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Weather is on firefighters' side - for now
Cool, moist air is aiding the battle against the last of the Southern California wildfires, but Santa Ana winds are expected to return by this weekend. More
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Firefighter Josh Balboa monitors the Harris fire in southern San Diego County.
Michael Robinson Chavez / Los Angeles Times
We're signing off from this blog for now. Updates on the fires will continue on the homepage or on the California/Local page. Thanks for reading.
Residents returning to their homes following the Santiago Fire are urged to use caution when cleaning up ash and debris.
The debris may include sharp edges, nails or other objects that can cause injuries. When going through fire debris, wear sturdy shoes, long pants and long-sleeved shirts. Leather work gloves and eye protection are also recommended.
Fire ash may be irritating to the eyes and skin. If the ash is breathed, it can be irritating to the nose and throat and may cause coughing.
Exposure to ash might trigger asthmatic attacks in people who have asthma. In order to avoid possible health problems the following precautions are recommended:
If you do get ash on your skin, wash it off as soon as possible.
Avoid getting ash into the air as much as possible. Do not use leaf blowers or do anything else that will put ash into the air.
Wear eye protection, such as goggles.
A dust mask can significantly reduce (but not completely eliminate) the amount of particles inhaled. A mask rated N-95 or P-100 will be more effective than simpler dust or surgical masks in blocking particles from ash.
Persons with heart or lung disease should consult their physician before using a mask during post-fire cleanup.
Gentle sweeping of indoor and outdoor hard surfaces followed by mopping is the best procedure in most cases.
If you have a vegetable garden or fruit trees, wash the fruit or vegetables thoroughly before eating them.
For additional information on the safe cleanup of fire ash please visit the Orange County Health Care Agency's website at www.ochealthinfo.com.
Mandatory evacuations remain in place for the canyon areas off Santiago Canyon Road between Silverado Canyon Road and Live Oak Canyon Road, including the Santiago Estates and Jackson Ranch Road. Areas along Live Oak Canyon Road through the Trabuco Canyon area, including O'Neill Regional Park to Trabuco Creek Road, are also included in this mandatory evacuation.
The Santiago Incident Unified Command has established an assessment team to determine when residents of the Santiago Fire area may return to their homes.
This assessment begins today and will continue through at least the peak burning period and into the evening. The decision to allow residents to return to their homes will be contingent upon the anticipated fire threat and weather predictions for the affected areas.
Modjeska, Live Oak, Trabuco, and Silverado Canyons may be reopened at different times based upon conditions within each respective canyon. Only residents will be allowed to return to the evacuated areas; road blocks by local law enforcement will stay in place.
The returning residents will be asked to stay on their properties and not enter other affected areas including Cleveland National Forest land, which is still closed.
— Jeffrey L. Rabin
Most but not all San Bernardino Mountain communities affected by the wildfires reopened to residents at noon today.
Mandatory evacuation orders were lifted for the majority of Lake Arrowhead and the communities of Twin Peaks, Rim Forest, Blue Jay, Agua Fria, Deer Lodge Park, Sky Forest and Cedar Glen. Reentry passes are not required.
A mandatory evacuation order remains in effect for areas of Lake Arrowhead, Running Springs, Arrowbear and Green Valley Lake that suffered extensive fire damage.
Highways 18 and 138 will reopen to traffic in areas where the mandatory evacuation orders have been lifted.
Staff from the San Bernardino County Environmental Health Department will be at mountain fire stations passing out gloves, masks and information for returning residents.
Power was off in many areas long enough to spoil food. Since the power was restored, items have had time to refreeze. County officials warn that these food items are a potential health hazard.
California 330 and roads to Running Springs remain closed.
-- Jeffrey L. Rabin
The Horno fire, which burned more than 21,000 acres on Camp Pendleton, is 100% contained, and training for Marines preparing to deploy to Iraq will resume Monday, Marine Corps officials said today.
Also, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials announced that the Tecate port of entry would reopen at 5 a.m. Monday for passenger vehicles and pedestrians. Trucks are still being diverted to the Otay Mesa or Calexico ports.
