San Diego Fire Update — It’s Now Approaching Historical — 10% of Population Evacuated

by Jeff Brown

Real Estate Investments Broker

Author website

The phone range at 3:44 AM this morning — Mom was calling to tell me she was packing, as she said, “Just in case”.

‘Just in case’ became reality when she answered the knock on her door around 5. It was a concerned neighbor, ensuring herself Mom knew things were getting maybe too close for comfort. She lives in Spring Valley, a community just east and a touch south of where I live, in La Mesa. Her call came as I was still in bed, listening to the radio. She saved me a call, cuz I was about to assert my rights as concerned son, politely insisting she pack a quick bag, and head over to my place.

While writing, from my living room window I can see to the south and east. Spring Valley’s Mt. Miguel is ablaze — I can clearly see the flames. They’ve been visible since I first looked, around 5:10 this morning.

Before continuing, some folks in other parts of the country, have said they’re not getting nearly enough info on San Diego. For those who would like to find out about friends and relatives here, one of our local TV stations has a pretty solid website, giving updates, maps, and overall coverage of the fires.

Also, the San Diego County Emergency Homepage might be of some help for those seeking info.

300,000 San Diegans have been evacuated — fully 10% of the county’s population.

One trivial note: The Charger’s home game appears almost surely to be moved to Glendale Arizona’s new stadium. The team left yesterday for AZ, hoping they’d be able to return for Sunday’s game. That’s a fantasy. They’ll be in AZ until after they’ve played the game there.

Ramona a town in the northeast part of the country, and Fallbrook, located off of the 15, not far from Temecula, have both been completely evacuated, according to news reports.

I called my brother-in-law just after 6. He lives fairly close to the path the fire has been taking in Spring Valley. He says he’s already got several boxes packed, and his pickup ready to go. He may be heading west pretty soon.

The Del Mar Fairgrounds are still taking people, but not animals. The National Guard is there and performing as you’d expect — with excellence. They need hay, pet food, and the like. They’re looking for local volunteers too.

The sun is now a couple minutes from breaking above the eastern hills. Reports are now claiming some military aircraft are taking off with loads of fire retardant. The flags across from my place, at a neighbor’s, are now hugging the pole — no wind whatsoever. Experience tells me this is only a small window of opportunity before it really warms up, and the winds resume. If the fires can be attacked by air, the containment process can at least begin.

They’re asking we not use our cell phones, watch our power use, and stay off the roads, especially major freeways. Virtually all schools and colleges are closed today.

The response by government agencies and political leaders has been, in my view, nothing short of magnificent. Compared to ’03 when our governor at the time had trouble finding time to do anything but waste time, point fingers, and fail miserably, everyone has performed at the highest level. It’s been something to see, and I’m proud of their performance under what must be terrific pressure.

An example of this is equipment (I think aircraft, but I’m not sure) sent to us from Wyoming. When asked if they’d already finished going through governmental protocol, their answer was gave insight to the change in attitude since ’03. His answer was, “We’ll do the paperwork later. They need this stuff now.” Amen

You’ll no doubt be able to learn much more than I can tell you from the links I’ve provided. Also, keep abreast of the comments, because I suspect we’ll hear from people much closer to current events.

A couple final thoughts.

When the winds return to their normal directional behavior, it will be both good and bad news. Our normal sea breezes are not very strong, so will allow aircraft to operate more or less uninterrupted. That said, it will tend to turn the fires’ direction back on folks who may mistakenly think they’re out of danger. We’ve seen that happen before, during Santa Ana related fires.

Businesses are donating food and supplies before being asked. As an example, Von’s has been sending food to the Del Mar Fairgrounds. The San Diego community is showing the country some good old fashioned grit and spirit.

Please — pray for us.
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