San Diego fire

Yes, we're still here. We are packed and ready to evacuate but the
number of safe havens is shrinking as the size of the fires continues
to grow.

Rather than address a host of questions individually I'll try to give
you a snapshot of the Big Picture.

The key is the wind velocity. Measured at over 60mph here in San
Diego county, it topped 100mph farther north.

The second critical factor combines temperature and relative
humidity. It has been over 80F (and getting warmer) and the humidity
has been in single digits, as low as 4%. Under those conditions it is
fair to assume that the fire has an UNLIMITED supply of fuel. When
pushed by even a moderate breeze it makes it extremely difficult to
apply traditional fire-fighting techniques, especially if your
resources are limited, as are ours.

Now INCREASE that breeze to gale-force; a wind so strong that it
grounds everything but a wide-body. Now the fire is advancing so
rapidly so rapidly that even with all the resources in the world it
becomes IMPOSSIBLE to get in front of it and create a fire-break it
can't jump - - the flames are 100 feet high and the skipped across a
ten-lane freeway (I-15) as easily as a child playing hop-scotch.

As the velocity of the wind increased it became increasingly erratic,
partly because of the hilly terrain cut by canyons, but also because
of the fire itself, creating thermal updrafts of sufficient velocity
to deflect the wind in a manner impossible to predict.

Then there is the fact that 'wind' is NOT transparent. It is an
opaque mass of smoke containing a witches brew of embers and chemical
irritants.

Without aerial assets it was impossible to determine the exact
location and path of the fire-front, let alone stage any effort to
suppress it using water or fire retardant.

Four years ago San Diego county was unlucky enough to suffer the
effects of two such fires (code named CEDAR and PARADISE), which
burned about 400,000 acres and resulted in 17 deaths. This time the
authorities didn't wait to declare mandatory evacuations. Doing so
put hundreds of thousands of people on the roads which created a whole
new set of problems but it was the right decision. The fires continue
to spread and there can be no effective containment until the wind
abates.

Your messages are warmly appreciated, as are the offers of
assistance. For the time being we are safe if a bit crowded, the kids
(and grandkids) sheltering here since evacuating their home in Rancho
Bernardo. If it burns, so be it - - we won't be here to see it go
up. And I know how to build houses as well as airplanes :-)

-Bob Hoover

wrote

Yes, we're still here. We are packed and ready to evacuate but the
number of safe havens is shrinking as the size of the fires continues
to grow.

Your messages are warmly appreciated, as are the offers of
assistance. For the time being we are safe if a bit crowded, the kids
(and grandkids) sheltering here since evacuating their home in Rancho
Bernardo. If it burns, so be it - - we won't be here to see it go
up. And I know how to build houses as well as airplanes :-)

Good luck, and our thoughts are with you. It seems as you are clear in your
priorities, and your course of action; both good things.

Again, I hope everything turns out in the best possible way for you, and the
fire fades quickly.
--
Jim in NC

P.S. Don't forget to take your computer with you! g
--
Jim in NC

The San Diego and surrounds fire is now comparable with the losses in
Katrina, and as I understand it, the wind is still blowing a gale.

Got your intercom in my hot little hands, but don't have time to check it
out. If I send a manual and the intercom, if there is something wrong, can
you troubleshoot?

Fire me an email with your mailing addy and I'll get it to the PO this week.

Jim

--
"If you think you can, or think you can't, you're right."
--Henry Ford

"Morgans" wrote in message
...


Good luck, and our thoughts are with you. It seems as you are clear in
your priorities, and your course of action; both good things.

Again, I hope everything turns out in the best possible way for you, and
the fire fades quickly.
--
Jim in NC

P.S. Don't forget to take your computer with you! g
--
Jim in NC

"RST Engineering" wrote in message
...
The San Diego and surrounds fire is now comparable with the losses in
Katrina, and as I understand it, the wind is still blowing a gale.

Got your intercom in my hot little hands, but don't have time to check it
out. If I send a manual and the intercom, if there is something wrong,
can you troubleshoot?

Fire me an email with your mailing addy and I'll get it to the PO this
week.

I'll give it my best, if it needs help. Thanks, really really, thanks.

Check your e-mail as it is at the top of this page. Incoming!
--
Jim in NC

On 2007-10-23 11:30:56 -0700, " said:

Yes, we're still here. We are packed and ready to evacuate but the
number of safe havens is shrinking as the size of the fires continues
to grow.

Good luck. Looks like you might be getting a respite on the wind soon.


--
Waddling Eagle
World Famous Flight Instructor

Good luck. Looks like you might be getting a respite on the wind soon.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yes. The area of high pressure that generated the Santa Ana winds is
moving to the east. Humidity is up this morning (28%) and local winds
(Vista) were calm ( 5mph @ 0800 ).

Lots of ash settled out overnight, some flakes as large as a postage
stamp. Air quality is very poor; everything reeks of smoke.

The situation is still fluid with lots of bad news developing but I'll
leave that for the media to celebrate while we focus on the practical
and the positive.

-Bob