-- Tony Perry
The National Football League is donating $250,000 to the Chargers Fire Relief Fund, and the Spanos family, owners of the San Diego Chargers, is donating $1 million.
The Chargers are collecting donations from fans entering Qualcomm Stadium today for the Chargers-Houston Texans game. Donations go directly to the Salvation Army and families of injured firefighters.
Also, California National Guard sergeants major have established a fund to help Guardsmen and their families hurt by the fires: www.smaofcalifornia.org. Several Guardsmen have had their homes destroyed or damaged, officials said.
-- Tony Perry
Congregants of Malibu Presbyterian Church, undaunted by last week's Canyon fire, which destroyed their religious home, gathered en masse nearby today to pray and voice their resolve to rebuild.
The parishioners worshiped at the Malibu Performing Arts Center, just down the hill from where their 50-year-old church lay in ruins.
They hugged. Some cried over their loss. But the mood was redemptive.
Jesus, they recalled, would have called on them to march on.
They handed out fliers announcing that the church's ministries would continue, including seminars for parents, meetings for Pepperdine University students and a food drive for the homeless at the nearby Ralphs supermarket.
"It feels good to be back, but it's not the place we're used to," the Rev. Greg Hughes said as he prepared to lead the service.
Up at the old church before the service, Mike Rupp, 46, tiptoed through the charred remains, searching for some of the peace he had known so often in the sanctuary. Rupp was married in the church; his two children were baptized there. He tried to comprehend what had occurred.
"This building was my safe haven, my sanctuary, where I could always find God when I was troubled," said Rupp, an Agoura salesman, who brought his son and daughter to see the remains of the church. "This was a really cool place, and it will be again."
-- Duke Helfand
The Slide fire, which has chewed through nearly 13,000 acres in the San Bernardino National Forest, is expected to be fully contained by Tuesday, fire officials said this morning. They reported that the blaze is 75% contained.
Cooler weather, which has greatly aided firefighters, is expected to continue today, with winds at 5 mph to 10 mph, scattered clouds, temperatures in the low 70s and humidity of as much as 30%.
-- Ashley Powers
The deadly Harris fire in San Diego County has burned 90,750 acres and is 65% contained, with full containment expected Wednesday and full control by Nov. 4. The blaze has destroyed 206 homes and damaged 250 homes and 247 outbuildings.
Five people have died as a result of the fire, and 32 firefighters and 21 civilians have been injured. Today, 2,544 firefighters will work the blaze, which has cost $9.7 million to fight. The cause remains under investigation.
-- Tami Abdollah
The Witch fire in San Diego County has burned 197,990 acres and was 90% contained this morning, with officials aiming for full containment Tuesday and full control by Nov. 3.
The blaze has destroyed 1,040 homes and 30 businesses, and damaged 70 homes and 10 businesses. There were two deaths; 36 firefighters and two civilians were injured.
Today, 2,807 firefighters are working the blaze, which has cost $11.3 million to fight. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
-- Tami Abdollah
The Poomacha fire, the only one still burning in San Diego County, threatens 500 homes. The blaze has burned through 49,150 acres and is 50% contained, fire authorities said. Full containment is expected by Wednesday.
So far it has destroyed 136 homes and 19 outbuildings and injured 18 firefighters. Today 2,123 firefighters worked the blaze, which has cost $5.2 million to fight.
The fire started in a home, officials said. The blaze is currently burning along the Santa Margarita drainage area. Hot spots remain in the Agua Tibia Wilderness and at the top of Mt. Palomar, where some evacuations continue in effect.
-- Tami Abdollah
The Rice fire, which has burned through 9,000 acres, was declared 100% contained this morning, with firefighters aiming for full control by Nov. 5, according to Audrey Hagen, a spokeswoman for Cal-Fire.
The blaze in San Diego County, caused by a spark from power lines, has destroyed 205 homes, two businesses and 40 outbuildings. It has injured five firefighters.
Today about 850 firefighters continued to work the blaze doing mop-up. "They'll be checking for hot spots, and they won't declare it fully out until the 5th, or sooner," Hagen said. The fire has cost nearly $5 million to fight.
-- Tami Abdollah
Capt. Phil Rawlings at Cal-Fire said that firefighters at the Santiago blaze in Orange County had a good night and that containment was at about 50%, though there was no prediction for full containment. So far, 27,900 acres have burned.
