Massive fires in Napa and Sonoma Counties

[bcla]

I've got a cousin in Santa Rosa that family members are trying to track down but have been unable to so far. Apparently she's in the evacuation zone and no one's heard from her.

I think a lot of people evacuating might not have gotten their cell phones or might not have the means to charge them. The fires are also damaging existing communications infrastructure and taxing the system.

Hopefully your cousin is safe.

 

[jdb in AZ]

I'm surprised so many people are at Disneyland. Air quality you can sink your teeth into.

 

[bcla]

View attachment 275975

I'm surprised so many people are at Disneyland. Air quality you can sink your teeth into.

I'm kind of far away from any of the fires. Right now the sky is kind of hazy but other than the smell of smoke it's not that crazy. I was a student at UC Berkeley during the Oakland/Berkeley Hills fire of 1991, and was busy working in a computer lab when they shut the power down. I remember going up the building where there was an open door and seeing how the sky was just glowing orange. I didn't have a direct view of the fire, but the glow from the flames just turned the sky that color.

The closest I remember was on a trip to British Columbia in 2015. They had some serious lightning-created forest fires all throughout the province. We were in Victoria when the gray skies started to gradually turn brown. It seemed like a straight line where the smoke blew in.

 

[pigletto]

A friend posted pictures online of her daughters elementary school. Burned to the ground. What a scary and sad situation.

 

[asta]

Very sad to see so much destruction. It looks like many have lost everything. So far 2017 has been a terrible year. Keeping everyone in my thoughts and prayers.

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

The winds are currently low, which is good news for the firefighters but bad news for air quality. The air quality is much worse today than it was last night. Just went outside to grab lunch and it hurts to breathe now. Both the Tubbs (Sonoma) and Atlas (Napa) still at 0% containment. We were just issued a high wind warning for 5pm tonight through 5pm tomorrow, so things could change rapidly.

I may have said this already (updating a lot of people) but the hotel where DH and I got married burned to the ground.

 

[bcla]

I’ve been watching local TV and there are some mandatory evacuation orders, but people refusing to leave. Apparently a lot of those refusing are older. Here’s one notice:

https://patch.com/california/sonomavalley/sonoma-county-fires-oakmont-residents-told-evacuate-now

 

[ols386]

This sounds so scary. Sending prayers for everyone out there.

 

[Mirielle]

Anyone have any info on Anaheim Hills? My friend had to evacuate yesterday morning and there have been no new posts today from him. I'm very worried.

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

I’ve been watching local TV and there are some mandatory evacuation orders, but people refusing to leave. Apparently a lot of those refusing are older. Here’s one notice:

https://patch.com/california/sonomavalley/sonoma-county-fires-oakmont-residents-told-evacuate-now

Oakmont has a very large population of retirees. I’m wondering if it’s more they can’t evacuate. That particular evacuation came quickly and with instructions to not pack a thing and just leave.

Evacuations have picked up a lot of pace in the last hour or so as the Nuns Fire spreads. Still 0% containment as of now on all of them and it’s up to 115,000 acres +

 

[bcla]

Oakmont has a very large population of retirees. I’m wondering if it’s more they can’t evacuate. That particular evacuation came quickly and with instructions to not pack a thing and just leave.

Evacuations have picked up a lot of pace in the last hour or so as the Nuns Fire spreads. Still 0% containment as of now on all of them and it’s up to 115,000 acres +

The report I saw was of a Santa Rosa Police spokesman saying that they had officers going door to door telling people that they had to evacuate but some simply refused to do so. He said that at that point there was nothing more they could do because they had to keep on going door to door.

There was one reporter in a neighborhood where they showed one guy living who was staying there spraying down various homes with a garden hose. Apparently he was doing that for various homes in the neighborhood where his neighbors had already evacuated.

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

The report I saw was of a Santa Rosa Police spokesman saying that they had officers going door to door telling people that they had to evacuate but some simply refused to do so. He said that at that point there was nothing more they could do because they had to keep on going door to door.

There was one reporter in a neighborhood where they showed one guy living who was staying there spraying down various homes with a garden hose. Apparently he was doing that for various homes in the neighborhood where his neighbors had already evacuated.

They have made it clear in situations right now they are doing life saving measures, not structure saving measures.

There are a lot of heart warming stories of people coming together to help. A friend of mine owns a miniature horse ranch and needed to evacuate yesterday. She didn’t know how she was going to do it and after her first load, came back feeling heartbroken she wouldn’t be able to move them all. When she arrived back at the ranch, she was greeted by 22 horse trailers, ready and waiting - friends and strangers alike transported 100 horses in 90 mins.

 

[mnrose]

nt

 

[bcla]

They have made it clear in situations right now they are doing life saving measures, not structure saving measures.

There’s controversy over private personnel hired by insurance companies that are paid to cover their insured homeowners’ properties with fire retardant. Some see these people in fire protective gear wondering why their homes aren’t treated or hosed down. Some even have real fire trucks waiting to possibly suppress active fires approaching the customer’s home.

 

[Owlpost23]

Have a few cousins in Santa Rosa.One had his house burned to the ground.Makes it especially awful because he lost his wife of over 40 years this year also.Words can't describe...

 

[tvguy]

I think a lot of people evacuating might not have gotten their cell phones or might not have the means to charge them. The fires are also damaging existing communications infrastructure and taxing the system.

Hopefully your cousin is safe.

Just talked to Calfire. Communication it the big problem. Most cell sites are down, as are many landlines. One of the hospitals put out a FB plea to call the hospital landline numbers, not their supervisors cell phones because the landlines were still working, the cells were not.

 

[RangerPooh]

We heard from a cousin yesterday that they are ok. My great aunt and uncle who are both in their 90s were not located until late last night as they were evacuated for health reasons. Another family member has yet to check in, but should be out of the fire zone. Learned that the home which my great aunt and uncle raised their kids (and sold a number of year back) burned to the ground. Last they heard, there's was still standing.

 

[Mrs. Ciz]

My cousin's house in Orange County is still standing. The firefighters took a stand on their street and were able to beat back the flames. The fire came right up to the guest house at the back of their property but nothing burned. I am still waiting to hear about my Santa Rosa cousin. Northern California has been hit so hard by these fires.

 

[sasywtch]

I just heard from a cousin in Santa Rosa. They have hot water and can flush but no electricity. He's grateful. I have seen numerous posts on my facebook as a ranch by me is a shelter for horses. They were asking for volunteers with horse trailers, etc to go get the horses to board. Also, 100 nursing home residents were moved here and needed supplies.

I did see a post for a plastic kid's pool to be donated for some rescued ducks

The smoke is ugly here and we have warnings of bad air quality.

 

[bcla]

We don't live that close to the fires, but of course the entire Bay Area is dealing with the choking smoke. I found out that my kid's school district is stopping all instruction on Thursday although offices will be open and teachers will be reporting to school. I guess the idea is because arriving/leaving school means more exposure to the smoke. This is really nasty right now.