Hang in there guys, I hope everyone makes it through this safely.

Jim

Let me know if anyone needs shelter near Las Vegas for a while ... have two rooms available.

Just went running down by the ocean here in south bay LA, between Palos Verdes and Redondo Beach... you can see the ring of brown smoke blown out over the ocean all across the bay. This is especially evident when wearing sunglasses with the polarized glass. Reminds me of 3 years ago, actually had some ash flying all the way down here from the valley.

Yeah, I can see that "ring of brown," and I'm in Burbank. :eek:

Is it coming from the Malibu fire? Where is it currently burning? I have no access to immediate news reports.

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/New...orniaFires.jpg

Thinking of all my SoCal buddies and family. You all could use a few inches of the snow we received this weekend.

If things had worked out as we had planned/desired, we'd me right in the middle of this disaster right now. We were looking at house in Rancho Bernardo, Rancho Santa Fe and Scripts Ranch, scary!

Hope you all pull through un-scathed.

-Brad

I just watched the local news as I have been out working all day (unusual in itself because of the recession). The whole damn place is on fire. This is gonna be a tough one even though they're all tough. This one may set some records in terms of disaster and billions in damage. So far, no loss of human life that we know of.

Used to drive past there everyday to work. The fire 4 years ago reached crossed I-15 less than 1 mile away.

Gawd, I hope I'm wrong here...but looking at this pic, how evenly and strategically spaced these fires seem to be? ...yeah, I'll say it...
perhaps planned terrorism?

Sure I wanna play. There's very little done in CA that couldn't be done just as well elsewhere, the 4th largest port on earth however is a little harder to move. As for the tax differential, LA has been raped by the federal govt for almost every nickel of oil royalties ever produced by the state. Give us our money & we'll take care of our own.

Don't get me wrong, I wish everybody in CA the best. It did chap my ass pretty badly to see the comments about NO when the need was here.

if you have a pool and they tell you to leave, Please paint POOL on you front lawn or garage door

it might save your house

So, my mom's in the hills behind Claremont and my dad's in Forest Falls behind Redlands. How are things in those areas? Parents are less than forthcoming these days.

Thanks,

Jess

Excellent suggestion, also as fire hydrants can run dry and/or lose pressure.

Isn't Claremont and Redlands in San Bernardino County? I'd call the SB Sheriff, if so. They can give you some information.

Stay safe SoCal people....

Been in a few bushfires over here - thoughts are with you.

****e, we get fires up here in the interior, but not this bad. I remember back in 94 I think when we lost some home and a great big pile of forest near where I lived. Sky was dark for weeks from smoke.

Tip your hats to the folks flying the aircraft as a few of them are lost every year trying to save our homes and livelyhoods. Same goes for the ground crews.

Hope you guys make out okay down there!


Cheers

Just flew out of LA (Burbank) this evening enroute to Seattle. Astonishing amount of smoke. Bone dry, hot, and plenty of wind. Not a good situation.

Just got back from Lake Arrowhead. Arrived yesterday and was going to spend a few days at a resort with the family and the inlaws, but when the fires kicked in this morning it changed our plans. We were staying in the town, near the lake, and things looked OK initially. By mid afternoon our options were dwindling. (With apologies to The Clash): Should we stay or should we go?
So I applied the time tested rule of aviation:
"What is the worst thing that can happen if I choose this option?"
We packed and left.
Lake Arrowhead was a ghost town and the roads mostly clear as we descended down to San Bernadino. It was blowing like hell when we left, and visibility was pretty poor with the smoke. We were fortunate as the only damage we received was a cracked fog light lens on my poor sand-blasted 540i.
I hope the winds abate for those poor homeowners up there. Glad to be home.

Yes, while we've all been focused on people getting The Bomb, what they have really been building is a weather machine!