At this point, there is no indication that the fire will spread to Riverside County, he said. "We're making very good headway and we're cautiously optimistic."
-- Michael Muskal
We're signing off from this blog for the evening. Updates on the fires will continue on the homepage throughout the night, and we will be back in this space Sunday morning. Thanks for reading.
San Diego:
Fire investigators Saturday appealed to the public for information about a 44-year-old Los Angeles man arrested Wednesday for allegedly impersonating a firefighter at the Rice fire in Fallbrook.
William Reed Brock, on probation for a drug offense, was arrested while driving a Ford pickup with personalized firefighter license plates and a bed full of fire equipment and clothing.
Investigators said that "if you have seen Brock at any wildfires, or in fire camps or at fire stations," you should contact sheriff's detective Clayton Lisk at (760) 451-3110 or Cal-Fire investigator Gary Eidsmore, (800) 468-4408 or the Cal-Fire Arson Tip Line, (800) 468-4408.
Brock allegedly told deputies he was a member of the Morongo Fire Department, but that information proved false. He is not considered a suspect in any of the fires, Lisk said.
Brock is 6-foot, 160 pounds, balding with blond hair and a ponytail.
-- Tony Perry
Orange County:
Firefighters made steady progress today battling the Santiago fire, but the 27,521-acre blaze is still threatening homes, and Orange County's rustic canyon communities remain under mandatory evacuation.
"The weather today has been outstanding," said Dennis Cross, a spokesman for the Orange County Fire Authority. "High humidity and very little wind is allowing aircraft to really target and hit a lot of hot spots. Structure protection is in place, and we're getting a lot of line constructed."
Nearly 2,000 firefighters are battling the fire, and they were supported in the air by four planes and 16 helicopters.
Assessment teams visiting remote burned areas discovered two more destroyed homes, bringing the fire's toll to at least 16.
A $285,000 reward is being offered to anyone offering information that leads to a conviction.
-- Seema Mehta
Schwarzenegger, in an appearance this morning at a fire command center in Irvine Regional Park, acknowledged that improvements can be made in coordinating fire fighting efforts between state and local officials. He said problems that arose over the use of fire fighting aircraft in Orange County earlier this week will be fixed to fight fires in the future.
The governor seemed to be alluding to the hurt feelings of some Orange County fire officials who believe the county was overlooked in the early days of the Santiago Fire by Cal Fire officials who had deployed aircraft to San Diego County.
In concluding remarks made during a light drizzle, Schwarzenegger vowed to make sure that “Los Angeles doesn't get all the rain and no rain is allocated to Orange County.”
--H.G. Reza
Photo: Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times
Kora Minor, left, consoles neighbor Andrea Beckwith after she found a family memento in the debris of her burned-out home in the Del Dios area of Escondido in San Diego County.
(Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images)
Two animals at the Wild Animal Park in San Diego County died as the Witch Creek fire imperiled the park in the San Pasqual Valley.
But six more were born: three gazelles, a fringe-eared oryx, a Ugandan kob (an antelope) and a dik-dik (an antelope native to eastern Africa).
-- Tony Perry
National Football League Players Assn. spokesman Carl Francis said today that union leadership was confident that Sunday's game between the San Diego Chargers and Houston Texans could be played at Qualcomm Stadium without endangering player health or safety.
"We've been in communication with the NFL, and we feel very confident with the information that the San Diego mayor and others have given to the league," Francis said. "We are confident that the game can be played in San Diego on Sunday. We're just following the health guidelines and safety plans in place. We're working closely with the NFL.”
Although the NFL will play its game Sunday, most of the county's organized outdoor athletic activity ground to a halt earlier in the week. The San Diego Unified School District canceled all athletic activity during the weekend. San Diego State University postponed several athletic events, including a Saturday football game against Brigham Young University at Qualcomm. That game has been rescheduled at the stadium for Dec. 1.
San Diego State also postponed men's and women's soccer matches, a cross-country meet and swimming, diving and volleyball competitions. The university plans to reschedule the events or move them to alternative locations.
