Fires in California

[Evil Dave]

Originally posted by Changing Ways9
The fires have actually become a national crisis like Katrina.

Hardly.
Despite the news focusing only on New Orleans, Katrina affected in major ways Texas, Florida, Alabama and Mississippi.
The fires only affected California.
The death toll was multiples higher (around 274 X higher), and the only reason that the monetary value would even come close(which it won\'t) is because of the outlandish real estate rates in California, ie: the 2 million dollar cottages in Malibu.
(As it is it\'s looking at about $1 Billion in damages, Katrina costs were estimated at $125 billion.)

This is rich or upper/ upper - middle class people who pretty much all had insurance and jobs to go back to, Katrina was cities and towns basically destroyed, filled with poor who lost absolutely everything. Followed closely by Rita which then destroyed what wasn\'t nailed down before.

Now, I\'ll be the first to condemn my state\'s citizens who continue to leech of the system two years later, but the two events are worlds different.

I\'m not saying it\'s not a tragedy. It just does not rank up to Katrina and is not the worst of California fires in history.

 

[ktooloo]

@Liz - Good to hear your brother is safe. : )

@Evil Dave - when did we ban all public smoking?!?!?!?!? : ) One city has done that and there is a group in our state capital lobbying for a complete ban. It would be for all our good, but the first few weeks would be rough, what with the rioting and the mass killings as hundreds of thousands of smokers went into withdraws. Then the cigs would be like crack, the gangs selling them in back allys..... Anyways : ) .... Even the one city (calabasas if I remember correctly) lets you smoke in your house, but not your car, in your back yard but not your front yard, and some other wierdnesses like that. Businesses can apply to to the city for a designated smoking area (for customers or employees) if they want. There were two spots in the city last I checked on this ( 6-7 months ago).

@Changing Ways9 - Welcome to the boards!! Glad to hear you\'re safe. : ) Where do you shop? Have you been in OC long? I have to suggest
Brookhurst Hobbies to everyone in OC if you don\'t already know about it. And for the rest of CMON, they ship anywhere in the world (\"(Yes, even to Antarctica)!\")

Hope every one is still safe and there were no drastic changes in the winds, OC been good like that.

:beer:

 

[wiccanpony]

:beer:Witch -1......Fire -0

A big heart felt “Thank You” to everyone for your prayers and concern, it was one Hellish week for many of us in Southern Calif.

Casa Pony is in one piece but fine ash is everywhere in the house, clean up is going to take awhile. We have an on shore breeze that is clearing the smoke up and I’m feeling better, still a sore throat and watery eyes but I at least can breath without coughing up a lung.

The Firemen, Police and Emergency Workers were the real Heroes and I also grieve for those who lost their lives.

I survived the Cedar fire of 03 (came a half mile to the front door on that one) but the way this Witch fire was handled was a hundred times better. Granted they couldn’t get planes up early on do to the winds but the communications between ground crews was vastly improved.

The local tv and radio carried non stop news that helped the evacuees greatly, and the average “Joe” rolled up his or her sleeves and pitched in to help. I’m very proud of San Diego.

Again Thank you everybody and I missed you all....now I understand there is a scantly clad Fireman over at the Freak Bar who needs my attention and an endless supply of iced tea. Whoot!!!! life is good!
:bouncy:

 

[lizcam]

Really glad to have you and the others back on line. It\'s my turn now. The wind change is blowing the smoke from 5 different fire above LA in my direction (the slide, Magic, Grass Valley. Buckweed and Ranch fires). There\'s not much danger of anything happening to the house becasue I\'m at the extreme northern edge of the Antelope Valley but I\'m not feeling so well and Mr C and Alex are both asthmatics so they are really bad right now. Hope this ends soon.

 

[Shawn R. L.]

500 miles north we got some of your smoke!! Had some deep orange sunsets.

 

[Changing Ways9]

Originally posted by ktooloo
@Changing Ways9 - Welcome to the boards!! Glad to hear you\'re safe. : ) Where do you shop? Have you been in OC long? I have to suggest
Brookhurst Hobbies to everyone in OC if you don\'t already know about it. And for the rest of CMON, they ship anywhere in the world (\"(Yes, even to Antarctica)!\")

Hope every one is still safe and there were no drastic changes in the winds, OC been good like that.

:beer:

i have been in OC my entire life and i shop at at the bunker, though i do go to the block and brookhurst every now and then