San Diego on fire!

Lamb busa

50 warming to 70 again
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The I-15 has been closed for 12 hours now.  I-8 was closed til recently.  Lots of house damage and structure damage.  Hope there is no members up there.  This is just a bad situation because 400,000 people or so are out of their homes tonight and who knows when they'll be able to return.  Evacuations and the like.  Lamb just heard that they are going to close the I-5 by Camp Pendleton.


SAN DIEGO - Wildfires fanned by fierce desert winds consumed huge swaths of bone-dry Southern California on Monday, burning dozens of buildings and threatening hundreds more from Malibu to San Diego, including a jail, a hospital and nursing homes.

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More than a dozen wildfires had engulfed the region, killing at least one person, injuring dozens more and forcing hundreds of thousands of evacuations. Overwhelmed firefighters said they lacked the resources to save many houses.

"We have more houses burning than we have people and engine companies to fight them," San Diego Fire Captain Lisa Blake said. "A lot of people are going to lose their homes today."

Nearly 250,000 people were forced to flee in San Diego County alone, where hundreds of patients were being moved by school bus and ambulance from a hospital and nursing homes, sheriff's spokeswoman Susan Knauss said.

About a dozen blazes erupted over the weekend, feeding on drought-parched land from the high desert to the Pacific Ocean. One person was killed and several injured in a fire near the Mexican border, and dozens of structures have burned across the region.

Warm temperatures and strong winds created "dramatically worse" conditions overnight as flames shot 200 feet high, said Bill Metcalf, chief of the North County Fire Protection District.

In Orange County, a 1,049-inmate jail was being evacuated because of heavy smoke, sheriff's spokesman Jim Amormino said. Inmates were being bused to another facility in Irvine.

All San Diego Police Department officers and off duty detectives were ordered to return to work to help with evacuations.

The fires have burned about 100,000 acres, or 156 square miles, in San Diego County, said county Supervisor Ron Roberts. Across the region, 40,000 acres, or 62 square miles, had burned by Sunday.

"This is a major emergency," Roberts said.

In many cases, crews couldn't begin to fight the fires because they were too busy rescuing residents who refused to leave, fire officials said.

"They didn't evacuate at all, or delayed until it was too late," Metcalf said. "And those folks who are making those decisions are actually stripping fire resources."

Among the people who wouldn't leave was Ken Morris, who stayed at his rural San Diego County home to rescue his horses.

"I heard the cops come by and I just ducked," he said. "I had a beer and waited it out."

More than a dozen people were being treated at the UC San Diego Medical Center Regional Burn Center for burns and smoke inhalation, including four fighters "â€￾ three in critical condition, officials said. Some of the injured were hikers, and others may be illegal immigrants.

One blaze devoured more than 5,000 acres in northern San Diego County and forced the evacuation of the community of Ramona, which has a population of about 36,000. Several structures were burned on the edge of town and sheriff's deputies called residents to alert them the fire was approaching the city, San Diego sheriff's Lt. Phil Brust said.

"The winds are up, it's very, very dangerous conditions," San Diego County spokeswoman Lesley Kirk said. "Fires are popping up all over the place."

Guardsmen assigned to the border were forced to evacuate one of their barracks and troops were aiding evacuations, said Col. David Baldwin, director of operations for the California National Guard.

"The border is still secure, but agents are evacuating the threatened areas and the Guard is supporting that operation," Baldwin said.

Qualcomm Stadium, home to the NFL's Chargers, was added to a growing list of evacuation centers.

The fires were being fueled by stronger than usual Santa Ana winds roaring out of the region's canyons, scientists said Monday. The powerful, dry winds typically blow between October and February and peak in December.

Typically, Santa Ana conditions last about a day, but the ones that flared up over the weekend were expected to last through Tuesday.

"For it to be this strong for so many days is unusual," said Stuart Seto, a weather specialist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard.

In Saugus, north of Los Angeles, about 120 people spent the night on cots in the gymnasium of Saugus High School, principal Bill Bolde said.

Michele Beard fled her home with her husband, mother-in-law and three older children.

"It just lit up the whole mountainside fiery red," said Beard, 48. "I had never seen anything like that so close before."

The fire in Malibu had destroyed or damaged 16 structures, among them a church, homes and a historic castle, and was expected to burn for another two to three days, Los Angeles County Fire Chief P. Michael Freeman said. "There will literally be thousands of homes that will be threatened" until the blaze is out, he said.
 
Thanks for the post, Lamb. Looking forward to a change in the weather so they can get this shizzle under control.

Some of our favorite riding areas are being decimated by this conflagration. In some instances, we will be able to see through some of the turns, though. If there is a silver lining, however thin, that might be it.

Lots of folks at home waiting for the air quality to return to acceptable.
 
BTW: House of Motorcycles has shut down in light of the fire. ;( Too bad, I was going for a conjugal visit with my bike.
 
Should make for some interesting pics in the next couple of weeks!
 
Lots of these kinds of scenes!

fire.jpg
 
62 homes just in one community alone. Dozens of communities affected.

Please note: The following homes have been confirmed destroyed by News 8 reporters on the ground. This list is not official, or complete.

Rancho Bernardo Area
The following are address located in the 17,000 Block of Valladares Drive: 17616, 17788, 17848, 17635, 17605

11686 Jocatal Court

Cabella Drive:
18013, 17995, 17987, 17961, 11488, 11449

Aliento Court:
11552, 11533, 11523, 11512

Duenda Rd:
11478, 11479, 11469, 11468, 11464, 11458, 11459

Azucar Way:
17885, 17864, 17865, 17816, 17824, 17808

Aquamiel:
21 Homes

Escoba Place:
4 Homes

Danza Circle:
11517, 11534, 11537, 11524

Palito Court:
11529, 11536

Alcalde Street:
11476, 11460

Ipai Court
11072

Poway
Sagewood Drive
13956
 
LAMB! I hope you're alright there brother! I remember almost 4 years ago, SD (as well as all of SoCal) was on fire. I was supposed to go to the Chargers/Dolphins game for Monday Night Football but the game was cancelled. It just seems like Deja Vu. I havent been up on the news but was the SD fire Arson or other causes?
 
Early reports have the fire being started by downed power lines in the heavy winds. Lamb is OK Gutterpimp. The places where they are urging people to evacuate to is near the Lamb dwelling.
 
That would be the Old Town and Sports Arena area, right? Be careful out there bro. We're all pulling for you guys out there. There's a pretty massive fire near my wherabouts that we're keepin an eye on (Lake Arrowhead/Running Springs/Big Bear Fire). Also the Glen Helen/Devore area is being scorched as we speak.
 
That would be the Old Town and Sports Arena area, right? Be careful out there bro. We're all pulling for you guys out there. There's a pretty massive fire near my wherabouts that we're keepin an eye on (Lake Arrowhead/Running Springs/Big Bear Fire). Also the Glen Helen/Devore area is being scorched as we speak.
Good luck to you, too, brother.
 
been watching this throughout the day...let us know if there is anything you need that we can help you with
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Fires are all over SoCal.

Malibu, Lake Arrowhead, Castic, Canyon Country, a couple more near Ontario, and another in Orange County. Plus more I'm sure.

The one in Orange County was caused by arson! Lit in 3 different spots!!

The Lake Arrowhead fire has burned more than 70 homes.

I'm in Long Beach, no fire danger, but the air is nasty. Ash is falling like little snow flakes and my car is brown instead of black.

I've called Big O, who lives in Canyon Country which is burning, and he's OK. His home isn't threatened.

Devil Dog is OK in Lake Elsinore as well.
 
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