WingColors

Do you mean "This is not like the mid-west...?"

Yeah, the Malibu fires have been on the TV all morning at work here. I hope the fires get stopped before they reach you. :(

Stay safe.

That sucks... I wish I could send you the rain we're getting today here in Oklahoma!

Stay safe!

Yeah estarla that's what i meant to type...

I would love that RightOn. It sucks that our rainy season happens twice a year and is maybe 2 days long each time.
I miss thunderstorms and rain.

It's been raining for 6 months now here, and I wish with all my heart that we could send it to you. Stay safe and I hope they get the fires under control very soon.

very good friend of mine had to evac his family. they r on their way up to LA to stay with his folks for a while.

Well... LA is on fire too. ;)

Several people I know have been displaced... a couple I don't know if they are ok. I'm assuming they are though. They probably just don't have computer access.

I lived in CA for 36 years, before I moved two years ago, and there are fires almost every year, that is true, but the magnitude of them is not necessarily as great as the fires that are happening right now. The state of emergency isn't always as urgent or tragic.

I once had to evacuate my family due to a fire coming over the hill, across the street from my house. I had no idea what I would return to...a house still standing or a house in total ashes.

People do act surprised, and what is wrong with that? The terrible loss to homes, acreage, life, and injuries is shocking, no matter how often this happens. That is the reality of it. It should never be taken lightly or with a blase/nonchalant attitude.

I have family members in CA, spread out from San Diego to northern CA.

I hope all those who have family and friends in the affected areas are safe, and hope they stay safe.

There are risks inherent to living in a lot of parts of the United States. It doesn't make what happens the fault of the people living there, but at the same time, we have enough knowledge of the history of this country to know that certain things occur or are likely occur or are unlikely but might only happen once and if it does happen once you're screwed anyways.

Sure, I hope that everyone in SoCal is safe tonight and that they are able to go back to homes, not destroyed homes, but these fires (and Hurricane Katrina and deadly flooding in the Midwest and blizzards in New England and earthquakes in the Bay Area) are not surprises.

They're not. They are emergencies, but they are not surprises. They effects of fire are saddening, but these fires are not surprises.

Some might think that this is "a blase/nonchalant attitude."

But maybe we should stop ignoring the environment and climate when we choose where to make our homes, how to build them, and how to protect them. That type of nonchalance has much more dangerous effects.

Apparently, they expect to not be able to contain it for another 5 days. And that's just containing the fires not extinguishing them.

The surprise element comes dualfold. Or even more than that. The same could be said about Katrina, as in "What do you expect when you build a major city below sea level?" In our case, it's "What do you expect when you build a major city in a desert climate?" Okay, and as for earthquakes, "...on the San Andreas fault line?" But now that we've the (arguably faulty) meteorological technology we know that there's little we can do to prevent these things or even fight them as it's the Santa Ana winds that are rapidly spreading these fires.

It's really so sad. While there have certainly always been fires in SoCal, there really have not been fires like this, ever. 10% of San Diego residences have been evacuated. Ten!! That's a 400,000 homes.

My boss left work today so he could bring water and carrots (at their request) to fire stations for the firefighters.

Btw, volunteers can call Red Cross of Greater Los Angeles to donate their time at (310) 445-2676 or (310) 477-5785. I'm somewhat fortunate to be in the middle of the concrete wasteland that is Metro L.A., so I'll be donating some time this week. You can also donate here.

(Edit: Meh. It's just a voicemailbox that's supposedly taking messages so they can get back to the volunteers...but it's currently full and won't receive any more messages.)

The fires might not be a surprise to many, but when you come home to your house in ashes, and totally demolished, it is a surprise, even if you knew ahead of time that there could be a fire.

It is like a death of a family member...you know it is coming within hours or days, but you are never prepared, and it is a traumatic shock when it actually happens, and it is the same way with the fires, when it affects you, personally, you are not prepared. You might think you are prepared...but you never are, emotionally. You might appear that way on the surface, but after 2-3 hours or days, the shock begins to wear off and the reality sets in...

estarla: Yes, I heard the time frame for the containment on the news. This is by far the worst situation in CA, ever, as far as fires, the seven counties involved, the acreage, and the amount of people being evacuated. As of the news a few minutes ago, over 540 thousand people have been evacuated...that is an ubelievable amount of people for CA fires.

The Santa Ana winds are predictable, fires in CA are predictable, yet, it is still shocking and surprising when one sees the statistics.

Katrina, earthquakes, floods, tornadoes, all of it, is a constant source of surprise, when you see the statistics, the losses, the amount of physical destruction, your city looking like a war zone, loss of life and housing. When you see the continuing results on the TV, it is a great surprise. Each part of the U.S. has its own environmental elements to deal with.

I had my home almost destroyed in the 1969 CA earthquake. Was I surprised...you bet I was, when it happened.

Until it happens to you, you can't really say...but it has happened to me, and I can say...I was surprised...I was in shock, along with my family.

The word surprise takes on several contexts. Shock, astonishment, wonder, amazement, unexpected events or occurrences, and shock over unexpected events or behavior, etc. The word surprise isn't restricted to one definition.

Indeed, LorriM. It's true you can never know until it happens to you. My heart goes out to everyone affected.

My heart goes out to all affected, also, estarla.

The evening news report stated that over 540,000 have been evacuated, and more will continue. The said it is the largest "movement of people in the U.S. since the Civil War". That is incredible, an unbelievable and amazing statistic.

Please, please try and stay safe. Get together the important documents, prescriptions and photos, include the pets and pet food. Give extremely serious thought to any relatives and friends that live far away. Wouldn't you like to spend some time with them------- now?