CHIC0 said:

Hugs and many prayers for you my friend and all of the org family. This is so devastating. Stay safe Chico. Much love ~ n

Some friends were evacuated form Running Springs (in the mountains) and may have lost their home. It's all so sad and with the dry weather, it feels like we're helpless with the natural elements against us.

I wish it would rain.

Nothinbutjoy said:

they said the Cedar Fire which was the largest fire in state history at the time had displaced 50,000 people. This fire has displaced 10x that.

DiminutiveRocker said:

i am hoping the heavens open up too

roodboi said:

thanks brah!

The thing that bothers me about this whole issue, is that I was reading article updates in the LA Times online (read it via yahoo to surpass registration), and there were actually a gang of folks on the message boards complaining that Californians should not be eligible for FEMA assistance because they consciously choose to live in a disaster prone area and taxpayers shouldn't foot the bill for their stupidity WTF????? You know it's a sad sad day when people have become so selfish and narrow minded that we're reduced to this kind of BS during a national disaster . I'm reading those comments and thinking, WTF??? Is everyone just supposed to uproot, or better yet, NEVER live in California to begin with? And where the hell is everyone supposed to live then? NEBRASKA????

veronikka said:

yeh thank you. been a hellva 3days.but im safely back home and counting my blessing as some dont have homes to return to.scary to see footage of flames/embers flying as if they're being throwin like a baseball or football.we need rain out here or the weather to soften up.

thoughts are with everyone here in so cal. dealing with this.
.
.
[Edited 10/25/07 1:23am]

christopher

MoonSongs said:

thanks love!!

My thoughts and prayers are with all of the people of SoCal in the path of the fire, especially all of the Cali orgers in that area....I hope everything turns out well for you....

i hope things are improving for all of you southern californians. we're still seein horrific images on the news, here in minneapolis. hope you are all safe, and your homes intact!

I hope everyone is safe and stays safe.

I can't help it, I'm happy. To really think of the human toll that could have been, people are safe. Just think of the idea of mobilizing over a half a million people in panic. And the response, OMG, I love my city. Yeah, there's a lot of scheming people but still for the most part in a pinch they're alright. My heart goes out to all those that will be having an uphill battle to pieceing their lives back together, for some it's going to be a bumpy road.


So.Cal. orger take care of them lungs, it's going be like this for a few days. Ehuff, you take extra care, I don't know what you were doing up and about in this poor air quality but I guess you know what you were doing, so I won't pick at you.

Ottensen said:

Um, I'm not sure of the logic of this. I mean where does one live on the face of planet where there isn't any possiblity of somekind of natural disaster? Some people are silly sometimes. And to be honest a lot of the neighborhoods that were affected are not necessarily in those "prone" areas, that's what made it so dangerous and frustrating, these are areas that have not been affected like this before. So now people are suppose to be psychic?

Ottensen said:

I am so fucking sick of conservatives in this country. First of all, there is no place in this country that is safe from natural elements and disasters. Hurricanes, blizzards, tornadoes, earthquakes, fires. You can't escape any of that. No matter where you live you can expect to encounter something. Second, many people do pay their insurance premiums only for the insurance companies to find loopholes not to pay and worse, the courts are validating this.

ehuffnsd said:

Wow! I guess the other fires were bad but it's just the human factor that makes this worse.

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

I think some people were evacuated as a precaution and lots are supposedly going to be let back into their homes today. The Witch fire is only 20% contained, which is better than the 1-10% range we had the first few days... Still, a long way to go.

Five largest fires in California, officials said:

(1) Cedar, October 2003, San Diego County, 273,246 acres.
(2) Zaca, July 2007, Santa Barbara County, 240,207 acres.
(3) Matilija, September 1932, Santa Barbara County, 220,000 acres.
(4) Witch (still burning), October 2007, San Diego County, 197,000 acres.
(5) Marble Cone, July 1977, Monterey County, 177,866 acres.


I wonder how much bigger the Witch fire will get...
[Edited 10/25/07 12:27pm]

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

Playing Devil's Advocate...

It's not just conservatives who feel this way. To deny government aid to people who live in high-risk zones is absolutely criminal! But to say that people need to acknowledge high-risk areas? There's nothing wrong with that. We know the southeast is prone to hurricanes, that the central valleys are prone to tornadoes, and that the dry southwest is prone to horrific fires almost every year (we even get several per year up here in the north bay). There's also the Pacific Rim's impending earthquakes and the north's snowstorms. Denying aid is SICK, but if a person or family is going to live in an area like that, being prepared is better than waiting for the ever invisible FEMA. I've just got my HAM and CPR operating licenses through the Red Cross and I am appalled at how unprepared most of us are for emergencies. Ideally, if you've got small children and live in an area bound to have regular catastrophes, there are things you've got to be held accountable for.

