October 25, 2007

Southern California Fires

This is just a brief post to send good wishes out to all those who have suffered losses or fled from their homes as a result of the fires in Southern California.

So no smart-assed remarks for once, or speculation, or second-guessing, or getting up on a soap box and opining about things; just a sincere hope that the last of the flames are extinguished soon; that losses are as minimal as possible; and that recovery is relatively quick and uncomplicated for those affected.

For those who would like to send more than good wishes, here's the Red Cross link to Donate to Fire Victims; no doubt there are other good charitable organizations that could use your support too.

This is an unfortunate reminder that disasters can happen almost anywhere, any time. Have you had that dorky but important safety planning talk with your family yet? Here's one random emergency planning resource to get you started; however, some of the information you may need will be local--like evacuation routes or emergency broadcast stations.

Let's hope the Southern California Cranky Fitness readers are all OK and have safe homes to sleep in tonight!

And if anyone has any good emergency preparedness tips to share, please do. As well as any other thoughts about disasters or harrowing experiences or near misses or kind strangers or good wishes. (As to prayers--Crabby refers you to TK's post on the subject).

As it happens, there will be another Cranky Fitness post later today. This blog does not excel at combining the Serious and Silly, so we won't even try.

UPDATE: (Oops! Crabby just realized there probably WON'T be a second post today; however, tomorrow is Random Friday, so see you then!)

16 comments:

  1. Hear, hear, Crabby. Even up here in Canada, the fires are making big news. I'm sure all Canadians join the Bag Lady in sending good wishes to the unfortunate victims of these fires, and hopes that the fires will be extinguished soon.

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  2. It's definitely making news on the east coast also - hopefully they will all be out soon. It's amazing the way fire behaves, almost as if it has a mind of its own.

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  3. Crabby,

    My heart goes out to the victims and they and the firefighters are in my prayers.

    Terrie

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  4. Crabby,

    On a less serious note, please scuttle over to Bag Lady's blog and see the lobster story in Wednesday's mixed bag post.

    I am sure your Lobster will love it. (You may as well.)

    Terrie

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  5. My thoughts are with the victims and firefighters and all who are in the fire's path

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  6. A friend I know online lives in San Diego, and I haven't heard anything from him since the fires started. He was complaining that he'd been chosen to stay up and keep watch even though he had school in the morning.

    Then, all of a sudden, he said "I'm gonna go pack the car, just in case." I had to go to bed, so I jokingly told him "Don't die. We'd miss you." And logged off.

    Since he's probably stewing along with all the other refugees right now, or worse, I really wish I'd said something more reassuring. It's hard to believe that something as simple as fire could be so unstoppable. "Just get more water," I think, and then I watch videos of swimming pools' worth of water falling onto the fire with no effect. "Just cut down everything that can burn." And then you see fire swirl across gaps and seize upon the slightest bit of flammability, spreading further.

    I was in Santa Barbara a while back, and the relatively little wildfires burning nearby made the air constantly smell like smoke. I can only imagine what the torrents of flames make being in Cali like right now.

    I don't really pray very often anymore, but I'm doin' it for the people in California.

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  7. We were in Palm Desert last year, in September. There were some fires starting and we were very mindful of how awful it could get, considering how horribly dry it is.

    And, there are the long-lasting and far-reaching effects of such fires. A few years ago, the province of Ontario had major forest fires and the ash and smoke were felt here in Montreal - causing people like me great difficulty breathing.

    My heart breaks for the families who are losing their homes, and for the animals, wild and domestic, that are trapped.

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  8. All we can do is hope that they will be out soon. Best wishes and good luck to the survivors and a great big thank you to the firefighters who are willing to risk their lives.

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  9. My son and his family live in San Bernardino-they are safe, but it seems so close I wish they would leave just to be sure. Apparently there are people staying the night in the office buildings because they haven't been able to get home and even see if home was still there. I have prayed quite a lot this week as well.

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  10. As an insurance agent- please make sure your insurance is up to date. Many people are underinsured if their coverage is not adjusted for inflation. This is not my sales pitch, I live in Georgia so I couldn't even insure a home in California. But I've seen total losses where there wasn't enough money to rebuild the house as it was...

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  11. It seems that we Americans need to send good thoughts from coast to coast. To the people in Ca with the fires and to the people in GA with no water.

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  12. I'm a bit of an emergency preparedness freak. If I had $500 today, I'd go spend it on 72-hour kits and a bunch of water, flashlights, and medical supplies. (ok, ok, and maybe a new pair of jeans. I'm not THAT sensible)

    My mother-in-law used to live in Rancho Bernardo, we are pretty sure her house has been destroyed.
    We also have several more friends (the ones who stayed with us last weekend actually) who, last we heard, were waiting to hear about evacuation. We're just hoping for the best possible outcome for them.

    I've been thinking about all those people without homes and can't imagine what they're feeling! Where do you go? Do you rebuild? DO you move? Where do you move? What do you do in the meantime!? THey will all be in my prayers...(and Crabby, thanks for sending us TK's way!)

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  13. thanx crabby... I used to run on the trails torched in Orange County... so it hit close to home as it were even though we're now in Montana

    g-dspeed
    gp in montana

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  14. This a hard thing. I hope the victims can find relief soon.

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  15. Hi Crabby, thanks for the link, you probably sent me more readers in a day than I get in a month or two! ;)
    My prayers are with all who posted here for their families and friends, and their families and friends, and on. Our skies here on the coast some miles below Malibu are very hazy with smoke and particulates, as is much of SoCal. It's a reminder that we are all impacted by this in some way.

    I've read from people who've fought fires and or escaped them that it behaves like a "living thing", that it is wildly umpredictable and sneaky. Maybe that's our subconscious fear overlaying the basic nature of fire. If you've ever burned a sheet of paper, (I have as part of a "letting go" ceremony) you'll notice it takes a moment for a corner to catch, then you may have to nurse it along up one side, and then it seems to suddenly "bloom" all over the page and you'd better drop it quick or get singed! Forest fires can start and then move like that, they can move faster than you can run, and can hop big highways if the wind is right. I saw a SoCal mountain fire some years back (Altadena) at night and from 5 miles away I could see huge pine trees turn into torches! We could actually see the speed with which the fire was traversing the mountains in a miles-long line of red, that looked like cracks in the earth and lava oozing out. We had ashes falling like the softest snow. It is really eerie.
    Let's also keep in our thoughts and prayers the people fighting flooding again in New Orleans. It's not a major disaster (apparently) but it must bring back frightening memories.
    I think compassion is humanity's best redeeming quality, it is a good thing to see so much of it in all your readers!

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  16. Thanks TK for your post!

    And thanks to all of you who stopped in here to leave good thoughts for those in harm's way--in Southern California as well as other dangerous places.

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