RE: SoCal PopUp Campers (" SCCampers" )

[OC Campers]

I know, our SC Campers forum has gotten a little sleepy.  Hello, anyone out there?  I can't see you thru all the smoke!!

Jacqui

[SimiRich]

Are you Southerners OK?

Hey all!
 
It's been somkey & raining ash all day but we are fortunate enough to live in the center (flat) part of Simi. There has been no threat of fire to our neighborhood but all the hills to the north of us are on fire. We could see the flames very well from our house starting yesterday afternoon and through the evening. The orange glow and flames at night were eerie. Today has been a day spent inside most of the time. On a lighter side - the kids went outside & smelled the smoke & said it smelled like camping. I guess we're itching to go camping next month in Santa Paula.
 
Speaking of Sant Paula - I heard earlier in the day the fire had spread through parts of Fillmore & Sant Paula. Patricia - you may want to check with the CG in the next few days to see if they have been affected and if we can still camp. I sure hope we can.
 
That's the report from Simi - how about our campin' pals further south? How's everyone down there?

[gsm x2]

Called my friend, Warren, who lives in Santa Paula, not far from Far West.

He said that the fire is confined to the south, across the Santa Clara River from town, so all is fine for now.  Unbelievable the property damage from this series of fires...so much more than I can ever remember.

gsm x2

[Surfcal]

Hey you all, I am glad from reading some of the reports that things are good with the camping members.  I thought about you SimiRich because of all the reports coming from Simi Valley.

From the news reports, it seems like all of SoCal is in flames.  Down south, man, it's either heaven or it's hell.  It's amazing how much devastation there is.  I was in the news business when the Oakland fires broke out and the fire razed through whole communities.  I thought then that would stand as the mother of all urban and surburban fires for a long time.  Years later, I think it was the Ojai fires that exlipsed it.

Now, these fires top it by more than 6 times and it is still going.  The Oakland fires lasted for an afternoon and late into the night until it was contained.  The SoCal fires have been raging for days and there is no respite in sight.

Well, keep safe and we'll hear from you all soon.

Surfcal

[Cottonwooder]

TOS, is your Santa Paula friend planning to join us at the rally?  I need to enquire about two additional sites; please let me know if it's actually three.
 
 Rich, I see that mandatory evacuations are now going on in Simi.  Are you affected?

[SimiRich]

Rich, I see that mandatory evacuations are now going on in Simi. Are you affected?

No Thank God! We are about 4 to 5 miles west of that. The biggest problem for us is the smoke & ash which is NOTHING compared to the people losing their homes & for some their lives.
 
The firefighters are absolutely incredible & have save hundreds of homes. Kudos to all the firefighters in all of So. Cal. Everyone should go & bake them some cookies or something to show our appreciation to the hard work they do.
 
Yo - Surfcal - Thanks for your thoughts. Hope to catch up with you on some of the camping trips coming up. I need to find out what kind of high-tech gadgets your into now. We've been into Geocaching & using a GPS :p
 
Rich

[OC Campers]

SimiRich, I am glad to here that you and your family are safe.  It is so scarey watching those flames and being able to do nothing.   I saw some of the news reports this morning and it is not getting any better.  There are so many families that have lost everything.

Steve-O-Bud, I have been thinking about you and your family in Rancho Cucamonga.  Are all of you ok?

Please be safe everyone.

Jacqui

[Cottonwooder]

Doesn't Lori/Griffsmom live near Temecula?  Wasn't that burning yesterday, or perhaps still going today?  How about Tracy&David?  Jacqui, are you completely out of harm's way?  I hear that the Val Verde and Piru fires along the 126 here are coming back to life at the moment.  This can't be real.

[Steve-o-bud]

SimiRich, I am glad to here that you and your family are safe.  It is so scarey watching those flames and being able to do nothing.   I saw some of the news reports this morning and it is not getting any better.  There are so many families that have lost everything.

Steve-O-Bud, I have been thinking about you and your family in Rancho Cucamonga.  Are all of you ok?

Please be safe everyone.

