You guys ok up there? ( NorCal Fires )

[TattooedRedHead]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2...?section=world

He!! if the fire gets too close, grab your keys, start your Sprint and haul a$$ outta there!

No really I hope you all are safe and I pray your houses stay intact, fire is scary, I have a friend of a friend down here that was badly burned in the San Diego fires a few years back.

You are all being thought of, keep us posted if you have to evacuate.

--Kory

[TornadoST]

My Sprint is in the ready position to make a quick exit for sure. The skies are pretty dark with smoke and we are breathing in some heavy ashes today. At least the weather is not in the 100's like this past weekend.

[bakwheeltango]

holy crap! take care!

[GoinPostal]

The smoke just filled the skies all day. I have never seen it this bad, for this long and this early in the 'fire season'. Along with the drought, this summer is going to be a bad one for fires. BTW, thanks for the concern.

[jeffster]

Yesterday I went to Watsonville area to check out the fire damage. Larkin Valley road near the HWY 1 Buena Vista exit had the worst damage. The fire crews were still there putting out hotspots. Then I went up Mt. Madonna Road to go to a county or state park where they hold some white deer in pens, and sure enough a cop was up at the top of the ridge and the road was closed because of a fresh fire in the park. My personal feeling is that most of these have been started by idiots carelessly throwing their cigarette butts out the window, which then starts the dry grass on fire and then spreads to a forested area nearby. I think they need to change the law and give them 5 to 10 on first offense. Every year a few firemen and residents lose their lives from this carelessness, what to speak of the enormous amount of property damage and ensuing inconvenience to the residents and the cost to the state to fight this. Arggh !
jeffster
Is that how you spell "arggh?"

[Calliway]

Man you guys, be safe. I have been through this twice. The Okanagan Valley in BC is extremely prone to forest fires.

The first in Penticton in 1994 - huge forest fire. My Dad defied the evac notice and used water from the backyard pool to keep the flames away. When we got back home the fire had come 15 feet from our cedar fence.

Next was 2003 where we were evacuated for 7 days, allowed to come back home just to be evacuated again for 7 more days. This time it was me who had the kids and packed the wifes van, put my two boys in and told my wife to drive like hell to get out.

I stayed behind this time with my neighbor and saved both of our homes with garden homes. We watched the wall of fire roll through the forest and we sat there on our roofs of our houses and put out the flaming embers as they landed on the roofs....

I hope nobody up there has to deal with this. Be safe you guys.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_Ok...tain_Park_Fire

[seumas]

I talked to my mom and step-dad couple nights ago. They live west of Redding and said that there are over 200 fires going between them and Mt. Shasta. We're headed into the dryest part of the year and it's only going to get worse. Y'all be careful.

[denman13]

The air has been terrible with all the fires here. Tried to go out for a mountain bike ride near Kenwood (Sonoma county) but the smoke was just hanging there and your lungs would be caked with ash and residue in ten minutes.

Here in SF we were sandwiched between three big fires including one on San Bruno Mountain which is right at the south border of the city. Today the sky is still smoke filled and the entire thing has this orange glow from the sun set, smoke and fog all mixing. Beautiful sunsets though.

[seumas]

Denman, I'm 6-700 miles east of you and we're starting to see the smoke here. Not as bad as the year Yellowstone burned yet, but still smoky.

[ventur4th]

My son is out there somewhere near Redding fighting those fires. The biggest danger comes when those individual fires join and become much larger.
To all that live up there - please be carefull!