It's the weirdest feeling
 

Hundreds of people in SoCal had to evacuate due to the fires today, some watched their houses burn before their eyes but many others are going to sleep tonight not knowing whether they'll still have a house in the morning.

One of my best friends is in that boat tonight and I actually have a little skin in the game myself. I'm moving out of the shop I've had downtown and parked my 1963 Airstream trailer, my car trailer w an antique Saab 96 on it and two other vehicles at his place. They might all be gone.

His entire house, (that he just bought this year), and everything in it might be ashes. We just don't know. Houses on his street have incinerated but some were also spared, according to the last helicopter shots on news. This is a viscous fire and not contained at all. It moved so fast that they had to leave suddenly when flames were basically lapping at their door this afternoon.

It was a dramatic day of moving horses, dogs and people...the other stuff is just stuff. He moved his brother, SIL and their newborn over when brother's place was in fire path and then they all had to bail suddenly from the house where my stuff is.

The Airstream I am very attached to, I've put a lot of work into it and it has lots of personal stuff inside including stuff from my Dad's house who passed away 3 years ago. The rest are cars I like but totally replaceable. If it all is burned and he doesn't have the right wildfire insurance, (or it only covers his stuff and not mine), I'd be out about $60-70k in dollars.

The weirdest thing is not knowing. I'm going to sleep now and I'll update this tomorrow. :cool:

Best of luck Denis.

Hey Dennis, good luck and stay safe. Take care of your family. This will be my sister's second time this year. She's on stand by.

Hope it turns out well. You must have nerves of steel, I don't know how you can sleep.

I was on the phone yesterday with my nephew,as he was evacuating from Ventura.
He is there for some LEO training being shared with Mexican counterparts. And they had to pack up and get out in mid afternoon, as flames blew into their area.

In both his military and LO career he has been in some messy situations, said this high wind wildfire stuff is about as bad as it gets.

I'm hoping the best for all the folks impacted by this one!
Also hope the Mullins museum/ Bugatti collection survives, I can't help but worry about these special collections at risk. I was sweating for a special Porsche collection in Santa Rosa too, it survived.

Part of me feels this concern about stuff in the face of these huge disasters is sick on my part. But some stuff is special and not replaceable. What can I say, I'm a car guy.

I hope you get good news this morning Denis.

Holy crap.
Happy thoughts coming your way.
Best of luck to all.

When I was young, I remember my dad and his siblings talk about being 'burnt out".
His family had a homestead in Northern Saskatchewan and they were "burnt out" of several of their homes while growing up. Prairie wind driven wildfires move incredibly fast.
Even though they didn't have much, not many of their possessions and keepsakes survived those times.
Best wishes to those that are now facing the threat of wildfires. Truly a terrifying force of nature.

I don't know about nerves of steel, more like a feeling of helplessness(?), there is absolutely nothing I can do about the situation at this point. The fire moved so fast yesterday that we did not anticipate it making it over there and would not have tried to move vehicles. I actually slept pretty well.

Some stuff is more special than other stuff, for sure. The newest brush fire this morning is in Bel Air and threatening the Getty Center, that would be a lot of priceless art that makes even the rarest Ferrari look like a box of cereal. :(

I hope your Air Stream and your friend's place are spared. Even though we don't have any problems right now where I live, I have a small feeling of uncertainty since this is a high fire danger area. Some companies won't insure in this area, & I'm wondering when/if that's going to be universal in the future. They've taken a big hit this year, & have to compensate for it somehow in the form of higher rates and/or denial of coverage.

No mention of that lovely blue R100RS. Keep her safe too! Hang in there.

i had dinner last night at a a holiday party. the couple next to us were about the same age and we hit it off. they lost their home up here.

they were happy and healthy..HAPPY!! really happy. i asked them how they keep a great attitude. they lost everything. they were happy to get out alive. and they had awesome insurance. the wife is a nurse, and she is super proactive. they already have a builder lined up and found a new apartment developement to rent in. they registered their two pitbulls as service animals so they could get into the apartment..(suggested to them by the landlord)

the rest is just stuff..when i ran, i didnt even pause at my gun safe..haha..the only thing i brought was my lucky HP 48GX calculator..my wife still thinks i'm a super nerd becasue of it.

Sad to hear about anybody losing their homes to fire. How does it work with property insurance? The premiums must be going through the roof with high risk of fire areas?:confused:

this is December..way past our fire season.

Had a scare yesterday with the fire in Santa Clarita. Had to take the back roads up to Lake Elizabeth and catch Lake Hughes Rd back down to the 5 fwy, took a few extra hours.

It was a beautiful drive though, even paused to watch the planes dip into Castaic Lake and come roaring back over the mountain to make their water drops. Very surreal and brought about a sense of calm. All clear today and out of danger for now. Hope all turns out well Denis, sounds like your stuff is up by the fire in Sylmar?

damn..you live in Santa Clarita? i had to stay there a few weeks ago. i should have reached out.

Call me next time your down. I'm actually in Castaic, got lots of spare bedrooms!

roger..

i stayed at that Hampton in Santa Clarita..i was dusty from days in the desert. i told the clerk. " i cant wait until i get to sleep in a real bed"
he responded with, " and a real shower...oh, that came out wrong..you dont stink..i should shut up now".

it was pretty funny. i did leave a big tip for the cleaning crew.

Very sorry to hear this.
Why couldn't you load up the Airstream and drive it out?

Dude, put together a bug out bag. Put some of the things that you can live without but they make life easier. A new toothbrush, a razor if you think that is vital, and put a list in there of the things you really need. Any medicines you take regularly.

On the list put down a leash for the dog, identification, cell phone chargers, good boots, extra underwear, some bottles of water and so on.

It is important to have a list because you might only have minutes. Have the bag in a handy place and have it ready to load up with the items you need.

My extended family owns all of Sulphur Mountain above Ojai.

It's all gone. 7 separate houses, some dating back to pioneer California, some as new as 2016.

The new ones (built to latest fire resistant standards) burned just as easily as the oldest. Winds when they all left yesterday afternoon were 60 to 70 miles an hour at the top of the mountain.

So far, everyone is accounted for. Pets are with them, most of the livestock is unaccounted for, all were turned loose, and not in sight during flyover this morning.

I'm always a last minute shopper for Christmas, but this year, it's all going to local church charity and the Red Cross.