Unless you've been living in a cave, you probably know we're on fire alert here in Southern California, specifically here in Santa Clarita.
John Evarts was forced to evacuate his home last night. He and his family are staying next door at the home of Martin Rodriguez. We could have a small ActiveRain gathering on our street right now. :) My family is all packed and ready to leave, IF NECESSARY, but we don't feel in danger right now. There is an aggressive air attack happening overhead right now. The fires are about 3/4 to 1 mile away, but the wind is blowing away from us at this point.
The photo above was taken just a few minutes ago. It shows how close the the Canyon Country/Agua Dulce Fire has come. The photo below was taken last night before we went to bed. The fires in this photo are about 4-5 miles away.
If you'd like to see more photos, from my perspective, you can see them here:
Photos Of The Southern California Fires on Flickr
Photos Of The Southern California Fires at InTheViewFinder.com
Jeff Turner aka respres
Jeff, I don't live in a cave and I had no idea! (must be the self-imposed ban on the news)
My thoughts and prayers are with you and all those affected. Stay safe!
Jeff, Stay safe. We are close to a fire as well, but not packed yet. Breathing is getting difficult for some members of my family. We can't predict which way the fire is heading with all this crazy Santa Anna winds.
I am praying for you all and everyone that is in danger of the current So Cal fire.
Maggie... :) I'm usually the last to know this kind of thing as well.
Rich... thanks! Again, we're not in danger here right now and probably wont' be. The fires have been spectacular, however.
Hi Jeff,
That's quite a scarey spectacul that nature has provided for your area! We have seen these reports and didn't realize how many of our AR friends are experiencing this attack by nature. You and your family as well as neighbors are in our prayers for this to come to an end before claiming any other damage. Best wishes to you and yours.
{SVW Hubba}...
OMG. I had no idea you, the guys and so many others we know were so close to it.
Like Rich...I sent a memo to upper management.
Don't leave us hanging on this today.
Pop in every now and again and let us know you and yours are all okay.
TLW...ROAR!
Hi Jeff, I live in Bell Canyon on top of a hill and can see the smoke from Malibu and from Santa Clarita. People that don't live here don't understand the winds. When you watch the fires on TV, you can't really see or hear the wind but it's unbelievably loud and had been shaking the house for two days here.
Stay safe over there!
Gary... the winds are very unpredictable.
Lisa and Robert... all is well, and unless the winds take a dramatic change, we should not have to leave the house. I have NO fear at all.
Candace... just goes to show you how skewed our perspectives can be! :) It's been on our TV non-stop for the last day.
TLW [SVW]... we're all great and I'm on hold on the phone waiting right now. :)
Tracey... i have a couple of panoramic shots that are amazing, if I say so myself. They show the smoke from Agua Dulce connecting with Castaic and forming an arch. Very impressive.
Konnie... thank you.
Jeff - PLEASE stay safe! It's great that you and your family are packed and on the ready, but it's scary that that's how you have to live.
Many prayers for you and yours - as well as the others affected - for a safe resolution. Fighting those kinds of fires is one tiring exercise and you can bet the firefighters are doing all they can to get it under control and extinguished.
stay safe Jeff
my physics teacher in high school always said, "The only people that get killed during tornadoes are the idiots that go outside to take pictures of them"...
very cool pictures but we hope you're not too close!
when you're done gelling your house, get some pics of that too!
The police just came up the street and are asking us to evacuate. Will post later.
ALL IS WELL... no worries. :)
Jeff, I was watching this on the news last night and I immediately thought of you and Rocky and the kids. I can't believe how close it is to you. You guys must be on pins and needles and on alert all the time. Please keep us posted and stay safe.
Jeff - i was aware of the fires - but not your proximity to them. Best wishes to you and your family, the other AR members - and other folks in the area. Stay safe.
In the event of adverse winds, leave without hesitation. Keep your family safe. All property is replaceable.
And finally, when convenient, let us all know that you and yours are OK when the fire threat is reduced.
Take care, Jeff. There is beauty in your photos - but there is no joy in seeing these.
I hope you are not affected by this Jeff...
Best wishes to all of you and your families during this trying time. Keep us updated
Eddy
JT and his family left the house for the day. The last word I got (from Martin Rodriguez) was that the evacuation was basically downgraded to voluntary for their street. The fires are out of control, though, and that leaves everyone here kind of guessing. So far, however, everyone is safe. In Santa Clarita, there have been 4 fire related injuries, and no deaths reported. The authorities here are amazing and most people have been given fair warning to evacuate. At least enough time to grab the computers, a handful of underwear, and some pictures. We are holed up at the office, for the time being.
John thanks for letting us know what the current status is.... be safe
Jeff - and all of you - be safe - please be safe - my thoughts are with you all - Oregon is pretty nic and I have extra bedrooms for any of you.
