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California Wildfires

VRBeauty

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My heart goes out to those who have lost their home to wildfires in California this year, and to those who have lost family members to the devastation. The loss of lives and property in the Camp Fire, especially, is hard to comprehend: over 40 lives, 6,000 homes, and 260 businesses businesses lost. Families throughout the country still waiting news of over 100 people still missing. Paradise, California, a community of 30,000, almost entirely wiped out.

Thanks of course go to the firefighters who came from throughout California, and from 17 other states (as far away as Alaska and Alabama) to help contain the fire. And to the law enforcement and search and rescue personnel who are now searching burned-out homes, and vehicles abandoned as flames overtook evacuees, for additional victims.
 
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Jambalaya

Ideal_Rock
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It's all just so awful on so many levels.

The press showed some photos of burned animals - NO warning - and I can't get the poor sweet little things out of my mind.
 

missy

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I love that some IG vendors are doing jewelry auctions and donating the proceeds to the animals and people affected by the wildfires. So wonderful of them!:appl:

It's a terrible time for the people and animals affected and anything anyone can do adds up. So as well as keeping them in our thoughts and prayers donations go a long way in helping.
 

KaeKae

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This is something very close to my heart, as we lived in Thousand Oaks until about a year ago. Leaving was VERY difficult, for many reasons, not the least of which, my daughter still lives there, and is in the age range of those who might have been at the club Wednesday night, and of course, everyone was potentially in danger of the fire.

Long story, short: she is fine. She was not at the club, and though she was evacuated, she had somewhere to go and has been able to return to her apartment.

But, my former community is devastated, and I feel it almost as if I were still there. The son of a former coworker was among those who died that night in the club.
 
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luv2sparkle

Ideal_Rock
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It is a sad fact of life in California. We have been evacuate many times, one time in 2003 for a couple weeks. I know quite a few people who lost homes in that fire. This is the worst in terms of loss of life. It must have been some crazy wild fire. People in CA have gotten complacent about fire. When they are told to leave, they sometimes wait until the very last minute. At times that has worked out ok, but this was a different kind of fire.

I was very thankful that this year my DH did not have to go. He is on injury right now and will probably retire at the end of it. His crew are at the fire now, and have no idea when they will be able to return home. I have had a lot of that during his career and am happy to be done with it. LaCo Fire are very short handed these days still due to the 2008 recession when they didn't hire for a few years so the recalls are insane.
 
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VRBeauty

Super_Ideal_Rock
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This is something very close to my heart, as we lived in Thousand Oaks until about a year ago. Leaving was VERY difficult, for many reasons, not the least of which, my daughter still lives there, and is in the age range of those who might have been at the club Wednesday night, and of course, everyone was potentially in danger of the fire.

Long story, short: she is fine. She was not at the club, and though she was evacuated, she had somewhere to go and has been able to return to her apartment.

But, my former community is devastated, and I feel it almost as if I were still there. The son of a former coworker was among those who died that night in the club.

KaeKae: It does hit home, doesn’t it, when news happens in places we’re so familiar with? Even more so, I’m sure, when it’s a place you once called home. I hope the end is in sight for the Southern California fires, and that your daughter won’t have to evacuate again.
 

VRBeauty

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It is a sad fact of life in California. We have been evacuate many times, one time in 2003 for a couple weeks. I know quite a few people who lost homes in that fire. This is the worst in terms of loss of life. It must have been some crazy wild fire. People in CA have gotten complacent about fire. When they are told to leave, they sometimes wait until the very last minute. At times that has worked out ok, but this was a different kind of fire.

I was very thankful that this year my DH did not have to go. He is on injury right now and will probably retire at the end of it. His crew are at the fire now, and have no idea when they will be able to return home. I have had a lot of that during his career and am happy to be done with it. LaCo Fire are very short handed these days still due to the 2008 recession when they didn't hire for a few years so the recalls are insane.

Many thanks to your husband, a firefighter, and to you, a firefighter spouse. I’m amazed at the long hours fire crews put in and the terrible conditions they work under during these wildfires. And of course the hazards... the relatively low rate of firefighter fatalities during these incidents Is a real testament to their training and discipline.

I don’t think the loss of life in the Camp Fire is due to people delaying or defying evacuation orders. The fire just moved and grew incredibly quickly. The town of Paradise was obliterated less than 24 hours after the fire started. Apparently many people lost their lives as they tried to evacuate.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/grap...ories/how-the-camp-fire-overwhelmed-paradise/
 

luv2sparkle

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@VRBeauty, I don't think that the Paradise fire fatalities were due too delay in evacuation either. This was a wind driven, high fueled fire. California has not seen this kind of fire for a long time. It burned fast and extremely hot. I cannot, in my lifetime, remember seeing people literally running for their lives. My DH has come home many times and told me about people that he has begged to leave, that refuse. It often works out ok because the firefighters have been able to stand their ground and save a house. That is what I mean by people have gotten complacent in CA about fires, because it has worked out. This was just a very different kind of fire. It is a lesson that all fires are not created equal and not to delay because we never truly know at the beginning what it is going to turn out to be.
 

VRBeauty

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