LA/Santa Barbara fires

[MAlegant]

Wishing all of our California friends to be safe and to check in and let us know how you are doing. I hope that damn wind dies down before too long.
Best,
Marci

[NL]

Hi Marci and all,

The Santa Barbara/Montecito area fires that started a few days ago are about 90miles north of Los Angeles in a beautiful area with many multimillion dollar estates.

For those in Los Angeles, the Sylmar fire (now named the"Sayre" fire) is closer to home. It began at about 10:30 PM last night in the foothill area of the San Fernando Valley, and is still uncontained. This is an area that has also been hit hard in the past by several earthquakes.

The fire has also taken down some power lines and there have been some blackouts, as well. Freeways in the north valley have also been closed. I have family that had to be evacuated a month ago with the last round of fires. I hope and pray, as Marci said, that the Santa Ana winds die down soon!

Thanks for checking in with your CA buddies,

Nancy

[LADavid]

Hey Marci
Thanks for keeping us in mind.  Like Nancy said, the Montecito area is beautiful.  It's a real shame.  And the fire that started last night is a good way from me and at the opposite end of the San Fernando Valley for Nancy.  I'm quite sure she can see it at night.  If any of these fires were to be a danger to either of us, Los Angeles would be in big trouble.  From where I sit in my new place, I can see the mountains to the northeast and they seem to be fine.  But it is hot again today.  I think we set a record here yesterday.  It seems like we're skipping the Fall and going straight to Winter.

Thanks again
David

[DebraInTexas]

Lance and I just got to CA a few hours ago and are staying this weekend in Yorba Linda with some friends, and there is a large fire close to here.  (Sorry, I'm not sure exactly where the fire is that started last night, and maybe this one is it.) The smoke was really bad at my friends house.  How scary.

So much for hanging outside today and enjoying the beautiful air in sunny CA.  But, if I look the other way, the sky is beautiful!

Take care all you Californians.

Deb

[LADavid]

Wow, Deb

I just looked over toward Yorba Linda and I can see the smoke in the sky.  That's at the opposite end of LA from last night's fire.  Hope you're staying safe.  No need to be concerned though when you're at St Vincent's.
Welcome to LA
Have a very successful surgery on Tuesday.

David

[NL]

Deb,

Sorry about the welcome to CA. I just saw on the news that the new, bigger fire is in the Yorba Linda area, with another one starting in Anaheim Hills. We're thinking of you and your friends in the area. Be careful, and good luck with your surgery on Tuesday. Hopefully all the fires will be out by then.

Nancy

[DebraInTexas]

Thanks guys for the well wishes.  Yes, we are preparing to evacuate right now.  THe smoke here is horrible!  And ashes are everywhere.  A family at the church here where I used to go, just lost their home I found out.  It is a bad situation.  Who knows where we will end up tonight, but I hope is far from this area.  Please pray for our friends and their homes here.

It is good to know that at St. Vincent's all will be well.  THat is a relief!

Deb

[msmaggie]

I was in Montecito a couple of years ago when my niece graduated from Westmont.  It is a beautiful campus in a gorgeous area.  I read today that several buildings and dorms have been destroyed.  Fires scare me silly, and my heart goes out to all affected by the fires  in CA.

Priscilla

[wendysig]

All  of you in the Los Angeles area have been on my mind since the fires started.  I hope you are all well and safe.  What a tragedy these fires are, when I see pictures on the news and in the papers it makes me thankful it has been so rainy here.  We get a lot of wildfires on Staten Island because in spite of the building boom that has gone on in NYC and here in particular, it is still the greenest borough in our fair city and has, in fact, been dubbed the borough of parks because of the abundance of parks here.  There are still a lot of protected forested areas and wetlands  here and when it gets and stays too dry it can be a problem, although not nearly as bad as the fires in California.

Wendy

[sgerrard]

Thansk for the link, Donnalynn. It sounds like Debra is in the three days of nausea stage, hopefully she'll be over that by Friday. There may be a facial nerve tweak in there, if I read Lance's reports right, but also hope for hearing preservation. Hope she does well.

Steve