Wow, I didn't realize Westlake Village was in that area.
There's a map of the fire perimeter and evacuation areas on this site: https://www.vcemergency.com (https://www.vcemergency.com)
Looks like Westlake is in the mandatory evacuation area.
Here's another map that might be easier to read, but only shows the fire's perimeter:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?ll=34.13216640763679%2C-118.78219611558308&hl=en&z=11&source=embed&ie=UTF8&mid=1HacmM5E2ueL-FT2c6QMVzoAmE5M19GAf&output=embed (https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?ll=34.13216640763679%2C-118.78219611558308&hl=en&z=11&source=embed&ie=UTF8&mid=1HacmM5E2ueL-FT2c6QMVzoAmE5M19GAf&output=embed)
Hi, guys, and thank you for your concern.
I had to evacuate at 3:30 Friday morning and am at my wife's parents' home near Pasadena, California about 50 miles from my house. Fortunately I realized the severity of the threat long before my neighbors and, before bed Thursday night, went outside just before midnight and looked around. I saw a wall of fire along a hillside a few miles away and decided to take no chances. I packed as much into the car as would fit (not much, of course), and then, around 2 a.m., my next door neighbor texted me that the sheriff's department had announced a voluntary evacuation. His uncle and aunt, who live only a few miles from us, already had to flee and were there so we discussed options as they packed. Thanks to their suggestion I went back and tossed whatever legal paperwork I had into some bags and also a few last minute odds and ends.
Then at 3:30 Friday morning the phone rang: Mandatory evacuation. I stuffed my hissing, flailing cats into a couple of carriers, put them in the car, and headed out into the night with no idea where I would go. As I approached the freeway I could see a sea of flames roaring down a hill to my left, only about half a mile away and heading toward Westlake Village. There was only one way out so I headed for Los Angeles and traffic was light. For the next ten or twelve miles I could see fire burning just a few hundred yards north of the freeway. Once I was over the hill and into the San Fernando Valley I was out of danger but, a few hours later, the fire jumped the freeway and caused mile after mile of devastation, the holocaust you've seen on the news. After a while I decided to impose on my in-laws and had an enjoyable little adventure with the police as I knocked on front door of their house at 4:30 in the morning!
My wife and her sister are on vacation in Croatia so they are safe. The cats and I are fine. At the moment the house is still standing but the winds have gone crazy again; who knows what will happen? If the house goes up in smoke, so will all hard copies of my publications, all slides, photos, negatives, and storage disks from the past ... along with all my models. I saved all the computers and backup drives but they only contain backups of what you can see online on the "Order Books" section of this site.
What I saved would allow me to continue to make music, shoot photos, and do other stuff in the future but it was possible to retain almost anything from the past. Big deal, I'm old now anyway. In a few days we'll all know what actually will survive but, to give an idea of the extent of this disaster, I am one of about 250,000 evacuees in an area spanning about 30 or more miles. And, if I may offer an opinion, I think the two fires are the work of one or more arsonists. The locations of the starting points and the timing (no coincidence the fires began with an hour or two of one another on the worst and driest Santa Ana wind of the year) resemble similar events from a couple of years ago. Frankly, I expected trouble Thursday morning but didn't know what areas would be hit. It's a good thing I was cautious.
Russ
I am glad you and yours are safe. I certainly hope your house comes through. A very sad event, both here and up north. Heartbreaking for so many.
HI Russ, I am reassured to hear that you are fine. We just saw on the news how bad it is and I had to think about how awful that is. We have a climate change that can no longer be denied, which makes all this kind of thing worse. Bad how many people have already died as a result of the fire.
Wow, thinking of you Russ. Blue Scarlett was in rotation tonight in honor of you. Best of luck.
Unc glad your safe that's what counts.
Hopeful the house will be all right.
Please keep us up to date.
Jerry
Russ, I'm so glad to hear you're safe and that so far your house is ok. I hope and pray it remains so.
I'm glad to hear it as well Russ.
From everything I've seen, it's got to be truly terrifying.
Know that all of us here hope the best for you and everyone else affected.
Please keep us posted.
EZ
Tonight they lifted the evacuation and tomorrow evening the cats and I expect to return home; my house apparently is untouched.
