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I live in Santa Rosa and I am a UPS driver in Calistoga. I could barely do my route today because of all the smoke.

I was wearing a mask, but when you inhale that much smoke you end up sick to your stomach. I think that I should bring a respirator.
 
I read that everybody in Northern California should be prepared to evacuate. Even in the suburbs, some of my neighbors can see the flames from the SCU fire. One of these days, I would like a place in rural California where I have a chance of standing my ground. Here in the suburbs, there is no such chance, but it is easy to evacuate. I have surfed around but have found few resources on sheltering in place. I asked my friend who was a wildland firefighter if this is possible. He said, yes but he wouldn't recommend it. He survived in an emergency fire shelter when his team got overrun. I said, oh, then it can be done. He grew dark and serious and said his supervisor didn't survive. The screams still keep him awake to this day. I still think I could make something that gave you a better chance than those light flimsy fire shelters. Maybe it's a cultural issue. Australia seems to have more information on this.
 
erikmannie said:
I live in Santa Rosa and I am a UPS driver in Calistoga. I could barely do my route today because of all the smoke.

I was wearing a mask, but when you inhale that much smoke you end up sick to your stomach. I think that I should bring a respirator.
Click to expand...
Yes you should! Be safe man :)
 
Oh, I'm prepared.

But if it gets 20 miles into the suburbs and past the fire station that's between me and the mountains it would have to be gigantic.

I grew up in Cupertino, next to Sunnyvale and I seriously doubt that the fire could burn down the hill and into town that far. Yes, I know about Santa Rosa but that was a wildland interface area. One of the problems I've heard we have this year is due to Covid we don't have the crews from our prisons that do such a great job in normal years. I can imagine some of those guys are itching to get out and do the work but can't....

Being prepared to evacuate is very similar to being prepared to survive after an earthquake, or a major power outage. It just makes sense. I told my 90-year-old mom to pack her bag this morning but definitely don't relish the idea of having to leave with her, and her cat...

A BIG THANK YOU to the wildland firefighters, all of them including the ones in our group :encourage:


John
 
ericc said:
I read that everybody in Northern California should be prepared to evacuate.
Click to expand...

This is something that I've always been pretty casual about, thinking I would quickly pick up a few key things and be on my way. I discovered last Tuesday afternoon in Nevada City that I'm much worse than I thought at this. There was an evacuation order... instant brain freeze. I ran around fairly aimlessly, put a couple jeans and underwear in a suitcase, and threw a few more things in the car. We evacuated to a friend's in Auburn. When we got there, I discovered I had forgotten to bring the suitcase.

Only away for one night fortunately, and not that near to the fire, but now I'm taking the evacuation idea much more seriously. I hope some of you might learn from my silly experience.
 
Making houses safe from wild fires is a chore. In the days of wood shake and shingle roofs there was nothing you could do to protect your house. Wood siding made things worse. Have several friends who are retired firemen. They tell me these days in wild fires most houses burn from the inside out due to windows getting broken which allows embers to enter the house. You would think that the mandated fire sprinklers in houses would help. But as soon as the power gets shut off there goes the water pressure.

I have thought about making fire shutters for my house out of hardiboard (sp?) which doesn't burn to cover the windows and doors. One of those things that probably will never get done. I have surrounded my house with gravel and since I am a lousy gardener there are no plants or bushes close to the house. Outside the ring of gravel I keep the weeds/grasses cut down to the ground or have bare dirt.

The area where I live used to be a cattle ranch for over 100 years before it got subdivided into mostly 5 ac parcels. Cattle will eat everything including brush at times when the grass is gone. So there is no brush anywhere close to my house. We are talking over a mile or more. Just grass and oak trees. That helps to keep burning embers to a minimum.

If a fire did start in my area, I would pack up and leave. Not wait around til the last minute. Everything I own is just stuff that can be replaced. I have no attachment to it.

No fires in my area. Only smoke.
 
ericc said:
I read that everybody in Northern California should be prepared to evacuate. Even in the suburbs, some of my neighbors can see the flames from the SCU fire. One of these days, I would like a place in rural California where I have a chance of standing my ground. Here in the suburbs, there is no such chance, but it is easy to evacuate. I have surfed around but have found few resources on sheltering in place. I asked my friend who was a wildland firefighter if this is possible. He said, yes but he wouldn't recommend it. He survived in an emergency fire shelter when his team got overrun. I said, oh, then it can be done. He grew dark and serious and said his supervisor didn't survive. The screams still keep him awake to this day. I still think I could make something that gave you a better chance than those light flimsy fire shelters. Maybe it's a cultural issue. Australia seems to have more information on this.
Click to expand...

Australia was a big proponent for shelter in place, and it was being seriously discussed for use in the US as well. That changed in 2009 when 113 people died in their homes during one of Australia's more extreme bushfire seasons. My understanding is they still consider it an option, but they no longer consider it the best option. They have also put a lot more effort into enforcing clearances and building materials. American's are stubborn and demand their right to build flammable housing in a flammable landscape. Too many believe a fire will never happen to them and then point fingers at everyone but themselves when it does.

As far as the fire shelters go, sure a tougher, more effective shelter is possible, but it has to be carried and affordable. The current shelter weighs 2x as much as the shelter in use when I started and it costs 10x as much. Personally I don't think the increased weight has improved our safety. Ultimately it comes down to being a tool you only use if somebody made some major errors in judgement. The old shelter protected hundreds of lives, the new shelter may have helped some survive who may have perished in the old shelter, but that is debatable.

Most of the world does not provide a fire shelter to their fire crews. They come up with excuses to justify this decision but it really comes down to cost. There are things that can be learned by looking at how other places deal with wildfire but ultimately it must be understood that Canada, Australia, Greece, Spain, Southern France and the USA have similar but very different problems to solve.
 
Anyone heard from Jeff @Janderso?
(Or is he not in the affected area?)

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
We're down in San Diego County and sympathize with what's going on up there. In years past we've had the car fully packed several times, and in the worst fire, it did indeed start eating into suburbs, burning over 1,000 homes in one day. When we went back to work, the buildings had so much smoke in them that you could still see it floating in the hallways.

Our fire season typically stretches into October, so we aren't off the hook yet...
 
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