California fires: How's our crew doing?

Just talking to a friend who's watching the fires--closely since they're getting closer to her. Sounds like one of her family members has already lost their house. How's our crew doing?

I saw video of them this morning. Pretty narly looking . 

I don't mean to be a E36M3, but i forsee  a spike $$$$$in cab merlot sauvignonB pinotN .....er all of these in the near future ........... prayers for all who have lost or are in harms way..........peace out

A lot of my family members live right in the middle of it.

Of the four homes we had, three have burnt to the ground but all people and pets are fine and everything is insured so it’ll be OK.

#Sauvignonblancwithjusttherightcheesecomplementstrong

In reply to 759NRNG :

Hi 759NRNG,

I don’t think any of the major vineyards have been significantly affected.

Having said that, I watched a YouTube video yesterday taken from a car driving along Old Redwood Hwy and I thought “hey, that smoldering pile of rubble used to be the hydroponics store” so technically yes, local agriculture has been adversely affected.

Just got this from Sonoma Raceway:

Sonoma Raceway Opens 50 Acres Campground to Evacuees

SONOMA, Calif. (Oct. 10, 2017) – Sonoma Raceway will open its 50 Acres campground to evacuees seeking temporary refuge from the Northern California fires.

The raceway, which is equipped to handle up to 2,000 campers during its major event weekends, will open its largest campground to evacuees in RVs beginning this afternoon. The 50 Acres campground is located directly across from the raceway on Highway 121 and has not been affected by the fires.

Those in need of RV camping at Sonoma Raceway should enter the campground at Gate 6 on Highway 121, a quarter-mile north of Highway 37. The raceway will team up with United Site Services to offer basic RV services, including water/sewage service, to campers during their stay. The campground is dry with no hookups.

For on-site assistance or directions, visit the Sonoma Raceway main office or front gate at 29355 Arnold Dr. in Sonoma. For more information, contact Sonoma Raceway at 800-870-7223 or email sonomaraceway@sonomaraceway.com.

Its north of me and the marine layer is keeping it from our area but I expect a seriously terrible fire season this or next year due to the el/la nina. 

BLM is hardcore right now about enforcement which means they are worried as well. 

Smoky air was a new experience for me when I woke up Monday morning. 

I'm well outside the danger zone but the air quality is pretty bad. 

759NRNG said:

I don't mean to be a E36M3, but i forsee  a spike $$$$$in cab merlot sauvignonB pinotN .....er all of these in the near future ........... prayers for all who have lost or are in harms way..........peace out

Probably unlikely.  If you have ever driven up the coast from LA to the San Francisco area you will notice there is an INSANE amount of wine grapes planted in California.  The Napa valley is certainly a very small percentage of that.

My friends in Napa valley were spared. They tell me the air quality is horrendous. I am about 60 miles south and its hazy the smoke smell seems to permeate everything outside.

Nothing has started near us yet. So far so good.

Talked to my friends in Petaluma and just really bad air quality so far. I will need to find a new hotel the next time I go to Santa Rosa as there is nothing left of where I usually stayed. It really looks like they got the worse of the whole deal there in the Santa Rosa area.  

I live in Petaluma, so far we just have smoke. We've been lucky. Santa Rosa has been hit the hardest. Whole neighborhoods have been burned to the ground. Resturants , fast food joints, two high schools, at least two wineries, dept stores, two hotels, several hundred homes if not thousands are gone. High winds and hot embers, many spot fires. One block of homes were burnt to the ground and everything around them were spared. In another area several blocks of houses are gone. Santa Rosa, Calistoga, Kenwood, Glen Ellen, Sonoma and Napa all have fires going and it looks like its headed towards Vacaville. More high winds, but not like Sunday night are expected for tonight and tomorrow. Most people had ten minutes or less to get out of their homes at 3 in the morning. The fires inside city limits of Santa Rosa have stopped but there are still fires in the hills northwest of the city and are headed east/southeast. It's been one of the most surreal things I have ever seen. It's very sad to see this destruction.

Much like homes built in flood planes being actively discouraged, is there any sort of push to stop building combustible (and generally very expensive) homes in fire zones?  As we are all well aware, when a billion dollars of damage occurs it isn't the insurance company that takes the hit, it's the customers who's rates go up to cover the losses.

