posted 09-17-2006 05:15 PM                  

We had almost 1/2" of ash in the yard this morning, with the smoke and ash continuing to fall, although not quite as bad as last night and early this morning.

Say a few prayers for Kala though, she is in the voluntary evacuation zone right now ( I think) and Cliff Watson I believe is not in any danger at this time. Hwy 150 from Ojai to Santa Paula is closed, along with Hwy 33 into the Los Padres National Forest. Santa Ana winds are expected for the next few days which is not helping matters at all.

posted 09-17-2006 06:58 PM                  

Since we moved to Texas last year, we only hear the little national blurbs about the fires.

After living through the California fires of a few years ago, we know just how spooky it is to see the dark smoke rise and wonder what was just lost in the neighborhood. Not to mention the dark ashy days and the orange glow at night.

We have all of you in our thoughts and prayers. We hope the fires are extinguished prior to loss of life.

posted 09-17-2006 07:19 PM                  

Dawn, I am sure this is the one season California has that you sure don't miss! We haven't seen the sun for a day and a half, just the smoke and haze. But, like Kala said, as long as it is just ashes and no embers falling, we are doing ok.

posted 09-17-2006 08:23 PM                  

Hope this blaze gets put down soon!!

posted 09-17-2006 08:43 PM                  

Saw some pretty amazing footage of the fire on the news this evening. Fire is headed into or is already in the Condor sanctuary.

Offered to move Kala's Viper for her and store at the shop, but for some strange reason she turned me down. Guess she doesn't trust me. LOL

posted 09-17-2006 09:49 PM                  

I think right now,,,,,she is really worried about all of her animals. Keep in touch with her.

posted 09-18-2006 12:33 AM                  

North Fillmore (the town west of us by about 6 miles) is in voluntary evacuation mode (last I heard a couple of hours ago). The fire was coming down the canyon pretty good last night but they beat it back and the wind shifted to help out some.

The boys are hoping school (Fillmore High School) will be cancelled tomorrow - or at least football practice will be - don't think they will get their wish

The fire has burned past us so we won't have any worries unless the winds shift and blow to the south.. we may have to worry then. The closest the fire has come to us was on Labor Day when it started...

Kala is worse off... she is probably in the same situation we were in 3 years ago... watching tankers make drops... actually - that is pretty amazing to watch close up.

Jim - you are getting way more ash than we are... we just have a coat of it on our vehicles... you have summer snow

It was great getting together with you & Cathi last night - I was sad I didn't bring the kat out... until we got back to the car and saw the coat of ash on it... then I felt sorry for your kat

Next time lets see if we can get Kala and a few others to join us (like my neighbor)

Ed - we don't need a big rain storm right now... that would bring mudslides and devastation... now a light rain... that would be a blessing!

posted 09-19-2006 02:32 PM                  

I can clearly see the smoke from my house.

If there is anyone I can help in the fire area, please let me know.

posted 09-19-2006 02:42 PM                  

Which side of the fire is this video from?

posted 09-19-2006 05:39 PM                  

Looks like some cooler offshore wind coming in the next few days that should help, but theya re still talking week and a half before containment.

At least the ash and smoke is tolerable in our area now.

posted 09-19-2006 07:17 PM                  

The cooler winds come from the ocean and will bring humidity, and the fires are easier to manage.

Jim - just came home from work and all the smoke is going east. The Santa Clarita Valley looks aweful while everything west of Fillmore is clear. Hope they can get more containment tonight because they are talking Santa Anas for the next couple of days. (see.... I saw the news)

posted 09-19-2006 08:00 PM                  

Oh yeah... I was out watching the tankers the last couple of days

Jim, I didn't say you couldn't move the Viper... You just had to get in line... I figure everyone could drive it a 1/4 mile then switch

Here's the latest:

"Day" Fire The Largest Wildfire In The United States At Almost 94,000 Acres

At 93,000 acres, and seemingly unstoppable, the "Day" Fire that's been burning since Labor Day in the Ventura County backcountry is now the largest wildfire burning in the United States. That means it will have top priority for personnel and equipment. A local state of emergency was also declared Tuesday by Ventura County Supervisors. The threat is now to isolated rural areas along Highway 33...10 miles northwest of the Ojai Valley and 7 miles south of Lockwood Valley which is just inside of the Ventura-Kern County line. Firefighters are trying to build 50 miles of containment lines, but they are faced with steep, rugged terrain. Ventura County Fire Chief Bob Roper estimates it will take at least two more weeks to get full containment, and that's if the weather cooperates.

posted 09-23-2006 12:47 AM                  

I'm having a horrible time trying to get info on this fire. The TV stations in LA are not covering us much. I guess its not dramatic enough

What I have heard is we are expecting 60 MPH winds in the early morning hours (Saturday). KCAL 9 says the fire is heading directly toward Ojai... It's a 112,000 acres as of this morning...

I must say living in a "State of Emergency" is interesting, never a dull moment. There are Fire Trucks from everywhere you've never heard of...I'm so glad they are here

Friends have been showing up to help, when we need them the most... I can't thank everyone enough...

posted 09-23-2006 01:42 AM                  

The second link is at the bottom of the page of the first link and there are some others on that page I haven't explored yet...

Hope that helps and stay safe!!!!

The County cancelled all high school football games today because of the air quality and smoke.

posted 09-24-2006 11:56 AM                  

"We really thought we would be driven out of here last night... the fire crested the top of the Topa Topa mountains, which happen to be in front of my house about 8 pm last night... I hear the first planes starting to work right now, so hopefully they will get a bunch of dumps done before the winds pick up again...

Thanks
Kala

posted 09-24-2006 10:03 PM                  

We are thinking of all of you in the possible path of this thing. Please evacuate early, staying in the path probably won't help anything.

Jim you are right...we do not miss this season at all!

posted 09-24-2006 10:24 PM                  

Last night the fires were dancing on the ridge in front of our house. We were sure that we would be woken up in the middle of the night to evacuate. Instead the winds stayed calm, the incredible firemen kept the fires under control...

This morning it was still serious, the Topa's were still on fire and smoking. I went to Santa Paula to check on my Macaws who are now housed there in a warehouse. While there, I saw the most amazing thing. A super tanker showed up and started hitting the flames...

I found out later it was the DC-10! It seems like in no time the fire was out... At least on the mountains near my house...
The "Day" fire is still raging. Hopefully with this new DC-10 on the job this fire will come to an end...

[As of: 5:12pm] VC Sheriff's Dept (12:40pm report)
All precautionary and recommended evacuations are still in effect. All road closures are still in effect for non-residents. All four evacuation shelters are still open and available to evacuees. Pine Mountain Club is no longer available for animal sheltering/evacuation. At 12:30 p.m., a DC-10 dropped 12,000 gallons of fire retardant on the Nordoff Ridge (this was the first useage of this plane in an ACTUAL fire), over an area that is 3/8 to 3/4 of a mile wide. 127,500 acres have been affected by the Day Fire, which is 40% contained at this time. Currently there are over 3,200 fire personnel, and over 45 aircraft (32 helicopters, 8 air tankers, 4 air attack craft, 1 DC-10) battling the fire. [ed.note: two days ago we had a report that the DC-10 was not being used because of bureaucratic red tape. Looks like the paperwork got done.]
[Update: 2:58pm] KVTA.com has some interesting new info on the DC-10 Jumbo Jet.