-- Greg Johnson and Tony Perry
Six people have been arrested on suspicion of looting in the wake of the fires, said Lt. Phil Brust of the San Diego County Sheriff's Department. There were 128 reports of looting in the last week, and the department took 34 crime reports, he said.
"Now we're back to working regular stuff here -- we're back to regular law enforcement services for the most part," Brust said. He said he did not have details on the arrests.
"We've repopulated most of the county," Brust said.
-- Tami Abdollah
Orange County:
Evacuated from their rustic Orange County canyons for nearly a week, scores of residents are gathering in the parking lot of a nearby Albertsons market that they have dubbed "Camp Silverado."
Children are handing out homemade Halloween cupcakes; volunteers are tending pets, including roosters and iguanas, in a makeshift animal shelter; and fire authorities are providing regular updates about the blaze's direction as the evacuees wait to find out whether their homes are among the 14 destroyed.
"I'm feeling optimistic, but I'm dead tired and I'm pretty stressed out," said Sherry Meddick, a Silverado Canyon resident, as she tended the pets. "Keeping the animals keeps my mind off the situation, and people need the help.... It's pretty hard to take your iguana, 15 rabbits, 10 chickens and pot-bellied pig to Motel 6. They might not leave the lights on."
-- David Haldane
Photo: Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times
By early afternoon 19,000 residents of San Diego County remained under evacuation orders, down from a peak of 640,000 at midweek, officials said.
-- Tony Perry
Debbie Clevenger, right, and Andrew Plata of the Arrowbear Fire Departement fight a house fire ignited by the Slide wildfire in Arrowbear.
(Marcio Jose Sanchez / AP)
Clouds and cooler weather moved into the region today, courtesy of tropical moisture traveling northeast from the Pacific Ocean, said Dan Atkin, meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in San Diego. No Santa Ana winds are forecast until later next week, and are predicted to be moderate, Atkin said.
In San Diego and Orange counties today winds are "light and variable, a little weak," at around 5 miles per hour, Atkin said.
The light winds will change direction Sunday, bringing slightly warmer, drier weather to Orange and San Diego counties, meteorologists said.
Those winds from the northeast could push against the fire and might allow crews to fight it from the front.
"Hopefully, this will give us a chance to do a little more of a direct attack," Berglund said late this morning. "With the winds coming from the opposite direction, that will slow the fire as it reaches the ridgetop" that divides the two counties. Those same winds could also create drier conditions before moister air returns Tuesday, when firefighters may wake up to a marine layer and higher humidity.
A few raindrops fell today in the Santiago Canyon area of Orange County. "Everyone was saying, 'Hey, we feel raindrops,' but we didn't see it on the ground," said fire information officer Tom Berglund.
Go to the National Weather Service website for updated forecasts for Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties.
--Deborah Schoch
As of late morning, residents in Ramona were having their water turned on, "but they'll be on a do-not-drink and boil-water order for a while," said Michael Workman, a spokesman for the San Diego County Office of Emergency Services.
"The water has to test clean for 48 hours," he said.
With water cut off and the city on a boil-water order, lines of portable toilets speckled the town's parking lots as people searched out the few restaurants that were still open and tried to figure out how to get water to their dogs and horses.
"Multiple" small water districts in the county have also been on boil-water orders because of contamination issues from the fires' ash and debris, Workman said, though he could not specify these areas.
Read more "Water flows again in Ramona " »
Orange County:
The Santiago blaze is clambering toward Mine Tract, a small community of about 40 homes in Silverado Canyon. All residents have been evacuated, and hand crews are cutting a fire break. Firefighters are positioning themselves to defend the homes while water-dropping helicopters are trying to douse the flames, which are half a mile away.
"Right now, it's a very slow back-burning fire creeping down the ridge tops," said Orange County Fire Authority Battalion Chief Pat Antrim, who has lived in Silverado for 46 years.
These homes are the only ones immediately threatened in Silverado, which has been evacuated for days and has so far avoided major damages.
Read more "Santiago fire creeps toward Mine Tract" »
Despite cooler weather and overcast skies, the AQMD, the region's air pollution control agency, issued an advisory this morning warning residents to take precautions:
As wildfires continue to burn in the Southland, air quality will remain
unhealthful today and tomorrow in areas directly impacted by smoke."
