Deja vu all over again

[Sandi Moses]

Just a week shy of the 4th anniversary of the catastrophic Cedar Fire in San Diego County, it is happening again. Many of the same people are being evacuated. The home of one of the kids that my husband coaches is burning as I write this.

They just announced that another 10 square miles need to get out - NOW. The problem is many of the roads are closed - including I-15, so evacuation routes are extremely limited. Santa Ana winds in the fire areas are near hurricane force and the flames are 200-250 feet high. The weather is not expected to improve before Wednesday.

Right now I am not near any of it. I can smell smoke, but not like 4 years ago. I can see all the way down the street, which I could not do 4 years ago. The wind isn't even blowing here. All of this could change quite rapidly.

Please pray for San Diegto County, and also for the Malibu area as they have the same probelm.

Thanks

Sandi

[shing]

Sandi,

That is awful. Those poor people. It's been a really bad fire year this year in the west. We could barely breathe with all the smoke. It's settled down now, thankfully. I remember this happening before. Is it just starting into the fire season for all of you? Or are you towards the end? Or is there a season there?

Shawna

[Sandi Moses]

shing said:

Sandi,

That is awful. Those poor people. It's been a really bad fire year this year in the west. We could barely breathe with all the smoke. It's settled down now, thankfully. I remember this happening before. Is it just starting into the fire season for all of you? Or are you towards the end? Or is there a season there?

Shawna

This time of year is usually the worst because it usually hasn't rained much - if at all - since spring. Also, this is when we get the Santa Ana winds (aka Sirocco or Chinook or who knows what else depending on where in the world you are). They are hot and dry and strong.

I think the Malibu fire is getting most of the national coverage, but it is really bad in San Diego County, too. Over 250,000 people have been evacuated and I don't think there is an accurate count of destroyed homes. The fire may very well burn all the way to the coast.

It hasn't been windy where I am all day, but it is getting really gusty now. We are not directly downwind if any of the fires, so the air is not bad, unlike 4 years ago when it was hard to breathe.

Sandi

UPDATE: The list of friends and others who need prayer because they have evacuated or have lost homes is too long to list. Please keep the many thousands here in your prayers.

[mpatton]

Sandi

UPDATE: The list of friends and others who need prayer because they have evacuated or have lost homes is too long to list. Please keep the many thousands here in your prayers. [/color][/quote]

You guys will be in my prayers, I myself spent time in San Diego while in Marines. So a little of my heart remain there.

Michael

[zeta]

Sandi
Thoughts and prayers go to everyone.
From what I have seen on TV and the
interviews it brings tears to my eyes.

We will pray for everyone's safety

Zeta

[Lori G.]

Hi Sandi,

I have been watching this on the news and am keeping all involved in my thoughts and prayers.

Please be aware of your own safety as well Sandi. I would think that if you can smell smoke, the fires may be closer than you think. Please be careful.

Lori

[Sandi Moses]

lori said:

Hi Sandi,

I have been watching this on the news and am keeping all involved in my thoughts and prayers.

Please be aware of your own safety as well Sandi. I would think that if you can smell smoke, the fires may be closer than you think. Please be careful.

Lori

Not really. Trust me when I tell you that we have the TV on and a frequently updated pdf map put out by the Department of Emergency Services minimized on the computer monitor. With a fire this big, everyone can smell smoke. Four years ago it was hard to breathe because the smoke was so thick. Right now we can see stars! We are not down-wind of any of it - fires are both north and south of us, but not east.

Also four years ago I got an e-mail from my cousin in Phoenix telling me she could smell the smoke from that fire all the way over there!

Thanks so much for the prayers - they are needed!

Sandi

PS: Bob Dylan was right. You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows! ;D

[Erich]

I have also seen this in the news. This morning they said SEVEN separate fires were raging in Northern Calif. I lived in Orange County Calif for about 5 yrs [in college] and am well aware of how those winds can blow on and near the west coast. In the south they came every year and the media called them the "Santa Ana Winds" I think this may be separate than what is going on up north??

Everyone out there is in my thoughts and prayers.

Be Safe

Erich

[Nancy]

Sandi....You have been in my thoughts for the past couple of days. Just watching the news is frightening. I will continue to pray for you and the people affected by this phenomenon

Take care of yourself, and please keep in touch with us.

Nancy.

[Hank and Dot]

Hi Sandi,

Our prayers are with you and everyone in your area.

