WILDFIRE! San Diego County Burning!
Dennis Copson
October 24, 2007
Day four, Wednesday, October 24, 2007 and San Diego County, CA continues to burn. Hundreds of thousands of acres have been scorched, thousands of houses burned to the ground, more than six hundred thousand people displaced … and the nightmare continues virtually unabated today.
The fires stretch from the Mexican border to the northern reaches of the county even onto Camp Pendleton, the vast Marine base on the border of San Diego County and Orange County. There are five major fires and many smaller ones throughout the county. Nowhere inland seems untouched; there are fires merging with other fires and no end is really in sight. It may take weeks to completely mop up these fires and their hotspots.
On Sunday morning I took a leisurely drive up the Del Dios Highway from the town of Rancho Sante Fe to Escondido. The drive is a scenic one north along side Lake Hodges and the mountains of inland San Diego County. The wind was blowing hot from the East. My passenger, new to California, commented on the beauty of the area and the many Eucalyptus trees blowing in the wind. I recall telling her that the locals were not that fond of those trees due to their propensity as fire hazards. A Eucalyptus tree is a roman candle awaiting a fire, full of an oily substance which is fuel to a flame. Additionally, they tend to shed their bark and leaves prolifically littering the ground around them with kindling.
By Tuesday morning much of that serene area was scorched and blackened, hundreds of homes burned to the ground and virtually all of the residents ordered out. It continues to burn sporadically.
This area was overdue for this event. The years of draught conditions and the build up of dry vegetation, especially in the remote canyons, had prepared the area for the ‘perfect firestorm’. All the conditions were in place on Sunday: severe Santa Ana winds, high temperatures, low humidity, and tinder dry landscape. What had been predicted and feared for months suddenly happened. Firestorm 2007!
The fire started Sunday afternoon in two or three inland locations with fierce Santa Ana winds blowing from the desert westward through the mountainous canyons toward the Pacific Ocean at gusts of up to sixty miles per hour at times. Names such as the ‘Witch Creek fire’, the ‘Harris fire’, and the “Rice Canyon fire’ and others popped up on news reports and quickly became useful in keeping up with the fires’ progress in differing locations. Reporters fanned out throughout the county to get the latest story on a particular fire. Some confusion was apparent as new fires sprung up seemingly everywhere. There were fires breaking out faster than could be accounted for.
By late Sunday afternoon you could foresee what was to happen as the initial fires spread rapidly across the landscape fanned by the wind engulfing the inland area in several locations. Firefighters never had a chance to get a grip on one area before a new fire broke out somewhere else. It was clear by early Sunday evening that a catastrophe was in the making. Normally the Santa Ana winds lay down at night as the sun goes down. Sunday night, for some reason, that did not happen. The winds picked up in their ferocity and the fires raged totally out of control. Firefighters scrambled helplessly from hotspot to hotspot trying to contain one area while additional fires sprung up nearby. One neighborhood would be spared while the adjacent one was obliterated by fire. There was no reliable predicting where the erratic fires would spread next. And no containment was possible under the conditions. Mandatory evacuations were ordered over vast areas. People scrambled to escape certain death with very little of their precious personal possessions in hand owing to the short notice and the rapid spreading of the fires. Children and pets, maybe a few important papers, were quickly gathered. Time was crucial; some escaped with only the clothes on their backs such was the predicament they found themselves in.
Fire fighting aircraft could not fly Sunday or Monday due to the treacherous winds. This put the ground forces at a distinct disadvantage. They desperately needed that help. By Tuesday morning, the planes and water dropping helicopters were up and making a difference. But much was to be done and not enough equipment was available.
Today the winds have subsided and firefighters are getting some areas under marginal control. Any wind shift could dramatically change all that. One hopes not. However, the end is nowhere in sight. There is much to do before San Diego County is out of danger. The weather patterns look favorable for at least the next few days as the high pressure system overhead moves East and the Santa Ana effects dissipate. More than ten thousand fire fighters have converged on the area to help in this valiant effort.
These fires seem different than all others I have observed. They are pernicious and unpredictable. There is ample fuel to sustain them for days if not weeks.
One can only feel for those who, when allowed to return to their neighborhoods, will find nothing left of a lifetime collection of personal belongings. If “home is where your heart is” is true, there will be many broken hearts in this area come reunion day.
