Fire Update

Now that the fire situation is improving, I thought I'd post an update.

Apparently the Tea Fire in Montecito was accidentally started after students lit a bonfire during the night. (Must have been Wed. night.) They left thinking they'd put it out, but when the winds kicked up, they blew up some smoldering embers, and before it was all over, 210 homes had been destroyed. Apparently there was no malicious intent, just carelessness. Lighting a fire, for any reason, in in our dry So. Calif. hills is seldom a good idea. (Note I incorrectly referred to this as the Tea Light Fire in comments to my previous post.)

The Sayre fire in Sylmar is not about 85% contained after it blackened over 11,000 acres and destroyed more than 600 structures, including 480 mobile homes in one park. App. 10,000 had to be evacuated at one time and one civilian was injured. At this time, the cause of the fire has not been determined.

Now for the local fire, which I thought was the Triangle Complex Fire, but is sometimes called the Freeway Complex Fire... (The word complex refers to multiple fires in close proximity and the other two descriptive words come from the fact that most of the fire was contained in a triangle formed by the 91 Freeway on the south, the 57 Freeway on the west, and the 71 freeway on the east. The latter two roads run diagonally and almost meet at the 60, created a rough triangle.)*

The fire is now completely contained after destroying 187 homes and damaging 130 more. Over 30,000 acres in four counties were burned, making this the largest of the three fires by far. Fourteen minor injuries were reported by fire fighters. The cause of the fire is still undetermined, though there's some speculation that it could have been started by a catalytic-converter. Arson is unlikely since the fire started so close to a well-traveled freeway. One of my friends saw the fire in its early stages and I'll post her comments if she gives me permission.

It's a great relief to know the fires are contained, or nearly so, but I'm sure that's little comfort to those who lost their homes.

Linda

* Slate Magazine has a great article explaining How Wildfires Get Their Names, written by Daniel Engber.

My friend, Dr. Debra Holland, posted her fire experiences on her website. Look under News.

My Town Monday: On Fire

UPDATE AND CORRECTION, 6:15PM: The name of the Orange County fire is the Triangle Complex Fire, not the Freeway Triangle Fire. My mistake. At this time, the winds are somewhat quieter and mandatory evacuation orders have been listed. A lot of damage has already been done, however. On a personal note, my DH and I are not near the fire areas, though a good friend of mine is entirely too close for comfort.

As I'm sure you're all aware, Southern California has been on fire since Thursday night when the first big one occurred in Montecito, south of Santa Barbara. Next came the Sayre fire in Sylmar and Newhall Pass in LA County. Then it was Orange County's turn. The fire, now being called the Freeway Triangle Fire, started in Corona in Riverside County but quickly moved westward along the 91 Freeway into Yorba Linda before jumping the freeway into Anaheim Hills. Another fire broke out in Brea which is now spreading north into Diamond Bar. At this point six-seven communities and four counties are involved. I know this is confusing to people in other areas, but the Orange County Register has a great fire map to show the extent of the disaster.

Everything seemed fine at 9:30AM on Saturday morning when I went to my readers group meeting, but when we got out at 11:00, the winds had kicked up and we could smell smoke was in the air. By early afternoon, air quality had dramatically changed with the smoke casting an orange pall over everything. These two photos were taken about 1:30PM.

Though California is known for earthquakes, our annual fires are more destructive. Fall is when we get the dreaded Santa Ana winds, dry winds that sweep out of the desert, through the canyons and into Southern California. Sometimes they're hot, as they are now, and sometimes cold, but always extremely dry and dangerous. The origin of the word is uncertain but according to the Los Angeles Almanac via Wikipedia the derivation may come from "the Spanish vientos de Satán ("winds of Satan") otherwise known as devil winds. Once the Santa Anas start, humidity plunges into the 5-10% range and it only takes a spark to set our chaparral-covered hills on fire.

Governor Schwarzeneggar came to visit Sunday morning and led a press conference. Over 10,000 acres have burned, a number that is sure to rise. Anaheim Mayor Pringle spoke and said that my city alone had lost over 100 residential units already, including condos and apartments, another number that may rise. The city of Yorba Linda has lost over 70 homes. 1,260 firefighters, 15 helicopters and 10 air tankers have been fighting the fire, with seven minor injuries.

The only good news is that the winds should change in the next couple of days, usually accompanied by a rise in humidity. I hope the firefighters can get a handle on the fire soon and that no one else loses their home. My heart goes out to those who already have.

Linda

Click here for Yahoo's slide of fire pictures.

Wacky May Weather

It rained in Southern California yesterday. I mean, it really rained, as in poured. Big fat raindrops beating on the roof of the house and thunder in the distance. There were mudslides in some of the canyon areas, some areas had hail, and others had tornadoes!

