Today it's not about food.........

You know it's going to be a bad day when you come to work and see this....

Just in case you haven't heard, the combination of very low humidity, vicious Santa Ana winds, and very little moisture, have created the perfect stage for wildfires. I've heard that over 250,000 have been evacuated. Several wildfires are burning in San Diego County, a current map can be found here. The scope of the fire is staggering.

Resources can be found here, a list of what to take if evacuated here, updated news here, here, here, and on San Diego CityBeat's Blog, among many others. Loss of property has been high, and though even a single life lost is too much, so far there has only been one fatality, those injured have a long haul ahead.

Here are few videos:

Poway, Ramona, Otay Lakes, and more here. It just breaks your heart.....

That's the sun today......

The Missus, Da Boyz, and I are fine(thanks for the emails). I've been in contact with Cathy, and last I heard She was okay as well. I hope all of you are staying safe.

It has not been a good day for San Diego.......

Comments

[jennywenny]

Hope you're all ok, I'll keep my fingers crossed for one more day then hopefully the winds will die down after tomorrow. Take care everybody. I'm not in danger, here in hillcrest so I found myself making a loaf of bread from scratch to keep myself occupied.

[CharSiuBao]

things are alright around ucsd/utc area...

an interactive map can be found here: http://kpbs.digitaria.com/

[Christine D.]

Glad to hear that you, the Missus, and da boyz are ok! Man, fires in LA, OC, and SD! =(

I'm ok where I live too. The pollution is awful though.

[Kat]

Saw it on the news here in Japan, please stay safe!

[Omar]

Hi Kirk,

It's 5:50 a.m. My wife and I are about to leave the house to pick up 11 dozen bagels from the Golden Bagel (Fletcher and Navajo) and 10 dozen doughnuts from Mary's Doughnuts (Mission Gorge Road), to take them to Santana High School.

Yesterday, we delivered donations from La China Restaurant (Fletcher and Navajo) and several businesses that prefer to go unnamed.

It occured to me Sunday night that since we eat out so much, we know a lot of people who can provide food and paper products, but who are too busy to deliver them, which turns about to be correct.

So, to all yoso-helpful people out there, a call to action: get in touch with your favorite eateries to see what they're doing to help the evacuation centers, and if you see an opportunity to help them do more, please take it!

Best,
Omar

[Cathy]

Thanks for the update and links, Kirk. I am fortunate in that we still have power in Santee. The stuff we are breathing is unbelieveable. It is surreal.

[Cathy]

Great idea Omar. The local grocery stores in Santee are running low on some foods. Thank you for thinking of others. Most of the Santana evacuees are from Ramona and Lakeside (Wildcat Canyon is burning-again).

[elmomonster]

I live about two miles from the Irvine fireline. Thankfully, the fire seems to have subsided within our city limits. Unfortunately, it's gone on to threaten our neighbors to the south, Lake Forest and Foothill Ranch. Best wishes to them and you, your wife, and the boys.

[Brian Bautista]

There is no way I am going to work today! Take a look at this photo I took with my cell phone while looking outside my home in National City!

http://members.cox.net/chrmnxpnoy2/071023-0001.jpg
http://members.cox.net/chrmnxpnoy2/071023-0002.jpg

Hope everyone is safe!

[Omar]

Kirk,

Boy, am I confused.

Turns out, the Red Cross, who are running the evac center at Santana High, are finicky about food donations.

According to the RC volunteer I spoke with, if I worked for Mary's or the Golden Bagel, they'd have accepted the food. Instead, the voluteer who met us at the door refused these businesses' donations with no thanks and strained civility, quoting policy at us until we went away.

I understand everything except the part where a) they need the food, b) we're at the door with the food c) they don't even question the *source* of the food (we offered to show receipts and notes from the donors) and d) they go ahead and refuse the food.

The good news is that the Salvation Army at Qualcomm was happy to see the 120 doughnuts, 132 bagels and 6 blocks of cream cheese, 6 gallons of milk, and assorted trash bags, gloves, hand sanitizer, party cups, etc.

So, I revise the call to action: solicit from the places where you spend your food dollars, and head to Qualcomm Stadium. There's a need and a welcome waiting there.

Best,
Omar

[Reynila]

stay safe kirk! the harris ranch fire is getting worse. still not near our home yet in rancho del rey but you never know with these winds.

[Kirk]

Hi Omar - Well, I only know about Qualcomm since that's where we've been dropping off stuff. I know that the Red Cross is very strict about even volunteers, whereas the 'Q' is a city run and Salvation Army destination, so different requirements.

[Cathy]

On the news they are emphasizing that the food donations have to be packaged and non-perishable. Unfortunately the world we live in, with a few kooks running around in it, makes some of those rules necessary. I have my own food packed up in my car, in case we are evacuated. We were evacuated 4 years ago and are still expecting it to happen today. The fire got to 30 feet behind our fence then.

[Carol]

Great links, Kirk. Glad to hear you, Cathy, and your families are all okay. The Mister and I have been very lucky that we are one of the few spots in Poway that hasn't been evacuated. The Poway fire crew are amazing and keeping the fire lines in control. My MIL and SIL, both in Rancho Bernardo had to evac yesterday and are staying with us. Hopefully we won't lose power and won't have to evac (touch wood!).

I heard the fire crews are assessing certain areas today to see if they can let certain people go back home. I think it all depends on how the wind will be thru-out the day. SDG&E are trying to get power back to those who don't have power. Most of RB have been w/o power since yesterday afternoon.

BTW, anyone who needs to be outside for an extended amount of time please wear something help you breath. Even if it's a bandana or a handkerchief. Home Depot by us are sold out so I made a few make-shift masks for the family by using Swiffer Dry Clothes and elastic. Works pretty good in a pinch. If you don't have elastic, rubber bands will work too.

Oh, one other thing. We heard from a friend who lives in South LA area and he said the fire up there is about 20 miles from him. That's about all the details we got.

Stay safe everyone!

[Pam]

Hi Kirk,

I'm glad to know that you, the Missus & the Boyz are OK. This is not the kind of BBQ I'd want to attend. =( Stay safe and take care, OK?

[Chubbypanda]

*patpat*

[Karen]

Best wishes to everyone in SoCal - especially those who've been evacuated. We're amazed and humbled the way that emergency workers and the people of San Diego have banded together to get thru this.

I'm in Tierrasanta, hoping the winds don't shift our way.

A food related note... since everyone's been asked to minimize travel, we haven't eaten out or gone to the market - trying to empty out the fridge & pantry. And since they've asked to limit power usage, we're trying to see what we can use with minimal cooking.

[howie]

Hope everyone is OK. I just dropped off some items at Qualcomm. It sounds like they are OK with food, but that could change throughout the day. I believe they need toiletries: sunscreen (that's a big one now), paper towels, toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap, wipes. Also blankets, pillows, bedrolls/pads, games, and books would probably be welcome.

If you go to donate at the Q, I recommend that you enter the smaller entrance between the two big entrances. If you go too far down one of the other entrances, you will most likely get stuck in the donation car line for hours. Just go directly to parking lot, park near gate D, and bring your donations directly in.

[Carol]

One other thing that they need at the Q are shade covers for the animals. If you have any extra tarps, they can use them to help protect the animals from the sun.

[yummieyummy]

It's happening again. My friends over in East Lake and Rolling Hills are over at my house right now. Last night was a scary night for them. Best wishes to everyone!!!