One can only hope that Mother Nature cooperates and the winds calm. Fire fighters have been on duty for extremely long periods of time with little or no rest and cannot continue this pace for much longer. They have been courageous in their efforts and how can one thank them enough.
May God Bless Fire Fighters!
The fires stretch from the Mexican border to the northern reaches of the county even onto Camp Pendleton, the vast Marine base on the border of San Diego County and Orange County. There are five major fires and many smaller ones throughout the county. Nowhere inland seems untouched; there are fires merging with other fires and no end is really in sight. It may take weeks to completely mop up these fires and their hotspots.
On Sunday morning I took a leisurely drive up the Del Dios Highway from the town of Rancho Sante Fe to Escondido. The drive is a scenic one north along side Lake Hodges and the mountains of inland San Diego County. The wind was blowing hot from the East. My passenger, new to California, commented on the beauty of the area and the many Eucalyptus trees blowing in the wind. I recall telling her that the locals were not that fond of those trees due to their propensity as fire hazards. A Eucalyptus tree is a roman candle awaiting a fire, full of an oily substance which is fuel to a flame. Additionally, they tend to shed their bark and leaves prolifically littering the ground around them with kindling.
By Tuesday morning much of that serene area was scorched and blackened, hundreds of homes burned to the ground and virtually all of the residents ordered out. It continues to burn sporadically.
This area was overdue for this event. The years of draught conditions and the build up of dry vegetation, especially in the remote canyons, had prepared the area for the ‘perfect firestorm’. All the conditions were in place on Sunday: severe Santa Ana winds, high temperatures, low humidity, and tinder dry landscape. What had been predicted and feared for months suddenly happened. Firestorm 2007!
The fire started Sunday afternoon in two or three inland locations with fierce Santa Ana winds blowing from the desert westward through the mountainous canyons toward the Pacific Ocean at gusts of up to sixty miles per hour at times. Names such as the ‘Witch Creek fire’, the ‘Harris fire’, and the “Rice Canyon fire’ and others popped up on news reports and quickly became useful in keeping up with the fires’ progress in differing locations. Reporters fanned out throughout the county to get the latest story on a particular fire. Some confusion was apparent as new fires sprung up seemingly everywhere. There were fires breaking out faster than could be accounted for.
By late Sunday afternoon you could foresee what was to happen as the initial fires spread rapidly across the landscape fanned by the wind engulfing the inland area in several locations. Firefighters never had a chance to get a grip on one area before a new fire broke out somewhere else. It was clear by early Sunday evening that a catastrophe was in the making. Normally the Santa Ana winds lay down at night as the sun goes down. Sunday night, for some reason, that did not happen. The winds picked up in their ferocity and the fires raged totally out of control. Firefighters scrambled helplessly from hotspot to hotspot trying to contain one area while additional fires sprung up nearby. One neighborhood would be spared while the adjacent one was obliterated by fire. There was no reliable predicting where the erratic fires would spread next. And no containment was possible under the conditions. Mandatory evacuations were ordered over vast areas. People scrambled to escape certain death with very little of their precious personal possessions in hand owing to the short notice and the rapid spreading of the fires. Children and pets, maybe a few important papers, were quickly gathered. Time was crucial; some escaped with only the clothes on their backs such was the predicament they found themselves in.
Fire fighting aircraft could not fly Sunday or Monday due to the treacherous winds. This put the ground forces at a distinct disadvantage. They desperately needed that help. By Tuesday morning, the planes and water dropping helicopters were up and making a difference. But much was to be done and not enough equipment was available.
Today the winds have subsided and firefighters are getting some areas under marginal control. Any wind shift could dramatically change all that. One hopes not. However, the end is nowhere in sight. There is much to do before San Diego County is out of danger. The weather patterns look favorable for at least the next few days as the high pressure system overhead moves East and the Santa Ana effects dissipate. More than ten thousand fire fighters have converged on the area to help in this valiant effort.
These fires seem different than all others I have observed. They are pernicious and unpredictable. There is ample fuel to sustain them for days if not weeks.
One can only feel for those who, when allowed to return to their neighborhoods, will find nothing left of a lifetime collection of personal belongings. If “home is where your heart is” is true, there will be many broken hearts in this area come reunion day.
One can only hope that Mother Nature cooperates and the winds calm. Fire fighters have been on duty for extremely long periods of time with little or no rest and cannot continue this pace for much longer. They have been courageous in their efforts and how can one thank them enough.
May God Bless Fire Fighters!
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