* First aid and emergency kits stocked for at least a week
* A safe offsite refuge (family or friends in a different city, known city relief centers such as stadiums, etc.
* Obtaining insurance for losses (and doing whatever it takes to understand the boundaries of that insurance). Ask your agent, that's why they're there. There's no excuse to not understand insurance's loopholes. Trust me, I have experience on both ends of that equation.

The government will never help as much as they can. We can't just all move out of "high-risk" areas for the sake of FEMA's wallet. And to act condescending to the victims down there is disgusting. But even a liberal should agree that we need to take care of ourselves. I feel so badly for you all down there.

INSATIABLE said:

Well that isn't my position. Of course you take the risk of where you live but consider this. One of my co-workers is a single mother and lives in these fire prone areas? Why? Because there is no way on any planet she can afford to buy a house here in LA where she works. She bought a house out in the foothills because it's still growing and you can buy a great house for a great price. Conservatives want to flip this shit as people just flippantly and defiantly living in places they shouldn't when the reality is many of the people who are affected are in the same boat as my friend.

As for insurance.....look what the companies got away with in Katrina. They left many high and dry claiming they do not cover floods. It was a disaster and not a natural flood and yet the courts validated their little loophole allowing them not to pay for flood damage when it was a total disaster that happened and not just a natural flood. The same thing will happen here and at at time where the insurance company raked in 6 billion in payments last year.....

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

If there were an earthquake today, I'd be screwed. I don't even have enough water for one day, let alone a week. Call me stupid especially while these fires are blazing, but I'd love to live in the foothills where your co-worker is, or even moreso, San Diego. If I moved there, there's no way I'd be holding my breath for FEMA if something went down. Hopefully, your co-worker (as a single mother) is prepped with a decent kit for her kid's sake. I'm going to feel ridiculous and overparanoid if I ever get around to creating one of my own, but fuck it. My condo is directly on top of the San Andreas fault.


I worked for a major insurance company for 3.5 years in auto death claims. I learned enough (especially after Katrina) to know how ill-equipped the big insurance companies are to deal with big natural disasters. It almost toppled the company and they had to take out loans just for payroll. It didn't make the news.

Overall, these companies aren't out to help anybody. They spend almost as much as they earn padding the executives/top shareholders with cruises, homes, cars, and spending money. I could not believe my eyes when I found out how little they had available for the insureds.

Again, understand your policy from front to back. If you are not covered for floods, you won't be covered if the issue was a tornado that caused your faucet to drip twice as fast. As soon as they find out there's water damage, you're screwed. It's a shame that most people don't know the specific language they must use with the claims adjusters. And most people can't hire an attorney to poke Allstate or State Farm into coughing up.

Maybe I'm disillusioned, but I refuse to let insurance companies and the government turn me into their bitch. Maybe I'm crazy, but I don't put my life in their hands. Not after hearing about the atrocities from day one.

INSATIABLE said:

Well I don't think people are sitting around like scared chickens waiting for the government to do everything. Somethings are huger and just out of the control of local government. A city can only have so much to spend on this or that or preparedness. In this instance, the machine is working quite well but sometimes assistance is needed and it is not unreasonable that we expect it in a time of need considering the government takes from our checks every single pay period.....

SupaFunkyOrgangrinderSexy said:

Neither do I. At least, I sure hope not!


Exactly my point. Even if we lived in well-equipped areas, there are things that could keep the assistance from flowing into our hands, homes, and neighborhoods.


Agreed. It's definitely not unreasonable to expect to see out tax dollars coming back for natural disaster aid. But it's a large, sluggish, uncharitable beast we're working with, and my ass is stocking up on inhalers and Spam in the meantime.

Uh, yeah.

For the hearts so broken by fire.

latest news...

7 deaths confirmed so far

air conditions are still poor

$150,000.00 reward for tips leading to the capture of one of the fires

2000+ homes/businesses destroyed

looting

fires are still going

5000 more homes are threatened

I can't beleive I didn't know anything about this ...I hope everyone from the org is all ok ....and my to those affected

CHIC0 said:

This entire situation is heartbreaking on so many levels. My heart and prayers go out to those people and lives that are in danger...

nakedpianoplayer said:

you know, that just didnt cover it...

i'm so sorry to all the orgers out there
i watch the news and i think of all of you and how difficult and scary this must be right now... children, families, animals, homes, LIVES!!!!

please be safe - all of you

Hey, it was really foggy here in SD this morning. Was it like that anywhere else in So.Cal.? Haven't seen the news yet, but wondering since that means the humidity is high, that should help with the remainder of the fire(s), and clear some of the ash and toxins out of the air, right?

morningsong said:

Saw it in the paper this morning! Fog/humidity and coastal winds will help the firefighters, apparently. I can't wait until this is over. The pictures break my heart. It's really hard to just go about my business all day when I know this is happening to people.