My sister in Ukiah is clear so far. Her daughter is currently staying with grandma going to college in Santa Barbara. My niece is concerned, she's the current Miss Mendocino County and a lot of the area is gone now. Including a school she went to when younger.

KyAllroad said:

Much like homes built in flood planes being actively discouraged, is there any sort of push to stop building combustible (and generally very expensive) homes in fire zones?  As we are all well aware, when a billion dollars of damage occurs it isn't the insurance company that takes the hit, it's the customers who's rates go up to cover the losses.

It's the desert. We had a heck of a rainy seasn then the brush turns to kindling and then you get fires. 

These communities are built to stand up to fires, just not ones that more this fast or this numerous. 

I'm out here in Vacaville. We are good for now, but the Atlas fire is creeping closer. The smoke is thick, schools have been shut down for tomorrow and Friday. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Much like homes built in flood planes being actively discouraged, is there any sort of push to stop building combustible (and generally very expensive) homes in fire zones?  As we are all well aware, when a billion dollars of damage occurs it isn't the insurance company that takes the hit, it's the customers who's rates go up to cover the losses.

The fire zone covers most of the state. Towns are usually safe, rural homes have an increased risk (and increased insurance premiums.) Still, it's a big state, and while it seems like part of it is always on fire, it's not usually the same part. There is no "if you build a house on this spot, it will burn down at some point." There is a risk, but not like a flood plain where they know that a spot has flooded and will flood again. 

The current fires are unlike anything I've seen in this part of the state. It was a perfect storm. Three fires that started on the same night. They started late when there was no one around to spot them while they were small enough to be contained, and grew quickly due to 75mph wind gusts at the time. 

My dad and stepmom lost everything Monday. They had very little time to gather a few things to throw into their vehicles before they had to leave. My dad said he saw the corner of one of his shops go up as they were pulling out. They're well insured, so they'll be fine financially at least. Their cat was inside at the time, so thankfully they were able to take her with them.

This is the second time fire has touch our family. We lost my niece and nephew to a house fire in 2012. I'm kind of numb.

Sorry to hear about your dad’s loss. That’s heartbreaking.

My friend who’s in the area leaves early tomorrow for a tour with her band. She figures if the house is going to burn, either way there’s not much she can do. 

I worked a couple of the fires, I'm a Leadplane Pilot for the USFS.  I've never seen anything like it, but I've only been doing this for a few years.  Some of the tanker pilots that have been doing this for decades have never seen anything like it.  A huge swath of devastation.  

In reply to Petrolburner :

Thank you for your service! I was doing some work at a local firestation (Petaluma) and an out of area rig came in. All four guys pretty much fell out dog a$$ tired. As they walked by, (these poor guys were exhausted) we thanked them for their service as well. You could smell the smoke off each one from 10 feet away. I later overheard one of them saying he felt like he had smoked a hundred packs of cigarettes! Friday I did some work up in Healdsburg and drove up 101 through Santa Rosa and just what I could see from the freeway was terrible. Sooner or later we will end up driving through all the areas when we go do other repair work so eventually I will see alot of the devastated areas. The police are opening up new areas everyday, but also, are keeping limited access to the more devastated areas like Coffey Park, Fountaingrove, etc. I've lived here for 45 years and this area has never seen this kind of fire destruction. Middletown a couple years ago was real bad, but this looks to be far worse then that. Thanks again.

My neighbor's daughter is married to a guy from Santa Rosa. It looks like his parent place is standing but nothing else near it is. They were expecting major smoke and/or water damage the last I heard.  It sounds like they are also well insured. They were on cruise when the fires went through so thankfully they were never in any danger.

In reply to Petrolburner :

I am slightly envious, that is a job That I always was interested in having  . What are you flying?

pilotbraden said:

In reply to Petrolburner :

I am slightly envious, that is a job That I always was interested in having  . What are you flying?

I fly either a King Air 200GT or a C90GT.  Pretty sweet platform for the mission.  I always tell people if I had a couple million to spare I'd love to own one.