Please post your updates and news here as this post has the time stamp fixed to pst. This will avoid any time of day confusion. Please click here to read comments and post
HOW DO WE SAY THANKS TO FIRE CREWS?I Like this idea: (when?..we will need to wait for all the fires to go away)
I say that once we are back in business we should march to the station with cards, pictures and thanks. A mass march of the entire community would be quite a showing.
I was thinking about this yesterday. These guys (and gals) worked so very hard to us. True heros.
Anyone else with thoughts?
Here is who we need to thank:
http://www.ci.san-marcos.ca.us/departments.asp?id=5016
Local News, TV, & Radio
TV
- NBC San Diego Live News Feed (NBC)
Newspapers
- SignOnSanDiego.com Fire Blog (Union-Tribune)
- SignOnSanDiego Online Radio fire coverage (Union-Tribune)
- Breaking News on wildfires (North County Times)
- LA Times “San Diego County Fires” Blog (LA Times)
KPBS (TV, Radio)
- KPBS Fire New Updates (PBS)
- KPBS Online Radio coverage (PBS)
Maps
- San Diego County fires, evac centers & zones, road closures (Google Maps, KPBS, updated often )
- Unofficial Witch Fire perimeters and evacuation zones (Google Maps)
- US Forest Service WMS & KML (Google Earth) layers
- US Forest Service ArcIMS Fire Maps
Official Information
- San Diego County Emergency Homepage
- San Diego Road Closures (San Diego County Public Works)
- San Diego Red Cross Fire Updates
- City of San Marcos
Photographs & Imagery
- Flickr images and photographs
- San Diego Fires (lots of links to satellite imagery)
- Arial photos of RSF
- NBC photos of Coronado hills fire
- SEH send us your photos
Miscellaneous
- Need help? Want to offer help? (CraigsList.com)
- Make a donation to San Diego Red Cross
UPDATE:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts –
Jenny Peterson,
Rick Vogt, Battalion Chief
Date – October 24, 2007
Time – 1 pm
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Evacuation Update Provided for City of San Marcos
No immediate threat to community at this time from regional fires
San Marcos, CA- San Marcos Fire Department officials want to assure San Marcos residents that there is no immediate threat to the community at this time from the fires burning in the region.
The following information has been released to help residents understand the situation:
The Witch Fire burned across Del Dios Highway to the east and north of the Olivenhain Reservoir. The fire is approximately three miles from County Club Drive and Harmony Grove Road, and is approximately four miles away from Seeforever Drive in Coronado Hills. This fire posed a threat yesterday to the southern areas of San Marcos; however, the concern has diminished today due to the fire suppression efforts and improving weather conditions.
There are currently NO EVACUATION ORDERS for the City of San Marcos, including Discovery Hills, San Elijo Hills, Coronado Hills or the neighborhoods along County Club Drive within the San Marcos Fire Protection District.
The Coronado Hills Fire in San Marcos that started early Monday morning was declared 100 percent controlled as of noon on Tuesday, October 23.
Residents are reminded to remain vigilant and to be prepared for the threat from wildfire at any time.
For comprehensive fire information, residents should call 2-1-1 or visit www.sdcountyemergency.com.
CITY OF SAN MARCOS
EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact – Jenny Peterson
Date – October 24, 2007
Time – 2 pm
Shelter update for City of San Marcos
Mission Hills High School to remain open as shelter
San Marcos, CA- Officials from the San Marcos Unified School District have announced that the shelter at Mission Hills High School will remain open through the night and will not close as was reported earlier in the day. The overflow shelter at San Marcos High School was closed on Monday.
The City’s emergency operation center remains open to monitor the regional fires.
For comprehensive fire information, residents should call 2-1-1 or visit www.sdcountyemergency.com.
UPDATE: 10:30 AM 10.24
What can SEH do to say thanks to the fire fighters who stopped the Coronado Hills fire from blowing into SEH?
Oktoberfest is canceled
UPDATE: 9:31 PM 10.23
My wife just made me drive the new road, Harmony Grove, Elfin Forest, Atherton etc. and we did not see any smoke, flames or activity…The wind is blowing more from the south but nothing to blow!I have successfully talked the family into staying at home tonight.
UPDATE: 4:35 pm 10.23
The media reported the fire jumped the Del Dios highway and then headed up a hill, heading toward the Harmony Grove and Elfin Forest area. But the latest update is that air drops and ground crews have knocked that down. But San Elijo residents should keep and eye on this front of the fire. The on shore flow has to be good news for the fire.
