Wildfires 2007: Cal Fire: “We’re not out of the woods yet.”

Amid all the increasingly optimistic reports coming out on the county’s various fires comes this cautionary note from retired Cal Fire Capt. Fred Daskoski, recalled to duty for this firestorm:

Partially contained fires are just that — partially contained. And time may not be on the firefighters’ side.

“Until we can get some sort of control line around these fires, it’s still a major hazard,” he said. “There a possibility of a new high-pressure system coming into this area in the next couple of days.”

With that renewed high pressure could come renewed high winds and low humidity, the conditions that helped the county’s mega-fires make their destructive runs in the first place, Daskoski said.

“It could actually blow some of these fires out again and we could be right back to where we were,” he said. “I just hope people don’t get back into their homes and let their guard down. We’re not out of the woods yet.”

Smoke masks the California sun

With all the talk about emergency preparedness and homeland security, the true newsworthiness of these giant disasters lies in the way they punch holes in our false sense of security, the notion that, in case of emergency, the government will take care of us. Most of us tend to view localized events — a flood, a bridge collapse, a fire — as isolated phenomena. “Oh, those poor people! Lucky I don’t live in a burn area/floodplain/decaying city!” We refuse to see them as litmus tests. We fail to read the handwriting on the wall.

Latest fire stats

The fire situation is improving but the smoke is getting worse, as forecast. I’m coughing like I used to when I was a smoker, even though I’ve been staying inside with the air purifier on. TV is saying this smoke is really toxic, with all the chemicals in it that are used to build homes, furniture, etc. Think about it: formaldehyde, plastic, who knows what else. Gah. And I can’t even live with that stuff in my own home because of chemical injury.

Think how many people are going to be sick for life from this.

My problem right now is air quality. The winds changed during the night, and now I can’t go outside or open any windows. I have an air purifier going, so things are okay inside [my new A/C gives me migraines, dammit.] But the big concern is the power grid.

Making Up for Lost Power: One of San Diego Gas & Electric’s major power lines into San Diego County has been completely shut down by the Harris Fire, but Chief Operating Officer Mike Niggli said the power line suffered minimal permanent damage and should be fully operational within 24 to 48 hours.

Meanwhile, power is being sent up to the county from Mexico, Mr. Niggli said, and the Navy has even fired up its boilers and on-board generators on its San Diego-based vessels to reduce demand on the grid.

Our other main power line is operating sporadically because of a fire at Camp Pendleton. Oy! We’re being asked to conserve as much as possible, so I’m going to shut down the computer and check in only periodically. I’ll update the blog when I can.

Oops, sorry. I’ve been so obsessed with watching/reading every bit of news I can find about the fires that I forgot to share.

First of all, we’re okay. In case you were wondering. Here is a Google Fire Incidence Map of Southern California. It’s meant for locals, to answer questions about evacuation orders/centers, closed roads, and various other infobits [click the icons for details], but it also shows where the fires are, what their status is, and where they appear to be heading.

If you zoom in on San Diego a bit, you can see La Mesa near the center of things, in a blessedly fire-free patch. That’s where we are, safe and sound, me, Robby and Emily. My other son, Chris and his wife Karen, are also doing just fine in Pacific Beach. My friend Nicole, out in Guatay, 45 miles east, got lucky. The fires burned a few miles to either side of her. The huge Cedar fire, four years ago, burned close enough that you could see the scorch marks from her house, but this year she didn’t even have to evacuate. Good thing, since she’s almost 80 and getting frail.

Back in 1980, I worked as a news “sidekick” for a popular disc jockey named Larry Himmel, who has since become a veteran TV broadcaster here in town. Larry lost his beautiful home of 25 years in the fires and made this report from in front of his burning house:

I’ve gotta say, I’m totally impressed by the job the local media is doing. They are the vital link between all the various agencies, shelters, and some three million residents — ONE SIXTH of whom had to be evacuated. That’s an amazing accomplishment. [I am SO GLAD that I don't work in the news any more. I've done a few minor versions of this kind of reporting and it takes WAY more energy than I've got now.]

If you want the latest, here are some good sources I’ve found:

San Diego Union Tribune
The Union Trib’s fire blog
Scenes from the wild fires
KPBS twitter page

Now I’m trying to figure out what I can do to help — besides staying off the roads, off the cell phone, and not using too much electricity, as requested by our officials. I’m good at NOT doing stuff. I can donate some food, a cot, and a tent that I happen to have lying around, but I don’t have any money to give thanks to a little emergency room visit last week. [Gallstones, don't ask.] I’m not really well enough to volunteer either. I want to suggest to Robby and Emily that they volunteer. I was hoping they’d think of it themselves, but parents are supposed to model that kind of thing. How can I expect them to do what I’m not doing myself?