Jeff that night photo is just amazing! You know a photo is good when you can smell the smoke from it! In spite of how awesome it looks it is devastating. Los Alamos had bad fires a few years back and everyone poured into Albuquerque. Wiped out the town. Keep all your little ones safe.
Oops...
It would help to check the little box :)
Good thing we have email.
TLW...ROAR!
Jeff,
Please be safe, and like everyone said, Please keep us posted.
Tom Weiss
Jeff your photos are devastating. When I was 9 years old we had many fires in the Pine Barrens in Tuckerton, New Jersey. It was really scary. I remember my mom grabbing our photos and leaving in the middle of the night. The fire never got to our house but I remember the night. Give your kids lots of hugs and stay safe.
All... as John Evarts indicated above, we were downgraded to voluntary, so we came back. Everything East of I-5 and north of Copperhill has been lifted.
We made it a nice little adventure for the kids... drove north away from the fires, had some In-N-Out... we're back and all is well. All of the well wishes are truly amazing. Please know that we were NEVER in any danger, nor was our home. We're just following orders.
John... any word on when they will be allowing you back in to your house?
stay safe and heed all warnings....my prayers go out to those in harms way. Thanks for the photos and post.
This is a huge loss not only for homes but to the ecology of the forestry burning. Hoping it is under control soon- the winds are relentless it seems.
Laurie... yes, we are fine. I'm more concerned about San Diego, quite frankly.
Ashley... we still had one that was a bit edgy. His normally voracious appetite was gone at lunch today. He's much happier we're back home.
Okay...
I am feeling just a bit better now :)
Still have a lot of people on my mind but hopefully everyone will be okay :)
TLW...ROAR!
Jeff, with the winds as you well know, it is so unpredictable. Just spoke with Roberta, her area is also under voluntary evacuation and of course they are wearing masks due to the heavy smoke (she was actually down by the water) during our conversation so the smoke sounds like it is engulfing the entire area.
Glad to hear that the kids had an adventure...food especially in & out seems to be the cure to almost everything ... that and your donut place.
I'm curious where in the world 250,000 people have evacuated to? That is what is being broadcast. I know that we have sent quite a few fireman and trucks from our area to help. Hope those winds settle down quickly before any further damage.
I would imagine that it will be a tough night for all of you. Just know that we are thinking of each of you and hoping for RAIN!
Jeff,
We hope you and your family are safe.
With the recent outbreak of wildfires in California we have been faced yet again with the danger of fires raging through residential neighborhoods known to Firefighters as the "Urban Interface."
Remember that being fire safe around your home and community is a year round effort. Visit http://www.firewise.org/
for tips and information to keep yourself, your customers, and your community safe.
Scott Slocum, Realtor
Firefighter Paramedic
IAFF Local 1826 Southwest Florida
Jeff (and John) - hopes and prayers for the winds to die down and all that stuff in the air to dissipate before too much more is inhaled. I hope those fires are contained soon, and I hope you all get some much needed rain very soon as well.
Thanks for keeping up posted when you can. Fire scares the heck out of me, and I know I could not sleep a wink, even if it is several miles away.
Stay safe!
Ann
Hi Jeff,
Glad to hear things are o.k. with you. It's a scary time to be in some areas of SoCal. Seems like one fire right after another. Been her over 50 years and never experienced anything quite like this.
Take care of yourself and your family. Keep us posted.
Jeff - your IPhone takes some great pictures, much better than I would have thought it would.
Thanks for sharing all those pictures with us.
Ann
Fires are affecting also Canyon Country, Santa Clarita going towards Agua Dulce near Palmdale. our prayers are with these families. May God have mercy. Lupe Soto, Burbank Realtor,
All... thank you. I just spoke with John Evarts in Martin's front yard. They are still not allowed to return to their homes. John and his family are in great spirits, however!
And a new fire has started in Stevenson Ranch that looks very ominous, though we are beign told they have kept it from homes. They fire apparently started an hour ago. I just snapped a photo to show you the scope. You can see the haze from the Malibu fires to the left. The new Stevenson Ranch fire is is the plume in the center. The large smoke to the right is the convergence of the Agua Dulce and Castaic smoke plumes.
Jeff - So grateful you are all safe. Your photos are truly amazing. Glad you were able to take them, but what a shocking experience to have it hit so close to home. Praying for you, Rocky and the kids.
Marlene
First off thank god all that we know here are safe, but....
Amazing how technology is...Jeff is sending us info right from the front lines on his iPhone. Hope you have a full battery!!
Thoughts and prayers with you, Rocky and the kids. (and neighbors of course) Be safe.
I live so far away from what you are going through but my thoughts and prayers are with you.