Today’s reverse 911 calls were in error. The news stations have been notified as well as 211. The calls should have gone to San Elijo Valley, not San Elijo Hills.
Flames racing their way
North County Times Article from 10.22
Great work on keeping things going.
This information has been great for all of us. I love the fact that our community took the time out of our own emergencies to inform everyone else. We all had little bits of information, but together it was a wealth.
Del Dios looks like its getting under control. Fire retardant drops and winds had directed fire toward resevoir and activity is closer to becoming contained. Local broadcasts haven’t hinted at EF/HG being threatened by Del Dio fire in a while.
Thanks for updating time on blog.
On a recon mission at about 3:00 pm we went on some power line roads up to the back side of the Mt. that the coronado hills fire was on. We were looking across the chicken farm at the DD/HG fire. (it came over the Mt.) It was fairly large but they were hammering it with the Helos. Looked very promising for us. Thanks to all for the info. It really helped. I will let you all know what I see if we go later. (after dark)
I can clearly see ocean from my patio in Westridge. Water reflects rays from magenta-colored sun. To the east, clear blue sky allows awesome view of near full moon. I feel good now….for the moment.
Its around 530pm.
Going to in-n-out to celebrate being home!!!
Great new! Thanks for the update.
Weather and air quality is good now. No reason at all not to be home in San Elijo Hills. No threat.
Are we watching reruns of news???
The scrolling text seems to be hours out of date. They just reported that Harmony Grove is under evacuation, but the skies are clear in that area?
Anyone aware of the current status?
Thanks.
San Elijo Hills is safe. Many people are back. The gas station is even open. I’ve been back since this morning.
Just saw same scroll re HG fire evac on NBC739.
There hasn’t been a reverse 911 call for hours. No police cars around.
Looked out back and clearly see moon and dont see familiar orange hazy glow over small ridge east of SEH. Air is good and no ash falling like first time we evac’d early Mon morning.
Is there a county or city website which lists all active and closed evacuations? Gotta be a link to something like this somewhere…
PS – notable Westridge damage = some loose landscaping debris around, nothing major. Pool has one table and umbrella in it along with some chairs. Lots of soot settled at the bottom as well. Light covering of ash everywhere. Some developer signs around the new neighborhoods were knocked over by the wind.
Returned back home and lots of ash all around my home. A large tree broke and fell into my pool. My pool looks awful with lots of leaves and ash covering the bottom and top. We have a big job ahead of us for clean up. Otherwise so happy to be home. Let’s just hope that things stay calm.
A special Thanks to Hills Local for this blog it was so helpful to be able to find out what was going on in my community when I was in Orange County and there was nothing on the news about San Diego.
Went to drive on Elfin Forest road around 3:00 or so, and it was blocked off…Went a few hours later, and it was open, and drove for a few minutes back towards Harmony Grove….Did see that Elfin Forest Recreational area is being evacuated a few minutes ago, in addition to Harmony Grove…Not sure what to make of it….Hope for the best
familiar sooty smell is returning to the air. wasnt there before. hopefully its just a pocket of wayward smoke odor from eastern fires. night sky is still very clear here, though.
uneased by evacuation of EF rec area. please post as more learned. thanks,
8:06PM–My husband and neighbors are out in EF and HG scouting the area. They have been gone for an hour so we should have some good info to share shortly. Keep watching for the update.
I am kind of afraid to go to bed. I live in Old Creek Ranch. Seems like everyone thinks we are a part of SEH. I know there have been reverse 911 calls and notifications in SEH and also in La Costa. We have never been contacted or warned about anything. A neighbor alerted the neighborhood about the original SEH evac because he saw it on the news. Most everyone is still gone. I have heard that Harmony Grove was recently evacuated. I am concerned that there would be no warning or notification again if the fires were to head back this way. Any suggestions?
Tracy, Bring it on! We need some good news! So my wife will sleep tonight (or let me sleep tonight).
Nathalie, I would continue to read this blog there are many of us that are following this blog for up to date info in our area. I know if I get a call or hear any news that would effect San Elijo I will post it.
Thanks Tracy for letting us know I hope your husband brings back good news.
The HG evacuation does have me and my wife concerned. If anyone has additional information to share please do.