Areas forecast to have unhealthful air quality today are the central San
Bernardino Mountains, including Lake Arrowhead, and the Saddleback Valley
area in Orange County.
In other areas not directly impacted by smoke in San Bernardino,
Riverside and Orange counties, air quality today and tomorrow is forecast to
be unhealthy for sensitive individuals. Air quality in coastal and valley areas
of Los Angeles County is predicted to be in the moderate range.
Read more "AQMD warns of unhealthful air today" »
San Diego:
Although the National Football League will hold its game Sunday at Qualcomm Stadium, most of the county's organized outdoor athletic activity ground to a halt Saturday.
The San Diego Unified School District canceled all athletic activity during the weekend. San Diego State University postponed several athletic events, including a Saturday football game against Brigham Young University at Qualcomm. That game is scheduled to be played Dec. 1 at Qualcomm.
San Diego State postponed men's and women's soccer matches, a cross-country meet and swimming, diving and volleyball competitions. The university plans to reschedule the events or move them to alternative locations.
-- Greg Johnson
Scott Lewis is executive editor at voiceofsandiego.org. He is among members of the community we have asked to post thoughts, news and follow-ups to the wildfire story.
A simple point about home values seems to be getting lost in the discussion these days. I've been meaning to write a post about this for a few days. On the local radio show Editor's Roundtable yesterday morning, I heard KPBS' Alan Ray advocate a rethinking of whether we should rebuild homes in the areas destroyed by the fire.
Read more "Guest post: Talking Insurance" »
San Diego:
Mayor Jerry Sanders said Saturday that he was confident that fans were going to be OK attending Sunday's National Football League game between the Chargers and the Houston Texans, despite reports about poor air quality.
People are taking precaution and aren't exerting themselves, he said. On Saturday, the temperatures were lower and the skies overcast. There was even some rain just south of the border.
"I think [the air] is getting better each day," Sanders said.
-- Tony Perry
San Diego County Dist. Atty. Bonnie Dumanis and San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders warned residents of possible scams and price gouging.
"There are people out there preying on San Diegans," Sanders said.
At his Saturday morning news conference at the San Diego Zoo, Sanders said an out-of-town company snapped up 50 apartments in the Rancho Bernardo area and tripled the rent. A woman who had evacuated called the mayor's office, and after receiving pressure from city officials, the company backed off and the apartments were offered at the pre-fire rent.
-- Tony Perry
Flames from the Santiago fire are within a mile of the Riverside County line, and fire officials hope to restrain it there, fire information officer Larry Tunforss reported at 9:45 a.m. "That's where we're trying to build a line and hold it there."
Specialized crews are guarding the communications towers atop Santiago Peak and Modjeska Peak, and fire retardant has been spread in a 2-1/2-mile radius around both towers in hopes of saving them, Tunforss said.
The towers are linchpins for communications in the area, he said. "You've got a lot of radio stations, television stations. You've got a lot of cell towers."
-- Deborah Schoch
San Diego political and tourist industry leaders encouraged visitors Saturday to continue coming to their city.
"We want the message to go out across the world: San Diego is open for business," Mayor Jerry Sanders said at a morning news conference at the San Diego Zoo.
As the mayor spoke, families, out-of-state visitors and couples streamed through the zoo's entrance.
Tourism is the third-largest industry in San Diego, after manufacturing and the military. Tourism spending annually is about $8.2 billion, and there are about 120,000 jobs in the industry.
The mayor said it appeared that the blazes were not keeping people away. Only one convention canceled during the fires.
A popular golf tournament will take place at Barona Creek Golf Club next week, and a major neuroscience convention is coming soon to San Diego's waterfront convention center.
The zoo remained opened during the fires. The Wild Animal Park, in the city's San Pasqual Valley, has reopened after part of the grounds burned.
"From sparkling beaches to a thriving downtown, San Diego does not disappoint," said David Peckinpaugh, chief executive of the city's Convention and Visitors Bureau. "If you haven't visited recently, now is the time to visit San Diego."