Just grateful and relieved that you, Rock and the kids are fine. Please keep us updated!
You are in our thoughts, the wonderful husband and I have been glued to the television, we're just use to tornados!
Bob Carney sent me to your photo blog earlier today. AMAZING pictures -- I had to show the kids what Jeff Turner and his family were seeing now. Hope the fire keeps it's distance.
Starting to worry about people with asthma.
We are following the fires and have all of you in our prayers and thoughts. Be safe.
Jeff, I hope you are allright!
My cousins live in Rancho Bernardo and I just learned today that they were evacuated from their home. I just hope they have a home to return to when the fire is over.
Jeff, I know many people in Santa Clarita - my son, grandchildren, etc. Used to live there as well. How close is the fire to Bouquet Canyon and Seco? It's hard to tell. Are you in Valencia near the 5? Or in Calgrove? Or in Newhall? Trying to get a perspective!! How close to Magic Mountain is the fire?
Jeff, we hope that you are safe first, and that your home is as well. From Laurie, and our past life in LA, we're praying for this to go away and for all to be safe. Thanks for the photos... now fire be gone.
best
Jeff, Glad to hear you are all safe in your home. It is unbelievable...now the are saying 12 different areas are burning across the state. Our prayers are with all of you out there.
Hugs, Ginger
Glad you are back home, Jeff. Hope things do not take a turn for the worse there.
Jeff
Oh Jeff. I just finished blogging about being prepared with Fire from an Insurance Agent's point of view, then checked the Homepage and saw your blog. I'm so sorry and hope these winds die down soon. Keep safe! We were very close to evacuation back in the Laguna Canyon Fire in the 90's, so I know how it feels, that's for sure. The sky here in Dana Point is so thick with smoke and with all the debree and ash, we finally went out and hosed everything off to try to cut the dust down. We'll have to do it again, but it was hard to breath and it did help. We also turned on the Cool Mist Humidifier, it helped the horrible dry smoke in the air.
With all of these fires everywhere, I hope all of our Rainers are safe.
Jeff,
My in-laws live in San Marcos (north of San Diego), and my father-in-law has respiratory challenges, so they packed up their car yesterday and tried to head for clearer air. I-15 North was closed because one of the fires had jumped the 10-lane freeway, and they made it as far as Temeculah by back roads.
They ended up in Phoenix for a week the last time there were major fires in the area. Sarah is right about people with respiratory issues.
Glad to hear that you are safe.
Jeff, very glad to hear that the family is ok. thanks for sharing the pictures.. mother nature reminds us of her power. Let's be nice to her :)
ps. Mike had very close call.. I guess you folks live near each other.
We were allowed back into our house last night at about 6 o'clock. Smelled a little, but that was about it. We are so fortunate.
Martin, thanks a million for opening the Rodriguez Inn to myself and my family (my in-laws live close and we brought a total of 9 people and 5 dogs). Can't thank you enough. Next slumber party is at my house.
Say a prayer for the folks in Lake Arrowhead, as of this morning, 200 homes were totally destroyed and fire was 0 percent contained.
San Diego had 250,000 (that is not a typo) people evacuated from there homes yesterday. Many homes caught fire there yesterday.
In Saugus, Castaic, Valencia, Stevenson Ranch, Westridge, Newhall and Canyon Country, we are currently in the clear. Some smoldering in the Santa Clara Valley south of Castaic/Val Verde, and some smoldering near the Bouquet Cyn Rd/Lake Elizabeth Rd. intersection. Mostly blue skies.
They are bringing firefighters from many other states, 2 planes from Oregon (yeah, Oregon! Go Ducks!), and the national guard has been activated. CA is receiving national help.
The fight is far from over.....
John! So great to hear you're back in your home. It was nice to have you next door for a bit though. :) You are so right. Many are still in the thick of it and this fight is far from over. My thoughts and prayers are with them, as I know yours are.
Nick... I went and said hello to Mike.
Mike... glad to hear you're good!
Kay and everyone... thank you, thank you, thank you!
Worst article I have seen yet
Thanks for the post. I was looking for any Satellite photos, does anyone know any sites that have them?
Jeff.. I'm so glad that being a part of A/R we can keep in touch with each other.. I'll be praying for you safety.. keep us posted..... Thanks for the pictures.... They are beautiful
Praying for all those effected! Although it can be hard for some, at times like these we need to count are blessings...
John... I'm floored by what's coming out of San Diego. We were very fortunate, my friend.
Michael... good links.
Ana... thank you.
Donna... I'm thankful for the relationships that have been developed here!
Carole... I'm thinking the theory is pretty sound right now. I just took some more photos looking west and there are no more visible flames. Just smoke and lots of it.
Teresa... is commenting not blogging? :)
Sharon... it helped ease the stress.
