Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board So Cal Fires

I just wanted to let every one know that the San Gogonio and Angeles National Forest is closed due to the wildfires. I havn't seen fires so bad in So Cal since the Malibu fire back in 1993. I heard that a fire is nearing the town of Lake Arrowhead and Big Bear, which is being fueled by the dead bark beatle trees. Hopefully the cooler weather arriving this weekend will help the firefightes get a hand on this situation. I heard long range forecasts is predicting a major storm to blow in on the 5th and 6th and dump a lot of snow.

Matt

Why would the forests remain closed well into the winter?

Last year, the Forest Service closed the Angeles, San Bernardino, and Cleveland National Forests during the height of the fires in the Angeles and kept them closed through the end of fire season (i.e., until the rains came). The argument for closing was that the resources to cope with additional fires just didn't exist. With a burn area on the order of 10 times last years', I don't expect them to re-open the forests any earlier this time around. As someone who does a lot of hiking and biking in these forests, this prospect does not thrill me.

If it's like last year, the forests will be closed until there is a significant rain which probably will not happen until January.

If you want to read an account of a narrow escape, see this post at deathvalley.com:

http://www.deathvalley.com/dvtalk/messages/10253.shtml

10:37AM.

Around 12:30 PM, I received a phone call that they were doing mandatory evacuations north of 40th Street up to Palm Avenue and the Cal-State San Bernardino Campus was on fire.

At 2:30 PM, my wife called asking if everything was ok. I told here yes and that the fire was still far away.

Finally, around 3:30PM, I joined several of my neighbors on the hill to see the fire. It was know about two miles away and was easily 3 miles across. We joked about it and even talked about the Halloween party. Around 4PM, the sheriff drove up the street announcing on his PA system that we should start to prepare to evacuate. It was know getting serious, and a tension filled the air. We left to our homes. This would be the last time I would talk to my neighbors – as neighbors.

Still doubting the fire would reach us, I ignored the warnings and figured it would never cross the 80’ wash near the Devil’s Canyon pumping station.

How wrong I was.

yes you stupid moron you were very wrong!
your stupid behavior could have caused the deaths of the very men who were trying to protect your town

as a 30 plus year veteran firefighter why would we request that you leave your home?
to scrub your toliets?
no
so you will be safe
and that we may be able to save some homes.
yet some complete idiots stay and make it more dangerous for everyone.
no sorry there is no excuse for staying in your home until the bitter end
unless you enjoy dieing by fire
dont be a stupid moron
listen to the advice of professionals
This complete idiot who posted on the death valley message board could have cost several firefighters there lives by blocking the escape route

Interesting side note to all the terribleness of these fires. . .

Yesterday afternoon as the sun was going down and was all red through the smoke, I looked at the sun with sunglasses on and could actually see sunspots!!

No joke, there were 2 of them close to the middle of the disk of the sun. The locations I saw them in matched the photos on the net yesterday that showed sunspots. According to the news this morning, the larger one was throwing out an explosion 13 times the size of the earth!!

I had no idea you could see such things, but it appears that the combination of smoke with UV blocking sunglasses makes them visible. Check it out this evening - I think it was around 4:45 yesterday. They look like dark blobs that don't move.

The sun may be safely viewed with the filters for welder's goggles with a rating of 14 or higher. Sunspots large enough to see with the naked eye do occur every now and again.

Why would someone wait until the flames were licking at their feet before evacuating? This quote from a recent movie explains it: "Denial is the most predictable of all human responses..."

I could be wrong, but I believe with quality UV protecting sunglasses you are ok to look at the sun.

Even so, I wasn't staring, just glancing.

This is worthwhile -- throcker agrees with the LA Times!

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-holdouts29oct29,1,6851515.story?coll=la-home-headlines

Tom,

I was also able to see the two massive sunspots with my naked eyes when smoke and ash from the San Bernadino fire storm obscured the sun in the morning of 10/24/03. I took a picture of it. It's posted at http://members19.clubphoto.com/gilbert707791/1734654/owner-f69a.phtml

Gilbert M.

no alan, its that they jumped on my bandwagon

throcker -- my point was simply that you and the Times agree (well, agreed... at least once).

Of course, the people who stay behind and defend their homes are generally conservative rugged individualists. They believe that they know better than the government (in the form of firefighters and police) when to stay and protect their property and when to leave. Sometimes they win, saving their homes when everything around burns. Sometimes they die. But they would rather die by their own choice rather than follow authority. Seeing you on the side of the Left Angeles Times just confirmed what I already suspected about you. :-)

at least you admited it was the leftangeles times!!!!!!!!
and these so called rugid people?
no they are stupid idiots who managed to get their children killed or burned so bad they will be disfigured for life.

"at least you admited it was the leftangeles times!!!!!!!!"

Yes. I'm sure that my tongue-in-cheek statements are soooo important to Times fans and critics alike!

"and these so called rugid people?
no they are stupid idiots who managed to get their children killed or burned so bad they will be disfigured for life."

You are a more careful reader of that fine paper than I am. I didn't even realize that the Rugids had kids.

You just keep waving the banner of government intervention into private lives!

alan, when my ass is on the line and some left wing liberal , its my home and Im gona stay until I start crying for my momma and wetting my pants
homeowner gets in my teams way of saving his neighbors home because he or she now wants to bbogie. That is what I am talking about.
Im sure you would qualify as one of those who would stay until the end, only to be found with soiled britchs

throcker, I can hardly say I'm surprised that you didn't get what I was saying. I am going to forgo further banter until I find someone who can comunicate in English.

if you prefer spanish give it a shot, punto

AlanK says: "I didn't even realize that the Rugids had kids." C'mon, Alan, everyone knows they have kids. They're called Rugrats.

Come on you clowns, there is no need to call each other names, other people have bigger troubles than you two. Now kiss and make up.