Nov. 13, 12:20 PM.
WoolseyFire Thought I was going to report that slow progress is being made, but Mother Nature didn't cooperate and sent Santa Ana wind. A spot fire erupted on the northwest area, around Lake Sherwood, prompting new evacuation orders & warnings. On the other hand, more evacuation orders have been lifted & people can go home.
Highway still closed. Lots of power outages and cell tower outages.
Nov. 13. 6:28 PM PST
Camp fire
130,000 acres; 35% contained. 8,817 structures destroyed. 48 fatalities.
I got nothin' more to say.
Nov. 14, 0800 PST
Woolsey Fire
98,000 acres; 47% contained. This map shows the status. Black is contained, red is not. There was a flare up this morning at the far southwest, nest the ocean.
In the Special Snowflake Department, I saw a social media post from someone who was furious because her demand for an immediate water drop on her house was not acquiesced to by the fire command.
Nov. 14, 1020 PST
Camp Fire. Containment is holding and progress is being made. Still a long way to go, however. Fire is moving into tougher terrain.
Size (acres): 135,000
Percent Contained: 35%
Fatalities: 48
Estimate of Containment: Nov. 30, 2018
Personnel: 5,615
Structures Destroyed: 8,814
A Reddit user is maintaining a good thread on resources for those affected by the fires. Includes sources for finding about damage to homes and list of the Camp Fire missing. Frequently updated. Helpful if you want info about friends or family. Full disclosure, I am contributing.
List of Resources
And, a feel good story. A man, described by social media as a “badass nurse,” risked his life and trashed his Toyota truck to rescue, care for and evacuate hospital patients and other injured in the Camp Fire. Toyota offers new truck to nurse who shuttled people to safety
Nov. 14, 6:30 PM PST
CampFire
138,000 acres
35% contained
5,473 firefighters working
52,000 evacuated citizens
1,385 citizens in shelter
Total structures (residential commercial combined) damaged: 217
destroyed: 10,321 (8650 are residential)
130 people still unaccounted for (most are over age 65)
56 fatalities. 47 are tentatively identified, but some are awaiting DNA confirmation
No change in highway closures. Winds may change in a couple of days & provide some smoke relief.
Woolsey Fire
98,000 acres
52% contained
2 confirmed fatalities; a third probable one was found today.
More evacuation orders being lifted.
Highway 1 still closed
Camp Fire
150,000 acres/61,000 hectares; 40% contained.
As far as the fire is concerned, barring some unexpected nasty wind event, it's just going to be a slog to get the things contained. Looking better & better for some rain next week.
The big issues now are all people-related. All those people in shelters and in the tent cities that have sprung up. Norovirus has hit at least one shelter. Those 50,000 or so displaced people. The (updated) 300 or so missing. Lost and abandoned pets and livestock. Even when people are allowed back in, the place will be uninhabitable for most who still have a house. No electricity, water, sewage, fire, police, ambulance, health care, schools, decent roads, shops, nada. Few jobs. This was a not a wealthy area and many residents were elderly retirees.
For travel--smoke in much of Northern California has made air quality dreadful. Closed schools. Cancelled outdoor activities. My opinion--people with health issues (especially breathing) and small children should stay away, at least for the next few days. That includes the SF area. If you have to come, stay indoors. I'm not in the worst of it and I am in good health. Today, every time I step outside, I start coughing. See current smoke conditions here (takes a while to fully load) You don't want red or purple. Orange is bad for sensitive people.
Nov.15 6:45 PM PST
Camp Fire
•142,000 acres.
•40% contained
•11,862 structures destroyed (residential/commercial combined) 270 damaged, 9700 single family homes included in that total.
•631 missing. A significant increase, based on a huge amount of data crunching. "Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea says 'a lot of people don't know that we are looking for them'."
•63 fatalities. 53 identified or provisionally identified, pending DNA results.
Some evacuation orders lifted or downgraded to warnings. The fire is now in areas that are seriously tough to deal with, but are at least pretty much unpopulated.
President Trump plans to visit the area on Saturday.
As city burns around it, a newspaper staff rises to cover unspeakable tragedy Amen to that. They have been one of my important sources.
Nov. 15, 7:15 PM PST
Woolsey Fire
98,362 acres and 62% contained
Although the Camp Fire was more devastating in total, a lot of people lost their all in this fire. Currently an estimated 534 destroyed structures, but that is sure to go up. The media is full of celebrities who lost their expensive homes, but many people of much less financial resources were harmed. Not to mention the hundreds of thousands who were subject to evacuation.
Nov. 16, 1000 PST
Hill Fire Southern California. 100% contained
Woolsey Fire 98,000 acres; 69% contained. Weather conditions are good for getting this thing 100% contained. There are some areas that were hit hard, and getting people back in, uniting them with their animals, and fixing infrastructure will take time.
In terms of travel: Highway 1 still closed. Expect power to be out in places and cell coverage erratic.
Camp Fire
Not too much change since my last report, except that it’s now 45% contained.
The fire remained active overnight with small growth. Firefighters worked last night to continue improving containment lines through indirect methods and back-firing as conditions allow. Today firefighters will continue to strengthen and improve containment lines in order to keep increasing containment on the fire. Mitigating hazard trees, hot spots, and utility issues remain a priority and firefighters are working around the clock with our cooperators to make the area safe.
Smoke remains a major issue in much of Northern California. I’ll repeat my caution that small children and people with health issues should stay away, stay indoors, or look into masks. Forecast continues to be for air quality ranging from unhealthy to hazardous.
President Trump is expected to visit Paradise on Saturday. (Please, this is not a thread for political comments. Try General Chat.)
