It's fire season again, and Paradise has burned

They keep finding bodies. Up to 50 now. How devastating.

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There will be more. The fires are not out, and the conditions that led to them are still there. The chapparal is bone dry. The Santanas will come every year. Every year fire season seems to be starting earlier and lasting longer. It used to be if you made it to Halloween without  a bad fire, you could relax just a bit. But that's not been the case for several years, because the climate is warmer and the drought has been ongoing for so long.

I'm sure there are other fires burning there, but only these two are getting press because they are monsters. I'm kinda surprised there hasn't been another big one in San Diego County. A lot of it burned in the Cedar and the Witch fires, but there are still a few swaths that haven't burned in decades, just waiting for a spark. I do not regret leaving all that behind. I still get twitchy when I get a whiff of wood-smoke in the air.

These fires are part of the natural environment. They have always occurred.  Some of the trees won't propagate without a fire. But it's only been in the last 100 years or so that there have been many people in the way, and really, only in the last 75 years. The conditions are worse and so the fires are worse than in recorded memory.

I occasionally have the urge to take a swing at anyone who says that "global warming" isn't happening.

On the good side for Chico, it looks like the winds have shifted and the fire is running towards the forest (bad news for the forest) and away from Chico.

http://cdfdata.fire.ca.gov/admin8327985/cdf/images/incidentfile2277_4226.pdf   takes you to the latest update. 7,700 homes burned. How very sad for everyone there.

I can't bear to see/read any more, after learning of one of my parents' friends being killed, and the others that aren't missing having to stay in some sort of shelter in Chico, with the knowledge that they've lost everything.  These are elderly people, so not like they will be able to rebuild their lives.

Oh, gosh, that's too bad Albatross.  I hope they have family that can take them in. The Red Cross will have shelters in school cafeterias and gyms for some time, and then people will be put up in local motels/hotels (if there are any available). FEMA would then provide emergency funding and housing for up to 18 months. After that, you're expected to just pick up your life and go on. So hard on the poor and the elderly.

Yeah, this kind of fire is an equal-opportunity destroyer of lives. The  "Camp" fire moved so fast that they were still carrying people out of the hospitals when it roared through.  I saw an interview with one of the nurses who was literally carrying an elderly lady - the back of the nurse's clothes caught fire. It was that close. (She should be given a medal for heroism.)  Fortunately there was a fireman nearby who put it out and put her in his firetruck. There were bedridden people who were caught in their own homes. People who were trying to make a run for it but whose luck didn't hold. Awful, just awful. So far  52 confirmed dead up there, that they know about.

I remember the Cedar fire moved really fast at times, too, especially when it joined up with the other one and started it's run into San Diego proper. I was helping to evacuate an animal shelter and could look out the window and see the trees being severely buffeted by wind and there being embers and smoke going by sideways. When the fire was close it sounded like a dozen jet engines.  They are truly terrifying. May God rest the souls of those poor people who didn't make it out. What a horrible way to die. 

The  pictures being shown are just so sad.

Yeah. There were a lot of elderly retired people in Paradise. They are saying now that there's over 1,000 still missing. A lot of them could have made it out, and just not been able to contact anyone (cell phones are out). But given the speed of the fire, and the population base there, I am expecting the death toll to rise.

And, if I heard right earlier today, they're due for more Santanas over the weekend. (I hope I mis-heard that.)

When the rains come, assuming they do - it'll be "rainy season" in another month - there will be mudslides. So I hope they will have moved the survivors to non-floodprone areas by then.

Yeah. There were a lot of elderly retired people in Paradise. They are saying now that there's over 1,000 still missing. A lot of them could have made it out, and just not been able to contact anyone (cell phones are out). But given the speed of the fire, and the population base there, I am expecting the death toll to rise.

And, if I heard right earlier today, they're due for more Santanas over the weekend. (I hope I mis-heard that.)

Sadly it has been. It was 20 last week and I heard it was 71 on the radio today. I have a feeling you think there will be a drastic rise though.

Sadly it has been. It was 20 last week and I heard it was 71 on the radio today. I have a feeling you think there will be a drastic rise though.

Yes. As they get in there and start sifting.

I cry every time I see it on the news - and pregnancy hormones mean it's messy crying. I know what I'm getting my family for Christmas: nice donations to relief organisations. Direct Relief, Red Cross. Any other ideas of some small token I/ we can do to help???

A few of my parents' friends have lost their homes in the Woolsey and Camp fires. After Thomas last year, this feels personal almost!!!

If you are an animal person, animal shelters are overrun with burned pets & wildlife that need care. UC Davis veterinarian program is caring for many rescued kitties, reading the stories as they are reunited with their owners (running away at the last minute as flames were at the door of the house, them only having minutes to evacuate and driving through flames while unable to find their pets) have been so heartbreaking as not all of them are recovering from their wounds and lung damage.



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 I saw that. It's too awful.... 

If you are an animal person, animal shelters are overrun with burned pets & wildlife that need care. UC Davis veterinarian program is caring for many rescued kitties, reading the stories as they are reunited with their owners (running away at the last minute as flames were at the door of the house, them only having minutes to evacuate and driving through flames while unable to find their pets) have been so heartbreaking as not all of them are recovering from their wounds and lung damage.



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Awhile back my parents took in two cats who lost their home after the Tea Fire. They didn't last more than a year from the respiratory problems they'd picked up. They were amazing cats though. The whole property they were found at was cinders (one of our family friend's) and the only thing to be recognisable was the two of them. No one knows how they survived, let alone were found!

I might suggest the pet thing to my parents as they currently don't have any, despite them trying to sell their house and move to different states - so not really an ideal time for them.

I've seen people offering to adopt these poor animals and others have been deeply offended as they are not unwanted, it's just the tragic circumstances which have separated them from their owners. Obviously though, nerves are frayed and not all the owners made it...

Yes. 

I would suggest  https://give.ucdavis.edu/VETM/V435VRT  (contacting them first) to send cash to help with the vet bills and the medical supplies. The Uni is state-funded, but they do have a set budget that won't necessarily be increased to cover the additional work they are doing or to pay for the necessary medications. Federal disaster money, if I understand correctly, will go to people and businesses, but not animals.

Other than that, the Red Cross, Salvation Army, or other relief organization that directly serves the fire area would be good to donate to. The last thing they need are "things" being sent - the logistics of moving all the donated blankets, etc., is a nightmare. But cash can be used to purchase what's needed locally, or funneled directly to the homeless in the form of debit cards (which some organizations do).

Yes. 

I would suggest  https://give.ucdavis.edu/VETM/V435VRT  (contacting them first) to send cash to help with the vet bills and the medical supplies. The Uni is state-funded, but they do have a set budget that won't necessarily be increased to cover the additional work they are doing or to pay for the necessary medications. Federal disaster money, if I understand correctly, will go to people and businesses, but not animals.

Other than that, the Red Cross, Salvation Army, or other relief organization that directly serves the fire area would be good to donate to. The last thing they need are "things" being sent - the logistics of moving all the donated blankets, etc., is a nightmare. But cash can be used to purchase what's needed locally, or funneled directly to the homeless in the form of debit cards (which some organizations do).

Yeah I think my mom is sending specific things that specific people have requested - but you're right about cash! Hell, a meal at Maccy D's (preferably In N Out) requires cash. Motels? Cash! I think everyone realises that stuff is just stuff... It's the long term that is going to require the support that is less likely to be there (it will be there until the next big disaster, anyway).

If I were still unemployed (and not becoming more heavily pregnant) I could have gone over to teach Science! Kids still need an education...