Don't wait too long my friend - being a sailor I have learned (the hard way) not to fool with Mother Nature - just when you think you have things figured out - bam. We are pulling for you on the other West Coast (of Florida, that is!)

Please be careful, guys! :eek:

I've seen Australian Bushfires (Forest Fires) raging, first hand and they're terrifying, yet hauntingly beautiful at the same time. I remember haulin' ass with my parents in the family car, both sides of the road ablaze. Fire as far as the eye could see in two directions, with a fire front of over 30 miles...

I don't want to parrot what everyone's said, but get out while it's relatively safe to do so.

I'm praying for you guys and watching this thread with earnest. Great pictures too, Scott.

Dude, I'd be packin' it up. It looks like it's time to call in the troops! The later it gets and with darkness arriving shortly, the more difficult and confusing it will be to leave. The closer the fire gets to your house, the more tangled the traffic will become, thus further hindering your flight to safety. Leave NOW! If anyone else is there to help you evacuate and waiting around for you to decide, you are putting THEIR lives in danger… THINK about it… It is always better to error on the side of caution than lose it all! We'll be praying for all of you out there and for your continued safety, Scott. God's speed, gentlemen!

My two bits...Get outa there! I want to read posts from ALL of you, okay?

Scott: though the National Weather Service says the Santa Anas have diminished, I wouldn't trust that entirely. You do understand they rise up again once the sun sets. We have about a 30 minutes more of daylight; 60 at max.

If at least, keep the TV or radio on and listen for the wind reports. I'd truly be on my toes right about now...

Godspeed.

To All the westies out there.. stay safe. Don't take a chance if you don't have to. It's a lot easier to come back to a safe house than to be running for safety at the last min.

Take care and keep us posted!

Chuck

Scary stuff guys. Don't take any risks. Get out if it even starts to look bad.

Our thoughts are with you.

Ash

Bernee the wonder pooch is standing guard.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1067303319.jpg

I think I actually saw these homes on the evening news tonight. The bite said they were missed. i hope for them it did. nothing worse than being 3,000 miles away from friends in need.. totally helpless. I hope the fact we have not heard from them means they got the hell out of there. we are waiting to hear your news. Another Florida west coaster.

WOW, what a terrifing day you've been having. I can understand wanting to stay with all you have worked so hard for, but everybody is right to be worried and you really need to get out before it gets too dangerous. You guys all be careful, we have Malubu runs planned for the near future!!

Godspeed.

Bet yer glad you didn't fill the ac with propane :)

6:00 pm update: The winds are nil. Though there's fire over the ridge, it doesn't appear to be moving fast. So far, so good. If the winds stay down, I think we're in good shape!

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1067307526.jpg

spooky.......godspeed to you

Man I gotta tell you ..your pictures have been great! I mean I know it's a bad sitution and all, but your pictures are great. That is evident by the emotions they have created in this thread. It's about more than Porsches here.

How you doing, Scott? Haven't heard anything. I guess you're watching the Chargers Dolphins game, right? :D

7:00 p.m. update

First of all, I want to publicly, and profusely, thank Kevin (KevinP) and Michael (singpilot) for coming over and hanging with me for the afternoon. They brought a van, and at a moment's notice we would have been loaded-up and outta here. I can't begin to thank them enough for taking half of their day to help me out. I also want to thank Amir (Zamirz). He offered to help, and called a couple of times to check up on me. What great guys!
http://www.pelicanparts.com/support/...s/beerchug.gif

Here are the latest pictures. They probably look worse than the actual situation reflects. If the winds stay calm, I'm guardedly optimistic.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1067311391.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1067311415.jpg

It's really inspiring to see how much help has been offered to Scott, I don't know if you guys were close before this tragedy, but the amount of assistance offered just shows what a great board this is. When people are willing to step out from the annonymous internet and offer real, physical help, it just shows that there are still good people out there. Don't wait too long though guys, around here it's tornados, no fires (nothing worth burning in Kansas), but regardless, mother nature is nothing to f- with. Don't take a chance with your lives, and especially not with your Porsches or Ferraris, for god sake, at least send them to me. Just kidding, good luck, you'll be in my prayers. Matt

Are you planning to try to sleep through this, Scott?

I'm a heavy sleeper, so I doubt I'd be going to bed knowing all that is out there... :(

Matt: I knew Kevin casually, thru the Board and some canyon runs. I'd never met Michael before. Yet, when the "stuff" was about to hit the fan, they were here in the blink of an eye. Kevin even shut down his shop for the day (though he said he was looking for any excuse to do so. :)). I am so touched by their willingness to reach out and help, that I can't begin to put into words what I'm feeling.

Just another day in Pelican-land...

Scott, I hope those flames are east of you, since it looks like the onshores will finally kick up tomorrow. Yesterday in Malibu was just nuts... howling hot winds shifting every which way. I posted some pics http://forums.pelicanparts.com/off-topic-discussions/133134-beauty-terror.html. Wildfires are capricious beasts...that one came out of nowhere...

