edge of the continent

The past few days have been rather hectic. I’ve been catching up on my studies, which took a back seat over the week, and tackling my project pile from the office. It’s been a slow process to get back into the usual rhythm of work and school after being out for so long.

One of my coworkers shared with me that her family evacuated early last Monday morning. They stayed at Qualcomm for several days while awaiting the news that they could return home. They were lucky — they had a home to return to — while a dozen of their friends were not and are now faced with relocating and rebuilding their homes and their lives.

SignOnSanDiego.com reported today that the seven fires that swept through the county last week have burned some 368,000 acres and destroyed nearly 1,600 structures, with damages estimated to be about $2 billion. The good news is that the last three fires that are still burning — the Harris, Witch, and Poomacha fires — will be completely controlled by next Monday.

I have to return to work shortly, so just a few links this morning:
“Criminals use fires to their advantage” (SignOnSanDiego.com) - Disgusting
“Hope rises as Santa Anas subside” (LATimes.com)
“Criticism over air support builds” (SignOnSanDiego.com)
“California farmers suffer losses from fires” (KPBS.org)
“Fires’ cost to insurers is in range of $1 billion” (NYTimes.com)

Also, KUSI is reporting this morning that the number of folks at Qualcomm has dropped quite a bit overnight, partially because there were a lot of people there who were not evacuees and were taking advantage of the donated food and supplies.

It’s day four of the fires that are burning throughout San Diego county.

SignOnSanDiego’s firemap has been updated to include photos, video, and structure damage info. It also includes details on each of the fires that are or have been burning throughout the county.

President Bush has signed the necessary papers to issue a major disaster declaration. A NY Times article talks a bit about his quick response in comparison to previous disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina. He’s scheduled to be in town tomorrow to survey the situation.

Residents in many more neighborhoods are being notified that their evacuation orders or advisories have been lifted and that they can return home. The Rancho Bernardo community, however, is still off-limits. A spokesperson for the SDPD just talked on local station KUSI about folks parking on Interstate 15, getting out of their cars, and trying to get into the neighborhood by foot. It’s really hard to get by without any concrete information, but it’s just not safe to go back yet.

A few more links:
Cal Fire: Get the current status of fire incidents throughout the state
211 San Diego: A collection of links to evacuation center lists, fire maps, etc.

Update (12:08am): Julian has been evacuated and the folks in Fallbrook are being re-evacuated. The Harris Fire in the south isn’t threatening Chula Vista any longer, but Palomar Mountain is on fire now. Twenty-three firefighters and twenty-one civilians have been injured, and one person has died as a direct result of the fires.

SignOnSanDiego added a Help San Diego blog where folks can plug into volunteer and assistance opportunities related to the fires.

They’ve also published an unofficial listing of structures that have been burned in the fires. It’s a long list. There are no words.

My office is closed again tomorrow, and all classes are now cancelled until Monday. I’m beat and signing off until morning.

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Update (5:15pm): Folks in Solana Beach, Del Mar, and Chula Vista who were evacuated received good news: the orders have been lifted and they can return home. Anna Liza and her family are still ready to leave, but can now relax a little bit.

It’s estimated that some 10,000 people stayed at Qualcomm Stadium last night. The local television stations have been reporting that everything is pretty orderly, from the donation drop-off areas to the set up for meals and sleeping.

My classes are cancelled at least through Wednesday night; so it looks like I’ll need to review for my bio midterm after all (I kid, I should be reviewing anyway). All county public schools and most of the other universities in the region will remain closed this week. I haven’t received word from my employer if we’ll be returning to work tomorrow.

The video of the destroyed neighborhoods is heartbreaking. There are hundreds of people who have lost their homes or suffered damage to them. I can only imagine how awful it would feel to know that you have no home to go to.

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Yesterday was quite a day.

Today, it appears that the winds have calmed enough for the helicopters and planes to go up and drop water and fire retardant. The weather is still warm, however, and the humidity levels are quite low.

The numbers published by the U-T at signonsandiego.com as of noon are sobering:
– 500,000 residents evacuated
– 18 evacuation centers operating throughout the county
– An estimated 2,000 structures burned and/or destroyed
– Containment levels for the larger fires are very small (0-5%) and full containment is not expected until early November

Residents in a very limited number of neighborhoods are being allowed to return; at the same time, additional mandatory evacuations are being issued elsewhere. The Harris Fire is still approaching the eastern edge of Chula Vista, and my friend, Anna Liza, her kids, and several of her family members are on standby to evacuate. Another friend is a five minute drive from San Miguel Mountain and they are prepared to leave if/when told to do so.

My workplace is closed at least for today and I’ve been calling, emailing, and texting team members with notices of meeting cancellations. Some really good news: two of my coworkers who live in Rancho Penasquitos reported in that they are fine and optimistic that their home was spared.

I left home long enough this morning to go to my local library, which staffers decided to close after fifteen minutes so that folks could take care of their families. A thick layer of light gray ash covered my car overnight, and every step kicked up little swirls of flakes into the air.