Original story Latest stats I've been able to find: Over 1800 structures destroyed More than 500,000 evacuated 2 deaths so far 21 firefighters injured 600 square miles burned
dude: i live in claremont, lots of my friends have been evacuated, i knoe 1 person whos house 90% will burn down in arrowhead, cousins who are evacuated and the fire is almost in their backyard... Soot over everything. My house is safe, but i can almost see the flames. The flames are right behind a hill really close to us
Check out a satellite view here: http://www.flashearth.com/?lat=33.432722&lon=-117.732026&z=8.8&r=0&src=nasa And a cool (yet disturbing) Google Maps mashup: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?f=q&...732483&spn=1.105782,1.757813&z=9&source=embed
The google maps mashup is an excellent example of how the web helps and its not just tech for tech sake.
Whoops, so they are. I blame the person who linked it in the first place. Funnily enough the 2007 fires look very similar to those 4 years ago. I've removed the link from my post anyway.
From what I've heard on TV, some are in exactly the same places with re-built homes being re-destroyed. A very up-to-date map here.
What I find most interesting (possibly in the Chinese sense) is that GWB has visited SoCal already and promised federal aid, compared to how long he took to get to New Orleans. No prizes for guessing which state is richest... </cynic>
I'm sorry to see that so many people have had there lives changed irrevocably and that the wind swept fires have had us outgunned, although the recent weather change has helped greatly .. I think the infrastructure put onto place after 2003 has worked remarkably well ... inter agency communication, the rapid deployment of equipment, aid ... 10,000+ people fed, clothed, shelters given out, in the SD stadium alone ... and the strong neighbor helping neighbor camaraderie, has gone a long way to help ease some of the burden Edit: not much there in the 2003 fire area for fuel .. these fires are mostly the remaining areas ... 600,000 people evacuated , largest evac since the civil war
You have to understand the fule loads down there. What's burning is mostly sagebrush which grows very quickly. You can go from bare dirt to a hige fuel load in a singler season, and that coupled with low humidity and high winds is a recipe for, well, disaster. It wouldn't surpeise me in the least if the destroyed homes were in the same placed destroyed four years ago. People never learn.
Did you see where I live? Here is a map of the 2007 fires overlain the 2003 fires .. yes there is some overlap , but you can see it mostly consists of areas unburned in 2003 ... http://map.sdsu.edu/gisdata/Anna-NEW-Fire_dist.pdf And an animation of the fires start/progression in 2003/2007 .. you can see that the 2007 fires burned into the 2003 areas only after starting/burning elsewhere ... http://map.sdsu.edu/gisdata/Fires_all-2003-2007.gif We only get about 10" of rain a year and the drought we are in would make things even worse .. and you can forget about cleared back brush 100 feet from houses making a "defendable space" in the face of 50, 60 or even 80mph winds throwing embers everywhere and starting new fires far and wide .. thanks for the kind words though