OK..my husband (Craig B) and crew just got back from some four wheeling through HG and EF. They got up some dirt power line roads to a high point and could see all over HG and EF. No signs of fire, smoke or glows. All looked clear and safe for SEH. He did the same route earlier this afternoon while the helo’s were dropping on huge flames. I think everyone should get some sleep cause from what he could see it looked OK right now. He did see some sheriff activity in the area by the chicken farm… Tracy B
I am very glad to have stumbled upon this site. It’d be great to get a decent nights sleep. I am hoding out for info from Tracy’s husband.
I was wondering (hoping) that the Elfin Forest Rec area is simply being evacuated because I think it closes at sunset anyway. I saw a recent broadcast on channel 7 which seemed to indicate that the drops from the helicopters & the fire crews in Lake Hodges area have that under control. I am hoping that (similar to the Coronado Hills fire when no one was reporting any updates) a lack of information is a good thing at this time.
Nathalie – There are a bunch of us up on Dove Tail so you are not alone in OCR.
Stubmled across a good tool for tracking evacuations, the fire location, etc:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=114250687465160386813.00043d08ac31fe3357571
Well- Lisa and Dove Tailers – good to know you are there. Thanks. I think the family across the street came home too. Did you guys ever get any notifications or warnings?
i can sleep now. thanks.
A big thank you to those who run this website and the brave 4 wheelers. My family and I appreciate the hard work.
Nathalie – No, we never got any notifications either. I talked to my cousin up in SEH who told me about the call she received. However in talking to everyone up here we somewhat waited until we could verify the info – at which point we realized that the reverse 911 calls were made in error.
Thanks to Tracy, Craig B. and his crew! The lack of info at night is driving me crazy!
Just out of curiosity – does anyone know the difference between controlling and containing a fire?
A fire is not considered “controlled” until it is all the way out. Until then, firefighters work toward “containing” the fire.
Here is one way to think of it: Think of a container — say, a mason jar. A fire is contained when it’s all “bottled in,” like in
a container. The fire may still be burning, but if a distinct fireline is built around the entire perimeter so that there is no
chance for the fire to escape or spot over outside the line, then the firefighters declare the fire “contained.” After
containing the fire, the next step is to get it under control — that is, make sure it is dead out — no hot spots, no floating
embers, nothing that will flare up again if a breeze should come along.
Thanks for the update Tracy
Thank you – that makes perfect sense. That is sort of what I thought, but you really explained that well and made it clear. Thanks.
Some of these Firefighters have been on the line since early Monday am, they are exhausted but pressing on, regardless. These people are underpaid and under appreciated… We owe them big time! SEH should be okay as long the winds stay down and the NW end of the Witch Fire doesn’t move NW.
Thanks for the info here, the news hasn’t said much about SEH, Harmony Grove, and Elfin Forest.
I just looked at the updated witch fire map on the city of San Marcos Fire. It now includes all of San Elijo hills, Lake san marcos and San marcos it’s self in the Witch fire Estimated Evacuation. Does this mean we are gouing to be evacuated at some point tonigh? Or is it just a possibility of being evacuated?
corrected from above: the 2nd half of the first sentence of shoud say on the the san marcos website not “on the city of san marcos fire”.
sorry for the mixup
This site has been such great resource for the community, thanks to all the info shared.
Anyone who has been tracking the Google firemap link from cbs8.com? The recent one shows closer to us mapping of the witch fire, posted at 9:51PM on the site: http://cbs8.com/splash.html. Can it be right? Map site is at: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=114250687465160386813.00043d08ac31fe3357571&ie=UTF8&z=8&om=1.
Thanks!
Good question Kent. What map did you look at?
That map is wrong by a couple of miles!
never close to Elfin Forest or Harmony Grove Road
On phone with 211 and they are saying reverse 911 call at 9:00pm “might” have been a mistake but if you got one at 9:30pm then they suggest leaving the area. Zip code 92069 in San Marcos is definetly under mandatory evacuation. Thay said to call back in 20 minutes.
NBC just reported that Lake Hodges and Del Dios fires are out. Has anyone heard anything about that?
Any one know status of condo’s San Elijo Hills Westridge Cottages? We can not get into see our home and none of our neighbors are home. Anything more specific on this area?
Thanks for all who are reporting and working on this web-site. Let’s all pray for break in weather and for all the firefighters working to save our beautiful homes.