This may sound like normal spring weather to some of you, but it's not at all normal for this area. In a normal year most of our rain falls in the winter, typically in the month of February. If we get any rain at all in May, it's a tiny bit of drizzle. On Wednesday the forecast was at 20% chance of rain, not a deluge.

I'm not complaining, in fact, I love rain. It's good for the plants and it makes everything green. I was just so surprised, I opened the door, turned the digital camera on video and let it run for 30 seconds so I'd have proof.

Linda

My Town Monday: Strawberry Season

Spring in California means strawberry season and the local product is delicious, which makes many of us rather particular about which berries we buy. I've mentioned before that there used to be a lot of strawberry fields in Orange County. There aren't as many now and it's harder to find a "direct from the fields" fruit stand any more, but the berries in the supermarkets are getting better. I've been able to find good, mostly ripe strawberries for the last couple of weeks. I had some on my Kashi this morning and they were delicious.

The city of Garden Grove still celebrates it's annual Strawberry Festival on Memorial Day weekend. This year the dates are MAY 23-26, 2008. Events include carnival rides, a parade, a "giant strawberry shortcake cutting", karaoke contests, a baby pageant, and live music. I've never been to the festival, but maybe I'll make it this year.

Since I developed an allergy to apples, berries are now my favorite fruit. What's your favorite?

Linda

My Town Monday comes to us via Travis Erwin, http://traviserwin.blogspot.com/. Thanks, Travis! Click on his site to read his latest post and find links to the other participants.

MY TOWN MONDAY: BAD TRAFFIC, WORSE DRIVERS

One of the downsides to living in Southern California is having to put up with really bad traffic congestion, not just on the freeways but on the city streets, as well. That was driven home to my DH and me on Saturday when someone ran into the back of our car while we were stopped at a light. Fortunately, no one was injured.

It had already been a not-so-great morning. The DH woke up apparently mad at the world, me included. Then we had to drive from Anaheim to Placentia to pick up my new glasses, which I'm glad to say are wonderful. After that, we decided to go to the Souplantation in north Fullerton for lunch. We almost stopped at the nearby Barnes and Noble to look around, but decided against it. That was our big mistake. If we'd stopped, the driver who ran into us would have been ahead of us instead of behind us. Isn't it odd how one little, seemingly insignificant decision can sometimes have unanticipated consequences?

The traffic going home was horrible because of road construction. We were finally less than a mile from home when the fender-bender occurred. We pulled around the corner and stopped to talk to the other driver. He stopped, too, and said his brakes weren't working right. Then why was he driving? Before we could get his ID or insurance info, he said, "let's move away from the intersection," jumped in his pickup truck and took off! Sheesh, what a guy.

As you can imagine, my DH was furious. He had managed to take one photo of the man before he sped off, but unfortunately didn't get the license plate. NOTE TO SELF: next time someone runs into your car, get the license plate first, before you even say anything.

Two hours later, we finished filing an accident report with the local police. (The young men there looked more like Eagle Scouts than police officers, they were that young.) The only good thing to come out of the incident was a change in mood. Now it was the DH and me against the world, or at least the part of the world that hit us. I guess that's called making lemonade when life hands you lemons.

What's the traffic like where you live? I hope it's better than around here.

Linda

I forgot to add that My Town Monday comes to us courtesy of Travis Erwin, http://traviserwin.blogspot.com/. Thanks, Travis! Click on his site to read his latest post and find links to the other participants.

My Town Monday: County versus Town

I've recently learned about the "My Town Monday" blog posts started by Travis Erwin at http://traviserwin.blogspot.com/ and thought it was a cool idea, so here goes.

My problem is I don't have just one town. I divide my time between Anaheim and San Clemente here in Orange County, CA. OC is the smallest county in Southern California. Geographically it's located on a coastal plain and ranges from the inland hills north of Brea and Fullerton (currently green thought that won't last much longer) to our fabulous beaches. But most of the county is pretty much border to border suburbs.

For instance, a few weeks ago I was in the parking lot at a Starbuck's when my car failed to start. Naturally I called the DH who showed up sans jumper cables. We had to call AAA to get the car started. Problem was, LOL, we didn't know which town we were in: Anaheim or Garden Grove. The two cities run together on so many streets, the boundary lines aren't always marked. When I travel and people ask me where I'm from, I often say Orange County instead of naming a town. If I get a blank stare, I add Southern Calif. or LA. Everyone knows LA.

Thanks to the recent TV show, The O.C., my county is better known than it used to be. FWIW, no one I know called it "the O. C." before the show came out. We just say O.C. After all, it's not the only Orange County in the country; there are others in Florida and New Jersey and I don't know where else. So my "My Town Monday" posts may take place anywhere in the county.

Linda