DaveBen
SDD Senior Member
There are over a dozen wild fires raging through Calif at the moment. The Butte Fire in Amador and Calaveras Counties started last Friday and quickly hit the Gold Country where I have close friends. I could not contact them all day Friday. I finally got a cell phone call from "Jim" and he told they and their three dogs and cat were OK. The fire had burned all the way around their town of Mokehulmne Hill but had not entered the town. BIG THANKS to Cal Fire and the other fire organizations that fought the blazes. The fire started to consume the remainder of Calaveras County. It was moving at the rate of 60 to 70 feet per minute! It burned 80 some odd homes and ranches in this rural area. Jim's old home was burned along with a dozen other homes/ranches in his area.
About an hour later I heard from my old roommate "John" who lives west of Redding. He had seen the beginnings of a new fire across the canyon from his ranch. Cal Fire got on this fire and fast. They dispatched a water bomber and hit it pretty good and got under control in a few hours. This state is burning down like never before and FAST. Governor Jerry Brown declared the State a Disaster area to get more funds to fight these fires. The state is using almost every fire fighter and ground crews that we have. Air bombers are thin and some are fighting several fires at once. I can not say enough about all of the crews out there giving it their all for US!
Yesterday afternoon, another fire started near my town of Ukiah. This fire is called the Valley Fire and is 30 miles away in Lake County. This fire is a monster! It ate a remote valley and the houses that are there. It than moved, fast, toward Middletown and burned the town last night. I guess 80% of the town is gone. I did hear that the local hardware store is open and running on generators to serve the needs of the local community. There will be many more stories like this in the days to come.
Here is Cal Fires website so you can see the devastation this state is taking: http://cdfdata.fire.ca.gov/incidents/incidents_current This site maybe slow as there are thousands of people looking for information.
Thank You CAL FIRE!
Dave
About an hour later I heard from my old roommate "John" who lives west of Redding. He had seen the beginnings of a new fire across the canyon from his ranch. Cal Fire got on this fire and fast. They dispatched a water bomber and hit it pretty good and got under control in a few hours. This state is burning down like never before and FAST. Governor Jerry Brown declared the State a Disaster area to get more funds to fight these fires. The state is using almost every fire fighter and ground crews that we have. Air bombers are thin and some are fighting several fires at once. I can not say enough about all of the crews out there giving it their all for US!
Yesterday afternoon, another fire started near my town of Ukiah. This fire is called the Valley Fire and is 30 miles away in Lake County. This fire is a monster! It ate a remote valley and the houses that are there. It than moved, fast, toward Middletown and burned the town last night. I guess 80% of the town is gone. I did hear that the local hardware store is open and running on generators to serve the needs of the local community. There will be many more stories like this in the days to come.
Here is Cal Fires website so you can see the devastation this state is taking: http://cdfdata.fire.ca.gov/incidents/incidents_current This site maybe slow as there are thousands of people looking for information.
Thank You CAL FIRE!
Dave
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