Troy... thank you.
Josette... and now I feel the same way relative to Arrowhead and San Diego.
I've been trying to keep up with what is going on out there. ABC news is now talking about fire tornadoes--I had never heard of these. I feel so connected to this situation because of AR friends. Amazing!
Jeff
You and your family and everyone in this fires path are in our prayers, Stay safe
You are in my prayers...stay safe!!
Eveline Tritsch
Las Vegas, NV
I really can't imagine it. It doesn't seem real that this many fires could be happening at once. I am thinking of you and all of Southern California that is impacted by this tragedy.
Thanks to all that have sent prayers and well wishes to Jeff, John, myself and our commuities. We appreciate your thoughtfulness.
I'm a little slow to respond on this blog because I've been pre-occupied with tracking fires, calling familiy, and trying to actually do some work, but I want to say thanks to all. I'm blessed to have great neighbors that always pitch in to help one another and all though it got a little scary for us at times, it doesn't compare to the devastation and losses that others are experiencing. Our Prayers and our efforts need to be with helping them get their lives restarted.
Thanks to all the firefighters. Both in the air and on the ground-- you guys are awesome.
JT - your flickr pictures are amazing. I felt like I was flipping through a LIFE magazine. --Nicely done.
Martin
Jeff, best wishes for you and your family. My baby sister lives in San Berndiano, she has been worried with her new baby and all. I was watching an ABC News special last night and it is scary. Keep safe!!
Martin... well, you were standing right next to me for most of those photos, so you know the reality as well. I'm sure that makes them more special to you. :) We were fortunate, my friend. Thanks for being there for John and his family. It was great to watch you open your home and your heart!
Mike... for us here it has passed, but for many, the fires are still a very present danger.
Here's an interactive map from the NY Times that shows the growth of the fire over the past five days, and allows you to zero in on the areas where the fires are still growing.
My in-laws have decided that it's time to move on again after spending two days in Temeculah and are now driving to Phoenix and will wait it out here.
Hopefully the weather will shift soon.
Jeff, These are awesome pictures just to close for comfort it I were living there. I just need water where I live. And I am glad we do not have the wild fires like this since we do not have water.
Dru... great map!
Ruth... I was mesmerized by the fires from a distance, as you can imagine. My neighbors and I stood on the hill that overlooks our cul-de-sac and stared in amazement at how powerful natures forces can be.
Susan... too close for comfort for me as well. :)
So glad your area seems to be in the clear, Jeff. I lived there for a few months, umpteen years ago, and my heart goes out to all there. I would say, "get out of that crazy place"; if it isn't fires, it's earthquakes! But as brier rabbit would say, 'ya can't run from trouble; ain't no place that far'. There is always danger of some natural (or unnatural) calamity, isn't there.
Good for you for having a positive, no fear attitude!
Best wishes and prayers,
Susie
Fran... well said!
Susie... thank you. Love the quote!
I can appreciate the pictures and blog. My sister lives in Santa Clarita and we have spoken daily. When things began, I quickly did a blog on it myself. My thoughts are with you all!.
Keith Hoffman
LoansAreFree.com
Jeff, I stopped by on Sat. and got called away before I could comment. I so glad to hear you and your family are safe.
I was in Kelowna BC, the night the huge fires started there a couple of years ago. My aunt and uncle were evacated and had to watch from across the lake as their neighborhood burned. Luckly their home escaped damage, but many did not.
Glad to know you are a well.
Keith.... believe it or not, even though the sky is now very clear, the smell of smoke is still very prominent.
David... thank you.
Joelle... it was a spectacular sight, but I won't be hoping to see it again from this vantage point.
Jeff, I turned my house fan (never use it) on last week to try to clear the smoke and ash we were breathing in the house. I had the windows closed, but just checked the air filter and it was discusting!
I was hoping more people would be reminded to change their air filter by adding to your Blog, Thanks!!!
Oh, rats... we were evacuated, but missed the party on your street! I must say that the Santa Clarita police and firefighters did an excellent job of evacuating our area and keeping our homes safe.
For those unfamiliar with the Santa Clarita area, the fact that we have greenbelt areas around most newer home developments makes it much easier for firefighters to save homes from fire damage. Although we had a huge area affected by the fires, very few homes were destroyed.
If you live in a fire zone, be sure to check out information provided by FEMA and others to make sure your home is as fire-safe as possible.
hope everything turned out okay for you!
I am very close with many people living in San Diego, where it got hit pretty bad. It's so sad to see the effect of these natural disasters nowadays. My assistant's family lives in San Diego and they were evacuated during the Cedar Fire in 2003 and again for these fires.
Just this past weekend again, there were more fires in Malibu because of the Santa Ana winds. I only pray that things will get better.