Just got back from leisurely drive to end of EF/HG road. Took a right at Home Depot / Albertsons Plaza and headed south on W Valley Pkwy. Road was blocked at intersection of Citracado Pkwy and W Vlly Pkwy. Police said they didn’t know status of fire activity but were there only to protect evacuated area. Clearly, there were no visible signs of anything happening all throughout EF/HG rd and where I was stopped at Citracado Pkwy. I believe this might be where Citracado transitions to Del Dios Hwy – so it makes sense that the cops would be there.
I u-turned and got onto the 15south. Burning smell was strong throught the Via Rancho Pkwy – Pomerado – RB Rd – Cam del Norte stretch; but no orange glow or flashing siren lights anywhere. Firefighter on radio said they were completing minor containment activity on west side of 15 near North Cty Fair and Lake Hodges. He also said many of the frontline crews will be getting some well-deserved rest tonight. What I saw from the freeway was consistent with what is being reported.
On the way back home, it was cool to see convoy of 8 fire & rescue engines from different municipalities in AZ. They were probably en route to Fallbrook or Camp Pdltn fires. Good to know that so many resources are being deployed here. It was also stated on radio that all six of the C-130 planes located around the US are en route to SD. They can drop a QUARTER MILE of flame retardant — amazing!
Sleeping easy tonight for sure!!!!!!
I live in Westridge on Clearview Way. Cottages (if they’re on Highbluff) are fine. Many people have returned. Just a few toppled over garbage cans and some pieces of shrubbery on the streets — thats it. Pool will need some work before it can be used again. Some furniture got blown in and there is soot on the pool bottom.
Thank you for that report. I am heading to bed. IF there should be an evacuation tonight, could you please blow your horns on the way out? I am guessing that evacuation would be west on San Elijo Rd – past OCR. I know the people across the street don’t have a landline at all, and I kind of feel like us in OCR are in an “overlooked” zone that sort of falls through the cracks. Thank you so much for everyone on this site – it is so helpful and comforting to know you all are out there watching and taking care. Nighty-night : )
We have friends in OCR that have asked for same thing if another evac occurs. We’ll definitely drive through with horn blaring……
Thanks to the people posting here, I just found out about this website last night but you guys allowed me a good night of sleep so here’s my contribution:
I live in Morgan’s Corner area and just drove to Elfin Forest reserve. It was closed of course but there was neither visible fire activity nor firefighters or anyone else around. There was only a crew cleaning up some fallen branches on the road. The sky is clear and I only saw a much smaller smoke cloud toward the south east.
Thank you for a good nights sleep. I am grateful that I didn’t hear any blaring horns – but it sure was a relief to know that you would do that for us if necessary. Thanks again.
OK – totally different subject. I have tried to subscribe to the RSS feed for this site and I get this message that IE can’t display the page, An invalid character was found in text content.
Line: 191 Character: 196
Command Center: PIO at Cal State San Marcos, parking lot B on Twin Oaks Valley Road. Firefight being managed at non-public Emergency Ops Center at city public works yard on Rancho Santa Fe Road
My OS is Vista if that matters. Now that I found you guys I don’t want to lose you!
OOPS, this was at the end, right after the words Rancho Santa Fe
We fled to San Diego on Monday morning, but back in Westridge now. Everything is fine, but strewn with ash. Blue skies. Air quality is pretty bad everywhere between here and San Diego (ash covered my car like snow during the night).
We heard about the evacuations in the wee hours of Monday before most of you did, I think. (By the way, thanks to whoever it was who ran through Westridge shouting for everyone to close their windows.) Was there much of a traffic jam on San Elijo Road that morning? I’ve been worried about our one way out ever since I moved here.
I’ve been keeping up on this site, thanks to everybody. We just got in the car (10:00am) and took a drive to see for ourselves what we could. Drove from town center all the way down Elfin Forest Rd. toward Harmony Grove. All the roads were completely open, no sign of officials anywhere. Took Elfin Forest past the reserve (which is closed). Elfin turns into Harmony Grove, and we drove past the chicken farms all the way to Enterprise where Harmony Grove Rd. turns to go into Escondido. Absolutely no signs of smoke, no officials anywhere. We decided to head back out to the freeway via Citracado and Auto Pkwy. Life seemed pretty normal.
Not sure if this is helpful to anyone, but it seems like the Harmony Grove fire must be under control.