-- Tony Perry
Cal-Fire officials are monitoring four blazes that firefighters continue to work in San Diego County on Saturday. These are the Witch, Poomacha, Harris and Rice fires, said Roxanne Provaznik, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
"The only hot spot is the Poomacha, and that's up on Palomar [Mountain]," she said. "Everything else is looking real good."
-- Tami Abdollah
Hand crews are cutting fire breaks to save hundreds of homes in rural Orange County as 13 water-dropping helicopters and four air tankers are battling the Santiago blaze from the sky.
"The main area of focus today is Silverado Canyon, where the fire is still threatening homes," said Fire Authority Battalion Chief Kris Concepcion. Firefighters are engaged in "structure protection, trying to establish a line between the fire and the homes."
After days of erratic winds and bone-dry humidity levels, the weather is finally cooperating with firefighters, he said. Temperatures are decreasing, humidity is increasing and moist ocean breezes are blowing inland.
-- Seema Mehta
At Snow Valley ski resort, the command post for the Slide fire, firefighters awoke Saturday morning to a hopeful sign: They could no longer see flames licking the ridgeline.
In recent days, many of the engine crews had turned to snuffing out spot fires in Running Springs or were clearing land near Lake Arrowhead in case the wind kicked up and the fire dashed west.
They also surveyed the Slide fire's devastation -- homes hollowed out amid dead trees that turned streets into tinderboxes.
The last few nights, Joe Hatfield, a fire captain for the city of Ontario, has scoured parts of the San Bernardino National Forest for flaming tree trunks and loose embers. Sometimes, his thoughts slowed and his eyes drooped -- but only briefly.
"Sure, this work we're doing isn't glamorous. But if we miss something, someone's house could go up like that," he said.
He was reminded of that Friday morning, when he was on mop-up duty in Running Springs.
A strike team nearby found flames. The fire quickly raced from underneath a deck to a house and into the attic before firefighters put it out.
"Just when you think nothing's happening, something does," he said.
-- Ashley Powers
The Santiago fire in Orange County threatened hundreds of homes in Silverado Canyon and is approaching the Riverside County line. Fire officials hope that milder weather conditions today will help their efforts. A few raindrops were even falling at the Irvine command post this morning.
The arson blaze, which has destroyed at least 14 homes, is 35% contained.
Overnight, firefighters protected homes in the narrow seven-mile canyon and used bulldozers to build a five-mile fire break, aiming to stop the fire front marching toward the Riverside County line. Nearly 2,000 firefighters are fighting the blaze.
An update is scheduled for later this morning.
-- Seema Mehta
Firefighters were making headway in efforts to halt the Slide fire's march west toward Lake Arrowhead, fire officials said Saturday morning.
Firefighters were working today to shore up the blaze's northwest corner, which has crept into areas burned by the Old fire, through low grass and tree limbs that remain.
Overnight, hand crews cut a line in the unruly fire's southwest corner amid steep, rocky terrain and near the burned-over community of Fredalba. There is a contingency line to the west.
Hand crews also worked the fire's northern edge, near Crab Flats, said Tom Hatcher, the fire's operations section chief.
Temperatures hovering in the high 60s, light winds and humidity at 18% to 25% should help firefighting efforts, officials said. A dozen helicopters crossed red-tinged clouds, dousing flames with water. The blaze is 25% contained and is the state's No. 2 firefighting priority.
More than 1,900 fire personnel are battling the blaze, a significantly larger force than in previous days. The blaze has cost $4.5 million to fight.
To the west, the Grass Valley fire was 85% contained.
-- Ashley Powers
The top Marine Corps general got an earful of criticism and some thanks from Marine spouses Friday while touring Camp Pendleton, where fire disrupted training and forced evacuation of some 800 family members.
"We were evacuated at 2:30 a.m. and it was pretty much hysteria," one woman told Commandant Gen. James Conway during a question-and-answer session following his brief remarks. "Is there a standard emergency evacuation plan for the military?"
Another wife said she was given "way too much conflicting information" in the hours that preceded Wednesday morning's evacuation.
Conway deflected the questions to Col. James Seaton, commanding officer of the sprawling base.
"It wasn't perfect," Seaton said. "I apologize for having to wake you up at 2:30 a.m., but the winds were unpredictable."
