Wrung out.
The latest news from my aunt is that my grandmother was evacuated from Camp Pendleton to the El Toro high school. It's good to know she's alright.
My computer's been down for most of the day. Watched the L.A. news, which still wasn't giving us much. There is very little being reported about Fallbrook, frustration about this being expressed by many, especially considering the number of evacuees and the number of houses burned, (most conservative estimate I'm hearing right now is 200). We have been hearing bits and pieces, like the fire skirted the outer edge of Fallbrook and missed the center. Which means that my family's homes should be intact. My grandfather was worried about his 1948 Packard limousine, so the good news is some comfort to him. There are conflicting reports, however: some of the buildings I was told had burned may not have burned. However, my mom's friend's trailer is confirmed: someone sent me a video of the Valley View trailer park burning. We have heard that there are still people in town who didn't evacuate for various reasons, and some folks are now more worried about looters than they are about the fires. The fire department has more crew on the ground, and the air tankers arrived today, and the winds are lessening, so the latest word from Cal Fire is that they think they can control it now:
FALLBROOK -- Calmer winds Tuesday afternoon mean that firefighters are increasingly confident they can contain the Rice Canyon fire without much new damage to homes and businesses.
The blaze has consumed about 7,000 acres in eastern Fallbrook and western Rainbow, according to the latest estimate from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
"The fire is really not spreading significantly at this point," said David Shew, a Cal Fire spokesman.
The hardest-hit stretch was along Reche Road, where the Valley Oaks Mobile Home Park was largely destroyed. The fire also charred large swaths of land between east Mission Road and Ranger Road.
Avocado groves and plant nurseries burned, but many homes in the area appeared to escape direct fire damage.
On the east side of Interstate 15, crews stopped the blaze from crossing Highway 76 and entering a large housing development, Shew said.
The fire has destroyed about 200 homes, down from an earlier estimate of as much as 500 houses.
Despite the progress, fire officials are asking Fallbrook's 45,000 residents to stay evacuated for at least one more day.
My sister and brother-in-law drove down the I-15 earlier, and they saw some of the burnt areas that were near the freeway, mentioned that there was still some active fire. No one is being allowed into town still. I tried using Google Earth, which I've never used before, to try to get an idea of the possible damage areas, but I guess it put up a cached view, because there was nothing to see. Ah, well. I guess a day or two is not too long to wait to find out what is really there and really gone.
My mom and grandpa got stir-crazy and went to see a movie. I'll be going in to work tonight - I haven't heard anything from the office and I guess there's no reason for me to call off. I wish it were "something to do," but considering I'll be sitting in a guard shack for 8 straight hours, I don't think it really qualifies. Still, it's keeping to a somewhat normal routine, which is welcome right now. I guess. It's weird and kind of disorienting how life is just going on like normal here, just a few miles away.
I am grateful that my family is safe and accounted for. As with so many disasters, the aftermath of this one is likely to feel underwhelming compared to the initial panic, especially for those of us who haven't lost everything. It's thinking of those who have that's upsetting right now.
My computer's been down for most of the day. Watched the L.A. news, which still wasn't giving us much. There is very little being reported about Fallbrook, frustration about this being expressed by many, especially considering the number of evacuees and the number of houses burned, (most conservative estimate I'm hearing right now is 200). We have been hearing bits and pieces, like the fire skirted the outer edge of Fallbrook and missed the center. Which means that my family's homes should be intact. My grandfather was worried about his 1948 Packard limousine, so the good news is some comfort to him. There are conflicting reports, however: some of the buildings I was told had burned may not have burned. However, my mom's friend's trailer is confirmed: someone sent me a video of the Valley View trailer park burning. We have heard that there are still people in town who didn't evacuate for various reasons, and some folks are now more worried about looters than they are about the fires. The fire department has more crew on the ground, and the air tankers arrived today, and the winds are lessening, so the latest word from Cal Fire is that they think they can control it now:
FALLBROOK -- Calmer winds Tuesday afternoon mean that firefighters are increasingly confident they can contain the Rice Canyon fire without much new damage to homes and businesses.
The blaze has consumed about 7,000 acres in eastern Fallbrook and western Rainbow, according to the latest estimate from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
"The fire is really not spreading significantly at this point," said David Shew, a Cal Fire spokesman.
The hardest-hit stretch was along Reche Road, where the Valley Oaks Mobile Home Park was largely destroyed. The fire also charred large swaths of land between east Mission Road and Ranger Road.
Avocado groves and plant nurseries burned, but many homes in the area appeared to escape direct fire damage.
On the east side of Interstate 15, crews stopped the blaze from crossing Highway 76 and entering a large housing development, Shew said.
The fire has destroyed about 200 homes, down from an earlier estimate of as much as 500 houses.
Despite the progress, fire officials are asking Fallbrook's 45,000 residents to stay evacuated for at least one more day.
My sister and brother-in-law drove down the I-15 earlier, and they saw some of the burnt areas that were near the freeway, mentioned that there was still some active fire. No one is being allowed into town still. I tried using Google Earth, which I've never used before, to try to get an idea of the possible damage areas, but I guess it put up a cached view, because there was nothing to see. Ah, well. I guess a day or two is not too long to wait to find out what is really there and really gone.
My mom and grandpa got stir-crazy and went to see a movie. I'll be going in to work tonight - I haven't heard anything from the office and I guess there's no reason for me to call off. I wish it were "something to do," but considering I'll be sitting in a guard shack for 8 straight hours, I don't think it really qualifies. Still, it's keeping to a somewhat normal routine, which is welcome right now. I guess. It's weird and kind of disorienting how life is just going on like normal here, just a few miles away.
I am grateful that my family is safe and accounted for. As with so many disasters, the aftermath of this one is likely to feel underwhelming compared to the initial panic, especially for those of us who haven't lost everything. It's thinking of those who have that's upsetting right now.