This is so awful!

Hank and Dot

[Sandi Moses]

We can still see blue sky if we look straight up, but the over-all air quality is a lot worse. My eyes are burning. However, where I live it does not even come close to how bad it was 4 years ago. In other parts of the county of course it is so very much worse.

Pray for absentee TOPS forum member "lmmom." I'm not sure exactly where she lives, but from what she once said, she could be in an area that is or soon will be under "optional evacuation." That means "don't panic, but figure out what you are going to take and know where it is. You can leave if you want to . . . . "

Right now places are filling up. One "official" site is Qualcomm Stadium, but that is outside breathing the smokey air.

I heard on the radio that Miles MacPherson's new mega-church facility was open for evacuees - with indoor accommodations! Sounds better than the smokey air at the stadium!

For now at least we are OK and probably in one of the best places to be.

Sandi

PS: If you look on this map at the relatively clear area south of the Witch Fire and north of the Harris Fire due east of the "San Diego dot", you will be able to see why I can still breathe and see stars or blue sky.

[Tammy]

Hi Sandi,

Six of our family members just arrived home at midnight last night from spending 10 days in Anaheim. (Disneyland).
I have immediately looked at the stage that the state of California is in. There was so much media coverage, that we literally spent our evenings watching in horror as this happened, all the while the trees could be heard slammimg into the windows of the hotel. The wind was unreal, we heard it was expected to reach 90mph!
Fortunately, we were able to spend two full days in SanDiego, visiting the Zoo and Sea World. My heart sinks for the people that live in these areas and the surrounding areas. We could actually see the flames on the hilltops and the red reflection on the smoke from Irvine. We were alarmed because the wind was so fierce there. A bit of a restless sleep that night. We could smell the smoke in the halls and we all had sore throats and eyes from walking around for only a few hours.
Though this is nothing compared to all those people that are losing there homes, possesions, businessess, pets, and even family memebers. My thoughts and prayers are with everyone in your state, it really is a beautiful place, and that includes the people.....everyone was so friendly, and I could see that this was a place that will bounce back. I just hope this all ends soon. In the plane as we flew over the fires........firstly I was amazed at the size, but more so the amount of fires. I was praying then, and I'm doin a rain dance too!
All the best, keep us informed and stay safe.
The last I heard 500,000 were evacuated form the San Diego area...........amazing.

Tammy

[Sandi Moses]

Even though "they" say the worst is over, the wind is swirling and the fires are only 1% to 10% contained. Some are not expected to be out until November 4!

Nevertheless, the air where I live is better today. (It never did get very bad.) I had customers tell me they felt guilty because we were never in any real danger, we could always see blue sky or stars, and the wind hardly blew.

Meanwhile, 5-10 miles away (or less) they were getting a glimpse of hell!

Some people from church packed but never left home, some are still evacuated but their homes are OK, and at least one family is fearing the worst and praying for the best.

Sandi

[Sandi Moses]

PRAISE THE LORD!

After spending a week sleeping in the smoky parking lot of a local high school because they were not allowed to take their dogs and cats into the gym, my friends finally went home last night.

The bad news is that because there is no electricity to pump water out of the well, there is no water, either. We won't discuss the condition of the contents of the fridge and freezer.

The good news is the house and surrounding fruit and nut trees are all OK. The chickens were not even roasted!

They came to church this morning. The wife says there are no words to describe how glad she is to leave that high school and sleep in a real bed! ;D

Sandi

[John M]

Hi Sandi,

That is great news. God is good all the time.

John

[Lori G.]

That is wonderful news Sandi. Thank you for the update.

Lori

[mpatton]

Hi, Sandi

I found out today at church that two of the people who died in the fires were the nephew and wife of one of our church families. Small world when it come to these type situations.


Michael

[meldave]

That is great news Sandi and then on the other hand I am sorry to hear about your news Micheal, hopefully the worst is over.

Melody

[Sandi Moses]

mpatton said:

Hi, Sandi

I found out today at church that two of the people who died in the fires were the nephew and wife of one of our church families. Small world when it come to these type situations.


Michael

Would that be the couple from Poway?

Sandi

[mpatton]

b123home said:

mpatton said:

Hi, Sandi

I found out today at church that two of the people who died in the fires were the nephew and wife of one of our church families. Small world when it come to these type situations.


Michael

Would that be the couple from Poway?

Sandi

I will see if I can find that out..

Michael