Having lived in the path of the Oakland Hills fire (way back in 1991) which consumed over 2500 homes, I feel your pain!! I too spent an entire day alternating between mesmerized awe and terrible fear as I watched the fire storm its way down out of the hills. The best thing I did was to head off to a safe location with friends and wait for events to play out.

Scott, and everyone else dealing with fires on SoCal, think clearly!!! The fire is going to do whatever it wants to do and you have absolutely no influence on it... don't mess with it and don't tempt fate.

Todd: They're just west and northwest of me. I'm hoping the winds tomorrow don't push them in my direction. I'll be up early monitoring the news reports and weather services.

I'm in Newhall and the fire is coming over Stevensons Ranch and Sunset Pointe at the Calgrove exit off the 5 Frwy. Its about 1/2 mile from my house, and I'm at the end of a box canyon with lots of brush, so were moving stuff to the relatives house now. I think will be OK because my canyon burned a year ago summer and took out a lot, but not all the brush, but we have lots of grasses now. Gotta Go.

Well scott, i dont think i would need to remind ya, but as we both know about Cali fires, if it comes over that ridge in your last pic, there is the great chance it will continue in your direction. Get yourself, loved ones,Kevin, and Sing out of their before it comes sweeping thru.

Again, I wish I could be out there to help ya,(our anybody else on or off this board) and I would if I wasnt here in Vegas.

Godspeed. Looks like a long night ahead.

Hugh: If you need help, call me. I'll send you a PM with numbers.

Scott

They just said on the news that tomorrow, the winds should die down to about 20 to 25 mph, and there will also be more humidity.

20-25 mph winds concern me. :( Humidity would be a blessing. :)

A big part of my sales territory is the Valley... Anyone think I should even bother going up there tomorrow, or should I just stay away... I have at least one appointment in Van Nuys tomorrow.

Ok, Hugh, sounds like you'd better be packin' light and and ready to travel... for safety's sake. But know this: you are in our prayers and even though we can't be there to help, our heart is with you, brother. I just hope you and your loved ones (Porsches included) make it out of that canyon safely and may your dwelling be spared. Let us know how you fare. Best of luck.

Sonic: Traffic will be a b!tch during rush hour, but Van Nuys won't be impacted by the fire. If you don't have to go, then don't, but if it's an important appointment there's no reason to cancel it. Who knows, I may be home from work again tomrorow, and you can come hang here!

Scott

Scott, if they are a bit north of you that might help. Usually when the marine layer kicks in the winds come out of the SW (more south depending on if there is an eddy effect happening). In these conditions though you never know. At least it looks like the howling Santa Ana's are over with. Best of luck.

One advantage to years of chasing surf in SoCal. You learn a little about weather and winds :)

Scott...yeah, traffics always a b!tch anyway... Ill probably come out. I wish I could help the firefighters out though.

Anybody know if the fires around El Cahon Pass are down the south side of Mt. Baldy towards Upland/Rancho Cucamonga? I have sis-in-law that lives right up against the base of the mountain. Reckon I need to get on the horn....

My advice to anyone coming to Van Nuys (actually anywhere in the valley or L.A. basin) tomorrow would be to bring a particle mask. The air is thick and your throat starts to burn the moment you inhale.

Fantastic
 

To all of you in the previous messages, I am very impressed with the caring and concern. I'm in San Francisco (at work) and my home is in the knolls area of Simi.

It has been difficult getting news of the fire from the news up here, and even the LA TV news on the internet has been lacking. I've been communicating with my son at the house and he's been watering everything down.

Thank you all for the information in your postings and especially the pictures.

Good luck and may God bless!

SmileWavy

Folks, I've been going thru this day on about 3 hours of sleep, and I've run out of gas. I'm going to call it a day...and hope that tomorrow is better than today was.

My heartfelt thanks to all of you for your kind words and support. It means a great deal to me.

Scott

Hi All, Thanks

It looks like were OK for now, the fire department dumped a bunch of fire suppressant before they shut down the aerial support for the night, and it seems to be working. Anyway, I'll post in the AM. Last years fire was rather incredible. NOTE: THIS WAS LAST YEAR, NOT TODAY. http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1067315621.jpgSmileWavy

I just got back to the marina from Scott's house. It would have taken a real strong west wind (not impossible, but incredibly unlikely) to get to him when we left, or we wouldn't have left.

I fly tomorrow 0745 from VNY to SJC, and the departure is right over Scott's house. I told him I'd wake him up, haha.

We were watching the fire on the TV and stepping out on the upstairs balcony to see it directly. The flames on TV were awesome, but all we saw was the glow in the smoke. The fire was headed away from Scott's place for several hours at the end. When we arrived it was pretty scary.

We'll all check in on him tomorrow, I'll be going right over him on the way north.

Good luck Hugh, wish we'd known, we'd have come right up in the van!

Michael.

Thanks Michael, Last years fire started with embers from across the 5 Frwy that drifted about a half mile or so, were still doing a fire watch tonight in the home owners association.