posted on October 29, 2003 07:40:25 PM new
fenix, wgm & everyone.
Thanks for keeping the posts going. I am in Phoenix this week on business & really miss not getting the local news. I do have some local Escondido news. The air quality this morning was 300! 40-45 is considered unhealthy. My husband is a "postal" worker (yes it helps for ebay shipping convenience) & he got sent home this morning! That's a first for USPS!
posted on October 29, 2003 08:27:09 PM new
local - you are very welcome - wish I could do more for you and everyone out there It's been really hard to look at the photos or read the in-depth articles for me - I guess too close to losing my home.
Hopefully the fires there won't escalate to the tragedy in California.
Stay safe!
"I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom I provide and then questions the manner in which I provide it." - A Few Good Men
[ edited by wgm on Oct 29, 2003 08:29 PM ]
posted on October 29, 2003 09:18:41 PM new
Local - I actually just got my mail service back. Apparently they kept the pedestrian carriers downtown off their routes. Hope you are having fun in Arizona, we'll try to watch over things here until you get back
wgm - LOL - I guess after having Northridge being just under me, I got used to the 3s and 4s. Plus ignoring them really annoyed my desperate-to-be-manly-but-shockingly-frightenable roommate
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If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
[ edited by fenix03 on Oct 29, 2003 09:19 PM ]
posted on October 29, 2003 09:53:48 PM new
Fenix...The 3's I can live with. I just hope FEMA comes in and starts pumping Valium into the San Andreas fault. That's all we need now for that monster to wake up.
The light at the end of the tunnel will turn out to be an oncoming train.
posted on October 29, 2003 10:14:23 PM newwgm
Read your post about losing your home to fire, I just lost mine to Hurricane Isabel.
Today it became official that it is a total loss & must be rebuilt. My loss is nothing compared to yours, I didn't lose everything like you did. I am so sorry & I do feel the pain you suffered.
What I can relate to is when you said you don't remember hearing the noise of the smoke alarms. I was 15 feet away from from the bay window when the tree came crashing through bringing the roof, attic & walls with it.
It had to be a horrendous noise & I also don't remember hearing anything. All I later remembered was the wind & the pouring rain.
I understand your fear & wish you the best & hope the memory of that night fades more & more each day.
posted on October 29, 2003 10:43:42 PM new
Jane - good to hear that you got the situation cleared up on the status of your home. Let me know when you are ready for that shopping. I'll bring comfortable shoes : )
~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~ • ~~~
If it's really "common" sense, why do so few people actually have it?
posted on October 30, 2003 03:57:23 AM new
mcjane - thank you very much I read the thread about your house, and it was just horrible - I hope rebuilding goes quickly for you. It's hard sometimes to put things like this behind us - I guess we have to sort it out, digest it as when can, and then move on. I'm sure you will find that people who have never been through tragedies such as these give out great advice - it's been a very humbling experience for me, to say the least
I do understand you not hearing the tree - it's strange, isn't it? It's like our sub-conscious just blocks it out - or maybe it's when the adrenalin kicks in and we go on "auto-pilot" - I don't know, but think it is a good thing...one less thing to play over and over again in your head.
It was a very long summer, but am finally finding some closure to the fire - and getting back to getting some normalcy in my and my little boy's life. I did have to get medical assistance for it - no way I could have made it through without it. The photos that are the most disturbing for me are the ones showing residents sifting through the rubble of their house - I know that feeling all too well. I read an article a few days ago about some of the residents who were found dead and their dogs had died at their side. Another one about a little boy who was sifting through what was once his room and burned his hand severely. These are things I have the most difficulty with. I was fortunate our dog made it out, but I have an incredibly soft heart for children and animals. I remember well the pain of losing everything, and have always thought since then that no one should ever have to go through things like this. No one. Believe me, I am very grateful that we made it out alive - but some days it just didn't feel like I did.
I am thankful the tree in your house missed you and your family. Things work in mysterious ways, but doesn't ease the pain. I do keep you and your family in my thoughts and prayers. You'll have good days and bad days, and just take them as they come. I have been told it's part of the healing process I'm just now starting to feel close to my old self again - close, but don't think I will be ever be the same.
Good luck to you, and thank you again
"I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom I provide and then questions the manner in which I provide it." - A Few Good Men
posted on October 31, 2003 08:42:55 AM new
Californians weigh Premier Campbell's offer of fire crews, pumps and aircraft.
California's governor said yesterday that B.C. firefighters could be a major help in quelling wildfires he is classing as the worst disaster to hit his state.
Gov. Gray Davis said his officials are trying to decide whether to take up Premier Gordon Campbell on his offer of firefighters and equipment to deal with the fires that have killed 22 people, destroyed 2,535 homes and scorched 3,000 square kilometres of Southern California.
"Some of these assets Premier Campbell is making available to us could well supplement the forces we have on the line or relieve some of these extraordinarily tired firefighters," Davis said in a conference call from Los Alamitos following a tour of the fire zone. "We are accepting all offers of assistance, be they from neighbouring states or foreign countries, because we want to put this fire out sooner rather than later so we can focus all our efforts on Goal 2: putting people back on their feet."
The British Columbians would join personnel from Oregon, New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado, Arizona and Washington state, who have been deployed to the fire zone, where more than 14,000 firefighters are on the job.
Davis, soon to be replaced by governor-elect Arnold Schwarz-enegger, has also spoken to Alberta Premier Ralph Klein.
Ray Snodgrass, chief deputy director of the California Forestry Department, told The Province he and his deputy director for fire protection spoke yesterday to an official in Victoria, who itemized the B.C. offering.
"We are meeting currently with our incident commanders to determine whether or not we can put those resources to work and also how long it would take to get them from Canada," Snodgrass said, referring to the B.C. proposal. "We are very grateful for the offer and we will probably be back in touch with the Canadian officials to give them an answer on whether we are going to need them or not."
Toni Rohm, a spokeswoman for the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, said that two water bombers from Quebec had been deployed to the California fires, but she was not aware of other assistance being sent from Canada.
In Victoria, Campbell said B.C. has compiled a list of 200 firefighters and specialists, 65 fire pumps and up to 10 air tankers and two other aircraft that could be sent to California. The Forests Ministry says two air tankers could be in the state in 24 hours and the other eight could fly within days.
The premier said Davis called him yesterday.
"I told him that British Columbians had gone through this incredible event ourselves in our province and anything we could do to help, we would and our prayers went out to all of the people in California who were going through this horrible, horrible time," said the premier.
Campbell was referring to wildfires in B.C. last summer that killed three people and destroyed more than 200 homes in Interior communities. "Friends are there to help in a time of need and that's what we're going to do for California."
The goodwill comes after officials associated with Schwarz-enegger have targeted B.C. for action to keep film production in California
It's been really hard to look at the photos or read the in-depth articles for me - I guess too close to losing my home.