Another military wife thanked the Marines for "an outstanding effort that went beyond the call of duty and I want to let you know my family is very appreciative of your efforts."
The Horno fire, which disrupted training for Marines set to deploy to Iraq, has burned 20,000 acres but was expected to be 100% contained by Friday night, a Cal Fire spokesman said.
-- David McKibben
San Bernardino County officials said late Friday that they're not ready to release a list of homes damaged and destroyed in the Slide and Grass Valley fires. Earlier, they said they hoped to release the list today on the county assessor's site. No word on when the list might be posted, according to a written statement from a county spokesperson.
Scott Lewis is executive editor at voiceofsandiego.org. He is among members of the community we have asked to post thoughts, news and follow-ups to the wildfire story.
Yesterday I wrote a column about a San Diego resident named Cheryl Hamano and the challenge of measuring a disaster.
I had met Hamano and her family four years ago after they lost their home in the Cedar Fire. It was by sheer luck that the family had been able to evacuate during that firestorm. Their daughter had gotten up early on a Sunday morning to go to the bathroom. She had smelled smoke and looked outside. Another teenager was running in the street and told her to get out.
The family left just before flames consumed their house. Cheryl had no time to grab her purse. She was left with no official proof of who she was.
Quite a story.
Since then, the family rebuilt. But the marriage dissolved -- the stress of reconstruction didn't help. Cheryl had to move into a rented house in the same neighborhood.
And, this week, she found herself being evacuated again. The flames stayed away from her home but she said the experience of fleeing the fire was much more orderly this time around. She had plenty of warning and plenty of time to collect the most valuable of possessions.
She said dealing with the insurance company was more difficult than she had hoped. She said that unlike her neighbors, the family's new house was not much bigger than the one they lost. After the divorce, she had to sell and move out dropping the price over and over again in a slumping real estate market.
She said that the stress the fire caused has never really gone away.
"People think once you rebuild from the fire that it's all back to normal," she said. "But it's not -- not always."
-- Scott Lewis
San Bernardino Mountains:
Firefighters reported 20% containment on the Slide fire, which had bored through 13,700 acres by this evening. Officials said they lost 201 residences and 3 outbuildings. There was only one home lost today, in Running Springs. With resources freed up from other fires, the total number of personnel jumped from 1,359 this morning to 1,964 by this evening.
The Grass Valley fire was 75% contained at 1,140 acres. Twenty homes were damaged and 162 destroyed, according to the new estimates.
-- Maeve Reston
San Diego County:
Evacuation orders for the rural communities of Julian, Wynola, Cuyamaca and Pine Hills, all once threatened by the eastward march of the Witch fire, were lifted Friday night.
-- Tony Perry
Running Springs:
In the first quiet day in Running Springs, the fire chief who watched his town nearly go up in smoke finally found some quiet moments to sift through paperwork. Chief Bill Smith was up for the first 50 hours of the San Bernardino Mountain firestorm -- among the first to respond to the Grass Valley Fire and then racing back to the Slide when it flared up in his community a short time later.
Firefighters lost the last structure in Running Springs this morning. In the early evening, the fatigue was finally settling in.
"When you have homes burning you have enough adrenaline that it kind of keeps you going," said Smith, who spent 30 years fighting fires with the U.S. Forest Service before retiring as the Mountaintop Division Chief. "Once in a while you get to the point where you're exhausted but you just move on."
"The hardest thing for any fire chief is to lose any structures... but especially the impact of losing so many homes is just heartwrenching,"
Smith has been the Running Springs chief for nine years.
"Most of us fight fires a lot of years and go to other people's jurisdiction fighting fires, but it's a totally different feeling when it's your own community."
Not only would he have to contend with residents coming back to homes that have vanished into ash, but fire continues to burn in the steep, inaccessible canyons to the west.
"That will pose a threat possibly until the snow flies," he said.
-- Maeve Reston
Scott Lewis is executive editor at voiceofsandiego.org. He is among members of the community we have asked to post thoughts, news and follow-ups to the current Southern California wildfire story.