Jacqui

Hi Jacqui. Yep, everything is AOK, and getting back to normal. We, not being in the high rent district, were about a mile or so from any of the active fire areas. The girls' school was closed Friday and today, due to the smoke, ash, and general chaos.

We had freinds up at the very top of the hill, with the house bordering heavy, thick brush. They managed to obtain a gasoline powered pump, and left it near their swimming pool. Things got very bad very quickly, so our freind took off. As there was no pressure for the fire hydrants, it was a good thing they left the pump, because the firefighters used it to save their house. Landscaping around their house was scorched, and everything is very smokey, but their house was saved. The firefighters did a tremendous job.

I had to go up to the Lake Arrowhead area today, to check on some of our critical facilities. The area in San Bernardino that lost a lot of homes was absolutley unbelievable. Many were quite a bit of distance away from the brush area, so I was very suprised they had the amount of losses which occurred

While up at Arrowhead, it was very much deserted. The fires are still burning, and they started backfires in an attempt to keep the fire from crossing north of Hwy 18. If it does cross, Lake Arrowhead and the other communities will be in big trouble. Keep your fingers cross.

P.S. Thanks for thinking of us.

[OC Campers]

Doesn't Lori/Griffsmom live near Temecula?  Wasn't that burning yesterday, or perhaps still going today?  How about Tracy&David?  Jacqui, are you completely out of harm's way?  I hear that the Val Verde and Piru fires along the 126 here are coming back to life at the moment.  This can't be real.

Hi Patricia, we are all fine.  Lori/Griffsmom lives in the Lake Forest area of orange county.  No fire there yet.  Tracy and David live in Torrance if I remember right and they should be ok too.  We fortunately, have had a lot of smoke and ash.  We were pretty concerned because our family live in Moorpark and about a mile from the severely burned areas of Simi Valley.  Thankfully, everyone is well and with no loss of property.

Steve and Holly, I am so happy everyone is fine.  I feel so badly for all of the people who have lost everything they have.  Your friends were smart to have a water pump available.  I was just watching the news tonite and saw a home in Valley Center that had sprinklers installed on their roof and a water pump in their pool.  It saved the home.

Jacqui

[oldmoose]

At our first rally, Kurt McCallum canceled at the last minute due to them finding his daughter had a brain tumor. I'm sure those of you who were there remember this. Unfortunately, I just found out their daughter passed away on July 7th. As can be expected they are very distraught. His business sells specialty equipment to the model railroad fans, but he has canceled going to any train shows. I did tell him to look us up again if he wanted to get out. Sorry for the bad news.
Moose

[OC Campers]

I remember the family.  The child was young if I remember right.  I want to say about 4.  Right?  I am so sorry to hear of their loss.  My thoughts and prayers are with them.  

Jacqui

[Cottonwooder]

Oh dear, Moose, I'm so sorry to hear this.  Can't even begin to imagine... Please pass along our sincere condolences.

[griffsmom]

Hey everyone!
 
Glad to hear that everyone in this group has come through the firestorms okay. We went through our own evacuations a few years ago when Cleveland National Forest which runs behind our development caught fire. We had the car packed and were ready to go if evacuation became madatory. There's nothing quite like standing in the street in front of your home at 1 a.m. and watching the flames crest the hill and run down toward your home, while drinking beer with your neighbors and watching a dedicated and hard-working group of firefighters prepare to make a last stand against the fire if necessary. Fortunately for us, it didn't come to that and the fire allowed us to finally meet all of our neighbors. Our neighborhood is a pretty tight group now because of it!
 
I am so very, very sorry to hear of Kurt's daughter. My heart is breaking for the grief they must be feeling. Moose, I remember when you riginally posted about her condition and how we prayed for that little girl. it is so hard to understand why God doesn't answer our prayers the way we want him to, but we will continue to keep Kurt and his family in our prayers.

[gsm x2]

Moose,

Thanks for passing on the news.  It's been said that when a child loses a parent, he or she loses a part of their past, but when a parent loses a child, they lose part of their legacy.  My prayers also go out to Kurt.  I remember the empty space at Lake Casitas well.   It feels especially empty now.

Scott