Fires in the Region

People from around the world have been asking us about fires in Los Angeles. We have had very little rain this season and the winds were much gustier than normal winter winds. It's a bad combination.

Locally we had strong winds on Tuesday and the next day

I could see trees down (local park shown here).

Our neighbors' tree lost some limbs.

We covered our ears and watched people work to clean it up. 

It was a bit smoky and hazy, but it has not been having a significant impact on our days.

That's about it. It is hard to feel lucky when we know people who are not. We are looking for ways to be helpful (donate requested items, donate money) and maybe even foster a dog.

A Little Scare

My young friend and I were just leaving the turtle pond at the botanic garden when I saw a weird cloud. And another and another. And then I realized it was not a cloud but smoke and I could hear a crackling sound. I don't know why I didn't call 911 but I did call the local police department. Just as I was describing it ("Yes, I do see an enormous amount of smoke!") I saw a helicopter. Phew. My thought was to get out so I did not take a picture at that point.

When we were closer to the exit I did take a picture, but the smoke was so unpleasant I did not want to linger. As we left we could see people waiting to get in and employees gathered in the parking lot.

I received this email thirty minutes after I called. 

And the city posted this.

It didn't take long for the fire to be under control and for the air to clear. That was enough of that.

Weekend Vacation

From Google Maps

The camp where A. spent many summer and winter sessions has a large campus a little over an hour away. In addition to large cabins for campers they have many smaller cabins that are used for other events. We received an email saying the campus was hosting families for holidays in September and October and explained all the benefits. Meals were provided and could be picked up and enjoyed as a picnic or in the eating area in the cabin. 

From the campus webpage

Activities available included archery, horseback riding, swimming, outdoor art, hiking, and more, which made it sound like nice change of pace. On the other hand, the price was a little high and we had no idea where the fires or smoke would be when we planned to be there. We talked it over and decided to change our weekend vacation to a morning outing to Oak Glen.

There had been two fires in that area and there was significant damage. In these pictures you can see that close to the road everything is fine but those hills in the background are gray with ash.

It was nice to see that some things were the same, like teenagers making apple cider donuts 

and the chestnut tree survived.

We did not pick raspberries but did bring home a 35+ pound box of B apples (seconds) and have been making a lot of applesauce. Last year I wrote about different cooking methods, but this year I have decided that the pressure cooker is the obvious winner, much to my surprise.

A. cycled home 50+ miles and D. and I drove home, helping the car celebrate its 52,000 mile birthday. It was not a weekend vacation, but it was a fine second choice.

Filling time

We didn't know the brass carolers would be here so early so we missed the Fiddler on the Roof singalong, which was sold out by the time we considered it. Playing with fire is always a good way to fill time.

What happens if you put a piece of paper over a candle?
The flame goes out.

What happens if you put a piece of foil with a hole over the candle?
The flame goes out.

What happens if you put a piece of paper over a flame and it already is a little burned from the previous experiment? The flame goes out but the paper continues to burn and the parents get a little nervous.

Stay tuned for more family entertainment.

Not my kind of excitement

Village fire damages two homes

May 25, 2016 8:28 AM

Firefighters clean up after an early morning fire damaged two homes in the 1100 block of Yale Avenue on Wednesday in Claremont. Just before six a.m. neighbor Marc Selznick noticed smoke coming from a back home on the property and called 911. He said that the fire appeared to start on the second story porch, which was fully engulfed when firefighters arrived.

Mr. Selznick was heading to work when he saw what he initially thought was haze but soon realized it was smoke. A female resident was on the porch and was trying to extinguish the flames herself. “I told her to get out of there,” he said. Mr. Selznick’s property is directly north of the home where the fire started.

Marisa Nicely lives in one of the two homes that were damaged and said her dog saved her. She was working out with the headphones on when her dog began to bark.

“I said, ‘stop it, I have five more minutes’ but he kept barking, and then I heard the firefighters pounding on the door,” said Ms. Nicely. Her home was only partly damaged with the fire limited to the north wall and roof.

The two-story brown home where the fire started is one of three rentals on a lot and appeared to be a total loss. 

- See more at: https://www.claremont-courier.com/articles/news/t19244-fire#sthash.QX6wUFp6.dpuf

When I left the house at 5:30am I smelled something and was hoping it wasn't a wildfire, but when I was a block away I no longer smelled anything and thought nothing of it.  Two hours later as I was heading home I saw a fire engine in front of our house!  Mild panic set in.  I saw the newspaper's photographer and was told there had been a house fire, but not our house.  Once I got around the corner I could see all sorts of emergency vehicles.  I know the neighborhood kids were excited, but most of the adults were a bit scared!

I hope everyone is getting the help they need.

Pleasant surprise

It is good to be intelligent (and charming and good looking), but it is great to be lucky!

I took a risk several weeks ago and booked a campsite, the only one that I could find that was available in reasonable driving distance.  And why was it available?  Because there was an out-of-control fire in the area.  It started June 17 and figured it had to be contained at some point.

I finally gave up and at 11am on Saturday was looking into how to get a refund and saw that the status had changed to open!  No one else was home so I called A.'s friend and started packing.

We arrived to perfect weather, a great campsite that included bear boxes, and hiking trail a few steps away.

The hike included a creek crossing ended at a lake.  We saw two people fishing and that was it. So lucky!!

Not surprisingly campfires were forbidden, which made it challenging to make s'mores.  We persevered.

This morning those of us who were able to sleep last night went for a hike in the other direction.  There was a log crossing but nothing exciting before we turned around.

After breakfast, a rousing game of Uno, and cleaning up we set off for home.  I can't wait to return!

Another fire

It is never a good sign when you hear the sirens and they seem to get closer and more frequent.

It isn't a good sign when the police tape is across the end of the alley and police cars are blocking the streets.

My sister-and brother-in-law lived here when we first met,

The Red Cross was on the scene, presumably helping the people in each of the apartments.

The upper apartment on the west side of the building at 12th and Indian Hill is gutted.  I don't know the cause, but I did hear from a police officer that no one was hurt.  Maybe the local paper has more information.

And at risk of sounding very shallow, what happens to the recycling or green waste that couldn't be picked up?  Are people out of luck and grateful that that is their biggest worry?

Very Local Fire

I couldn't figure out why a 9/11 memorial event would use so many sirens, so many low flying planes, and so many low flying helicopters.  Unlike my friend Charlotte, it didn't occur to me to look on Facebook to learn more.  I stepped outside to look and a dog walker pointed out that it was a fire and nothing to do with 9/11.

I learned from the local newspaper's website , the city site, and from a reverse 911 call that 17 of the 78 acres of the research area next to the botanic garden were burned, started by sparks from people doing repairs adjacent to the area.

To the west, all looks as it did before the fire started.  This little picture definitely does not capture the natural beauty and it certainly doesn't give a feel for the native plants and animals that live in this area.

Friends who work across the street posted pictures.

Taken from Harvey Mudd College

Early this morning firefighters were still dealing with hot spots, but when I rode by at lunch time I didn't see any emergency vehicles or any people at all.

To the east burnt trees looked out of place, but

what was so terrible was the eastern portion.  Nothing.

Here's hoping Claremont University Consortium and Harvey Mudd College do not use this fire as an opportunity to expand their campuses, as some fear.

From the Daily Bulletin