Throughout the week of fire, there has been a series of headlines usually tucked in below all of the important news. The stream of updates had to do with what seemed like an overly agonizing decision about when and where to play the Chargers game. Government and team officials passed this decision around like the hottest of potatoes. And they just passed it off completely. The game had been scheduled for Sunday.
About Tuesday, as the fires were raging and causing evacuations all the way to the coast, the Chargers decided to move their practices to Arizona.
By Wednesday, they had decided to pass the decision on when the game would occur over to San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders: The Chargers are fully prepared to implement whatever decision the Mayor makes, including either playing the game at Qualcomm Stadium or relocating the game to another facility out of the San Diego area.
The mayor on Thursday sent the decision back to the Chargers: "Should they decide to play in San Diego, the stadium will be ready on Sunday," said Fred Sainz, the mayor's spokesman. "It's their decision to play in San Diego or not."
Neither side wanted to be saddled with responsibility for a potentially controversial choice. After all, the air in San Diego is still hazy. The fires are still burning in parts of the county. It doesn't take a genius
to figure out some choice criticism for the team or the city for callously putting resources into a game.
So no decision came.
Until Friday, when the NFL stepped in. Chargers President Dean Spanos explained that, after all that, it was the NFL's choice all along.
Read more "Guest post: Fire and football" »
Lake Arrowhead:
Deep in the pines of the San Bernardino National Forest, about four miles east of where the Slide fire began in Green Valley Lake, firefighters struggled with exhaustion as they beat down hot spots with shovels and axes.
The goal was to build a containment line around Crab Flats before a predicted wind shift Sunday that could direct the fire toward Lake Arrowhead and possibly parts of Running Springs again. But the adrenaline was gone.
"We're all at a kind of plodding pace, everyone has got blisters on top of blisters and we're losing our voices," said Mike Rigney, a Lake Arrowhead-based fire captain with the San Bernardino Fire Department.
Sleep? "We got four or five hours somewhere in the third day," Rigney said.
Read more "Firefighters working on fumes" »
Silverado Canyon:
Though Silverado Canyon, with its steep walls, narrow roads, mature trees and chaparral is a potential tinderbox, it has managed to escape major damage from wildfires in modern times. Silverado Canyon was untouched even by the 1967 Paseo Grande fire, which blackened nearly 49,000 acres and burned 51 homes, mostly in the canyons and foothills of east Orange County. The blaze was marching toward the canyon, but it changed directions at the last moment and burned Black Star Canyon.
-- William Lobdell
Sacramento:
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and his aides today struck a triumphant and self-congratulatory note as they attempted to show that they were moving into the recovery phase of the 2007 California fire disaster.
Schwarzenegger called cabinet members and agency heads to his Office of Emergency Services headquarters at the former Mather Air Force base for a 20-minute session in front of reporters to discuss recovery efforts. The governor, flanked by other state officials, then walked into a state operations center and thanked emergency services workers who helped coordinate the response.
"This is not over, I just want you to know," Schwarzenegger said. "I always say, this is the sprint. Now comes the marathon."
Read more "Governor strikes triumphant note" »
San Bernardino Mountains:
Nancy Duncan made so many new friends at the Orange Show Fairgrounds evacuation center that she wasn’t sure she wanted to leave today .
“They are having barbecue tonight -- are you sure you don’t want to stay one more night?” she asked her daughter-in-law, Nicole Duncan, 35. “It’s really been wonderful. I got Arnold’s [Schwarzenegger] autograph and played cards with the grandkids in the van. I’ve been on television three times. It’s been really, really wonderful.”
Nicole on the other hand couldn't wait to get home for a real shower. Her kids, however, also wanted to stay.
“I thought there would be more enthusiasm about leaving,” Nicole said.
Authorities today allowed residents of Crestline, Enchanted Valley and Cedar Pines Park to go home, thinning the evacuation center ranks, which numbered about 1,800 Thursday. New numbers were not available.
Chris Navarette, 45, was plenty excited about going home.
“It was nice for awhile but it’s time to go now,” he said. “I feel very fortunate because I have friends who have lost everything.”
Refugees from the Lake Arrowhead, Green Valley Lake, Grass Valley and Running Springs areas remain at the shelter.
-- David Kelly
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