Hmmm – it doesn’t seem to show up – it the letter p with around it – let’s see if that shows
First of all thank you so much to Hills Local, this site has been such a fabulous resource for our community during the past few days. And thank you to everyone who has been reporting back information on SEH.
Shannon – I live in Morgan’s Corner at the very end so I have a clear view of our one exit. It never appeared that there was any sort of traffic jam. The SEH mass exodus was quite a sight from my vantage point… there was a steady stream of traffic, everybody with their possessions (boats, etc.), quite a crazy scene but it seemed quite orderly. I think it helped that neighborhoods were exiting one at a time. Morgan’s Corner was probably one of the last.
nope – that didn’t work either – it is the greater than and lesser than signs – like two V’s laying sideways – so any way, if someone can tell me how to subscribe to the RSS here I’d appreciate it.
I just drove from my home in Springfield to the Coaster station in Encinitas (around 9:30 am); traffic was light and everyone is slowly starting to return to normal. Air is clearer in SEH than Encinitas, but Swami’s was gorgeous and you could even smell the ocean there. Surf was great too… water so clear you could see to the bottom from the viewpoint, and almost nobody out there. Looking back at SEH from Rancho Santa Fe road and everything was clear, no smoke coming from anywhere. My husband drove the opposite direction down into San Marcos (via Twin Oaks) at 11:00 and there is no smoke or fire anywhere in sight from that direction either. It looks like we can finally get some rest. I hear Oktoberfest was cancelled… can we send that beer to the firefighters who defended us?
Ed,
Good point on thanking the SEH fire department. I say that once we are back in business we should march to the station with cards, pictures and thanks. A mass march of the entire community would be quite a showing.
I was thinking about this yesterday. These guys (and gals) worked so very hard to us. True heros.
Anyone else with thoughts?
As of 12:09 pm today, we are watching channel 7 NBC and the map on sdcountyemergency.com shows we are still in a mandatory evacuation area. Seems unlikely but odd it is still up. Does anyone have an update to the map area or information??
Ed,
On the march, lets see schedule it for this weekend (assuming they are back at the stations. I am sure they are helping the other communities at this time.
Sunday may work out though
Firefighters need our support and thanks. I suspect that they will be very busy in SD for a while, probably until the last of the fires is 100% controlled.
I’d recommend discussing this with the fire chief in San Marcos… I’m sure he’d like to help guide the effort a little for the greatest possible impact.
If you really feel the need to act now – figure out how to get support to the folks on the line, if they need it.
just my $.02
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts –
Jenny Peterson,
Rick Vogt, Battalion Chief,
Date – October 24, 2007
Time – 1 pm
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Evacuation Update Provided for City of San Marcos
No immediate threat to community at this time from regional fires
San Marcos, CA- San Marcos Fire Department officials want to assure San Marcos residents that there is no immediate threat to the community at this time from the fires burning in the region.
The following information has been released to help residents understand the situation:
The Witch Fire burned across Del Dios Highway to the east and north of the Olivenhain Reservoir. The fire is approximately three miles from County Club Drive and Harmony Grove Road, and is approximately four miles away from Seeforever Drive in Coronado Hills. This fire posed a threat yesterday to the southern areas of San Marcos; however, the concern has diminished today due to the fire suppression efforts and improving weather conditions.
There are currently NO EVACUATION ORDERS for the City of San Marcos, including Discovery Hills, San Elijo Hills, Coronado Hills or the neighborhoods along County Club Drive within the San Marcos Fire Protection District.
The Coronado Hills Fire in San Marcos that started early Monday morning was declared 100 percent controlled as of noon on Tuesday, October 23.
Residents are reminded to remain vigilant and to be prepared for the threat from wildfire at any time.
For comprehensive fire information, residents should call 2-1-1 or visit http://www.sdcountyemergency.com.
Make sure you all have a read of the letter from on http://www.sanelijohills.net from Walters. They will not let me post it here.
The fact that the fire threatening SEH and surrounding areas was contained quickly was so impressive, and the work to suppress the fire from hitting HG and EF is amazing as well…I support whatever ideas there are to thank them…Donations, the march, send them losts of cold beer, etc.,…Whatever, just something to thank them for all of there hard work when this is all over….The message board already has some great ideas….
I think the idea of walking to the fire station, once every thing is under control is a fabulous idea. The fire fighters truly deserve so much for everything they have been through.