This is the fourth major fire I've managed to survive but the first where I had to leave town. If my wife would go with me I'd move somewhere else within a year. Climate change has affected California more than most people may realize and I suspect it will only get worse. Add the threat of arsonists, pyromaniacs, terrorists, and careless idiots and the result is rather overwhelming.
I want to thank each of you for your concern.
Russ
Glad you are safe Russ.
Been watching the devastation here on my side of the world. So sad to see.
If what you say about the arsonists is true, I hope they catch the bastards.
Keep safe.
Quote from: finescalerr on November 11, 2018, 10:54:48 PM
Tonight they lifted the evacuation and tomorrow evening the cats and I expect to return home; my house apparently is untouched.
This is the fourth major fire I've managed to survive but the first where I had to leave town. If my wife would go with me I'd move somewhere else within a year. Climate change has affected California more than most people may realize and I suspect it will only get worse. Add the threat of arsonists, pyromaniacs, terrorists, and careless idiots and the result is rather overwhelming.
I want to thank each of you for your concern.
Russ
Hi Russ,
Glad to hear that you are safe and sound and that you didn't lose your house and possessions . It must have been a stressful time for you .
HOWEVER, there is no such thing as climate change as your Great Orange Leader has said that there isn't!
Nick in damp and soggy Shropshire
Good to hear that you are safe, Russ!
But is very depressing that this might be a man-made disaster on several levels.
What frightening times to be alive...
I'm relieved to hear from you and that you and kitties are safe. Also that your house has survived. I'm sure there is still a lot of hard recovery work to survive but glad you are OK.
Bill
Russ, I'd been out of touch for awhile - Did not realize you were in an evacuation area! Glad to hear you and cats and home are OK, hope those nearby are too.
Russ I am so glad that you are safe and your house is okay. No matter how many fires you brave it never gets easier. Thanks for the updates.
I have friends in Malibu who lost everything except their 1982 VW Vanagon in which they fled. And the house where my wife grew up on Decker Canyon is gone too. And we are waiting to hear from another friend (he is 80-ish) who lives on the beach...I am sure he is okay but I don't know about his house...I just heard he is okay and so is his house.
Unc
Glad to hear the house is safe. Thank God for that.
Yes you are right there are way to many idiots running loose out there. It really is sad!!
Jerry
Glad to hear the homeowners (the cats) and their staff (you) are able to return home. Change can be very stressful on cats and a return to their own digs will calm them mightily. As their servant you are charged with keeping them content 24/7.
Add some goats to the mix and help the survivors from the fire to keep the encroaching underbrush at bay. If goats can keep Kudzu at bay here in the South they will work in California and will be welcomed by the tree huggers because they are environmentally friendly.
I was so focused on the fires up north that, even though we were down south for the weekend, it never dawned on me that you were in the fire zone. We are headed back up this afternoon. If you need help or anything, please let me know. Most happy to stop by. So glad you're safe.
The WORLDS GONE CRAZY - Glad you are OK (not forgetting the cats )
Barney
Thanks for the good news Russ!
I just wish everyone out there could say the same. So much tragedy.
Thanks again, guys. I'm home now. The fire department here is terrific and my home suffered no damage at all. Even so, I want to move to the Pacific Northwest. Three scares and one close call are enough. I doubt my wife, enjoying her vacation to Croatia and Slovania, has a clue what the cats and I experienced and no doubt will think I am the problem rather than the tinderbox California has become. -- Russ
hi, Russ very scary. we have been getting a lot of news here in Australia. my heart goes out to you i know what it is like running away from out of control fires. all the very best to you and California.
cheers Kim
Russ, Glad to hear that everything worked out ;D I to thought that some SICK arsonists started the fires.
Russ,
it's good to hear that you and your home are fine.
Volker
Russ
suggest you move to the Isle of Wight (23 miles by 17 miles in size) off the south coast of the UK. Absolutely NOTHING happens out here (its all full of "crumblies" and "wrinklies" like me and totally unaffected by global warming. If a bike gets stolen it makes headline news. Anyway glad to hear you, the cats and the house are all OK.
Les
Russ, I would be looking for a House in another state if that's possible. ;D
Gil Flores and I both recommend Star, Idaho, for low crime, low cost and all around good living.
There was a time when I thought about moving to Felton, California, but realized when the forest fires came there was no way out.
Glad you are safe and sorry so many people are affected by this.