Also, thank you to everyone for making SEH such a great community.
Suddenly, we have started getting some kind of a strong burning smell from our patio. We live on Highbluff in SEH. We tried calling 211, they are not aware of any new fires or threats at the moment. Does anyone know the elfin forest fire status?
We just noticed the same thing… almost like a “burning manure” smell. What is up with this???
According to the PBS Google map – the fire has spread to the east of SEH, over the new TOVR and into discovery… but I cannot confirm that on any other site
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&time=&date=&ttype=&ie=UTF8&om=1&msa=0&msid=114250687465160386813.00043d08ac31fe3357571&ll=32.990236,-116.732483&spn=1.105782,1.757813&z=9&source=embed
I’m driving up right now to investigate…
All clear. Smell increased on the way up SE road, but no sign of any activity.
G’night 😉
Michael, Thanks for confirming that. I just took my dog out and noticed the increase in the smell and was just going to send my husband out to look. Glad I checked here first.
Drove up and down TOVR myself. Everything looks as clear as I’ve seen it. Stars and moon are out, can see all lights of San Marcos and beyond. Looked at the google map and I’m pretty sure its been the same since 2 or 3 this afternoon (been checking every 1-2 hrs). The map hasn’t been perfectly accurate throughout. Not worried at all.
I am an Elfin Forest resident and cannot believe that people from your community are “four wheeling” through our community, especially during a Santa Ana as Tracy B wrote in the above message. Many a fires have been started by off-roaders. It is illegal and the sheriff’s department will ticket or arrest you. If a fire starts in Elfin Forest, it won’t only burn down my house, but there’s a good chance it will burn down many houses in San Elijo as well. Elfin Forest had three mandatory evacuations in the last two days. Please don’t be a part of the problem by potentially creating a new fire. If you see an off road vehicle, please call the San Marcos sheriff station, immediately. A fire two weeks ago in Poway was started by some guys “four wheeling” through the hills. Trust me, you don’t want to see a fire start in Elfin Forest or Harmony Grove like it did 11 years ago and couldn’t be stopped until it hit La Costa. Tracy B., you and your family should be embarrassed by putting so many homes and lives at risk.
On another note, the residents of Elfin Forest have fed the fire fighters at the San Elijo fire station dinner for two nights in a row as well as provided them with lunch meat, bread, fruit and cookies. We are so grateful to all the fire fighters for protecting our homes and families and are more than happy to support them in anyway possible. These fire fighters were working side by side with Elfin Forest. When we were feeding our fire department last night, the EF fire fighters asked if we had any extra food because they knew the San Elijo station had no meals waiting for them. I called the SEH fire station today and they said no one had dropped off food again and they would love dinner tonight, if it wouldn’t be inconvenient. We have an auxillary that organizes meals during emergencies and keeps the fire house stocked with drinks, snacks, food, etc. We had plenty of food, and where happy to share. It’s the least we can do. You may want to consider creating a San Elijo Fire Auxillary. If you have questions regarding our program, you can contact the EF fire house for more details.
EF residents have always been a little bitter towards SEH residents for infiltrating their space.
New surprise from these uneasy-calming news:
– Really 1 million Californians fled fires? As the smoke clears, the NUMBERS SHRINK;
– 27-old ARSON SUSPECT was killed by cops, another arrested:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/
and BTW, here an Update on CLOSED ROADS, traffic list for SAN DIEGO:
http://www.fox6.com/content/traffic/default.aspx
Bitter or not, we shouldn’t discount what Lori said.
I expecially appreciate her advice about starting an auxillary; with all the down time we’ve had the last few days, cooking would have been a nice distraction and obviously very helpful to our firefighters NOW. What a terrific idea!
Lori,
Thanks for the info. I assumed that the fire fighters were out on the lines, and sleeping there, too. I have to go to work today, but plan to pick up a few pizza’s on the way home… best I can do today.
Lori, EF neighbors,
I hope you can ignore Shawn’s comment!
SEH folks,
Please show some respect to your neighbors. A little empathy wouldn’t hurt. Our litle 4k home community significanlty disrupted the lifestyle of the EF community who have been here for years because of the rural lifestyle. Also, many of those “fire roads” are private property. And the fire danger from 4-wheeling is VERY real.
This site was a great way for people in/out of the area to get info – and could be an example for other communities to follow… don’t blow it now.
Michael
A SD county resident 😉
Just the admission of them four wheeling in EF through this blog is enough to warrant a citation. Lessons to be learned for all of us in this tragic time.
Any News on this report?
10-24-07 11:18 p.m. On the Witch Fire, Escondido Police Dept. has advised CAL FIRE of reports of a flare up at the intersection of Via Valante and Purer Rd.
Should we take food up to the SEH station tonight? Where exactly is it located? I’d take some for lunch but can’t make it up there from work.
Lori,
Thanks for the info! I assumed that the firefighters were on the lines and sleeping there, too. I’ll pick up food on the way home from work today.
Lori, EF neighbors,
I hope you can ignore Shawn’s comment. That was rude.
SEH folks,
Please show some respect and empathy to our EF neighbors. Many of these folks selected EF for it’s rural lifestyle, years ago, and our little 4k home community has had quite an effect on them. Consider our Questhaven neighbors as well.
The 4-wheeling danger is REAL. Also, many of those “fire roads” are private property.
All,
This site has been helpful for many people in/out of the area, and could be a good example of how communities react to emergencies – but we need to realize there are limits (4 WD), and not blow it now (rudeness). Being neighborly extends beyond the SEH homeowners association 😉
Sorry for the duplicates… I kept getting a website error when I posted…
I was realy concerned to hear the the SEH Fire Dept. wasn’t being provided meals. I just called them directly and they said THAT JUST WASN’T THE CASE. As a matter of fact, they said they actually said the exact opposite. I also called the Develpment company and asked if they could help. They were more than happy to provide the station with anything they might need as well. We both left our numbers in case things change in the future and they come up short with anything.
Please excuse the errors in spelling in the last message. Watching a baby and writng at the same time!!!
Shasha,
Thanks for taking the bull by the horns and calling the fire dept. Please post here if anything changes, because I, too, would like to pitch in if there’s a need.
Where is the SEH fire station?
in the community center upstairs in the back over looking the big playgound with the new cover at San Elijo Hills park. They have a temporary tent for the 1 fire truck. Soon they will be at the crest of the new road in the new station.
Thanks for the info! We’ll be sure to stop by and give our thanks for a job well done. 🙂
http://www.nbcsandiego.com/slideshow/news/14389597/detail.html
Thanks for the info Lori…Real good stuff…Can someone list the phone # for the SEH dept as well as the EF station….Would love drop food, beer, etc. off to them, or anything they need…Thanks.
http://www.eff-fire.org/
http://www.ci.san-marcos.ca.us/departments.asp?id=5016
here is a specific fireman you can thank
http://standingontheedge.blogs.com/familia/2007/10/where-in-the-co.html
Thanks SEH Firefighters! They saved us all from losing our homes on Sunday Night. San Marcos Firefighters ROCK! Thanks for being there to put out the fire which could have easily burnt down the entire community ,had it crossed Twin Oaks Valley Road. Another thanks to all the fire crews and blessings to those who were not as fortunate as SEH residents.
First and foremost, thanks to the EF and SM FDs for their unselfish and tremendous work this past weekend. What is amazing with firemen is that they would fight these types of fires tomorrow if they had to – and without hesitation.
Separately, I have driven on TOVR and 78 several times and still have trouble locating where Coronado Hills fire was. Was it on East or South side of CSUSM? Has anybody stated potential causes? Could burning embers travel that far from RB or Witch Creek fires? Don’t mean to bring up the negative but just trying to do some root cause analysis…
Really just trying to find out if this could have been prevented and what could be done to prevent from happening in the future.
Thanks again to all for keeping this blog alive when all other SEH info was limited or non-existent…..
I live and work in the San Francisco Bay Area, where 2-1-1 phone service is available in two counties. We are trying to generate support for expanding this service, which I understand received 40,000+ calls a day during the wildfires. As you’ve all experienced firsthand, expanding 2-1-1 service now will be critical preparation for the next big earthquake in the Bay Area.
As I prepare our eNewsletter for January 2008, I would like to include a personal story about an individual or family who was helped by 2-1-1 during the So.Cal. wildfires. I noticed a few people on this blog indicated they called 2-1-1 for information. I would greatly appreciate if you would be willing to share your story. If you are interested, please send me an email at [email protected].
Regards,
Maria Stokes
United Way of the Bay Area/2-1-1 San Francisco