Scarlett came home last night and is willing to consider moving to another state, probably the Pacific Northwest. But maybe we should look at Star, Idaho, too. We'll have to do some careful and methodical research. Meanwhile she brought me a very cool T-shirt from Venice and chocolate bars from Belgium and Italy so now I guess I owe her a new iPhone ....
Along with those of you who posted here (and whom I want to thank yet again) I also heard from two long lost modelers. One is a friend whose work I published more than once in my books and magazines, Doug Heitkamp, from Colorado. He seems finally to have settled on modeling the Santa Fe circa 1955 in HO standard gauge after decades with the narrow gauge Colorado & Southern. Doug is an outstanding modeler.
The other rascal is the guy who designed this forum, Marc Reusser. He's burned out on modeling for a while (no surprise given the intensity he put into his work) and his business has taken off so he's quite busy. He's healthy and finds time to get on the mountain bicycle a few times a week.
The fire fighters did a remarkable job. They really are heroes and everybody around here knows it. You never would guess our neighborhood could have disintegrated in a couple of hours if you were here today ... unless you look at the charred hillsides a couple of miles away.
Russ
I was talking to my neighbor the other day, who is from Washington, about your experience and desire to move to the PNW. I also spoke with my son in Olympia and my daughter in Portland recently, and while they have not experienced as close a call as you did, they all agreed that fire is a major threat up there, too. Both of my kids have had smoke health issues this year from all the fires up there, especially ones in British Columbia. Damn Canadiens ...
Thanks, Greg. I've heard nothing like that from my friends in Gig Harbor and east of Tacoma but you can bet I'll check it out very seriously. No sense in moving from the frying pan .... -- Russ
Quote from: finescalerr on November 18, 2018, 01:32:11 PM
Scarlett came home last night and is willing to consider moving to another state, probably the Pacific Northwest. But maybe we should look at Star, Idaho, too. We'll have to do some careful and methodical research. Meanwhile she brought me a very cool T-shirt from Venice and chocolate bars from Belgium and Italy so now I guess I owe her a new iPhone ....
Along with those of you who posted here (and whom I want to thank yet again) I also heard from two long lost modelers. One is a friend whose work I published more than once in my books and magazines, Doug Heitkamp, from Colorado. He seems finally to have settled on modeling the Santa Fe circa 1955 in HO standard gauge after decades with the narrow gauge Colorado & Southern. Doug is an outstanding modeler.
The other rascal is the guy who designed this forum, Marc Reusser. He's burned out on modeling for a while (no surprise given the intensity he put into his work) and his business has taken off so he's quite busy. He's healthy and finds time to get on the mountain bicycle a few times a week.
The fire fighters did a remarkable job. They really are heroes and everybody around here knows it. You never would guess our neighborhood could have disintegrated in a couple of hours if you were here today ... unless you look at the charred hillsides a couple of miles away.
Russ
So , Russ, your wife buys you a T-shirt and some chocolate and you need to buy her an IPhone ? I'm glad my wife only needs a new horse every time I get a new Land Rover !
But we didn't have fire but 3 x floodwaters in the house. No we don't even live on the coast by a river, it just rained so much that our cellar ran full of water. That didn't survive my track N model railway and since then I have all my hobby rooms on the 1 floor. Since my LGB railway was the only one that survived these floods repairable, I came to a scale of 1:22.5. We live on a mountain with forest and also this one burned this year after months without rain, only luckily the fire was discovered very quickly and could be extinguished. Our forests serve commercial forestry and are therefore equipped with paved roads for the timber discharge, on these paths large fire engines can also drive. These paths can also be used by everyone on foot, providing a high recreational value. Classic fire-fighting aircraft do not exist in Germany. But helicopter from the army is also used, and in the case of very large fires, fire-fighting aircraft from European neighbouring countries are used. In addition, in large forest or heathland, there are fire observation towers and aircraft that observe the situation in long periods of the season. There was a large fire this year in a large bog area within a troop training ground. Reason one had allowed Airbus to test there, firing missiles from a helicopter. Unfortunately, the only suitable fire tank was just defective and so the flames could not be extinguished and there was a huge conflagration. Yes, you think you live safely and then something like that absolutely avoidable, through official posts.
Therefore, my sympathy to all the victims and to all those who have been lucky this time, since further prepared for danger and watch how you can improve your personal situation.