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| Thread ID: 102679 | 2009-08-28 01:52:00 | Summer Finally Shows Up---------- | SurferJoe46 (51) | PC World Chat |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 804905 | 2009-08-28 01:52:00 | 109ºF/39.4ºC and 2% Humidity. Dew Point = 32.8ºF/0.4ºC, so you know what that means! I Love it! This is at 6:00PM. We have had a below-average Summer so far, and it usually is a few degrees hotter in the past 40 days or so, but they say (the weather-guessers) that we now have the high pressure parked off the California shore and Summer's officially here. Big fires all around us now too. We aren't in harm's way yet. Smoke's very thick and hard to breathe for we'uns with COPD. |
SurferJoe46 (51) | ||
| 804906 | 2009-08-28 02:12:00 | Sunny here in Auckland today, but a little cooler than that: about 17ºC and around 60% humidity (doesn't get that much less humid at any time in the year here - summer it goes way up. But you'd expect that in the sub-tropics!!) | johcar (6283) | ||
| 804907 | 2009-08-28 02:16:00 | Blimey, I'll stick with Motueka's 18deg thanks...I'd probably die in 40deg temps! :horrified | wratterus (105) | ||
| 804908 | 2009-08-28 05:02:00 | Just got home. 28C inside and 25C outside. :) |
Trev (427) | ||
| 804909 | 2009-08-28 22:18:00 | Today, Friday Aug 28th 117ºF/47 . 5ºC and 4% humidity . Firebrands of Biblical proportion are falling on my house as a 100+ acre/405+ Hectare fire is burning on the edge of town, about 2-miles/3 . 2Kilometers away . The US Forest Service reports they have 5% containment at this moment, 2PM our time . Called the "Cottonwood Fire" it is traveling up the mountain toward Idyllwild and Pine Cove . It has already closed several main roads into and out of the area . We however have clear escape routes to the North and the West from here, so we are not in much danger . Vehicles are packed and full of gas as I keep them that way and we can get outta here pretty quick . Each is equipped with a CB radio and a 250 watt linear amplifier too . Cell phones may not work if the towers bur though . Bautista Canyon and points in the National Forest are under mandatory evacuation rules and animals like horses, cows and family pets are being kept in animal shelters . We expect to get an onslaught of requests for sequestering of people if the local civil authorities get many more evacuees . The smoke if really hard on my lungs and throat as I have COPD . They guess that the weather is going to finally get up to speed and get to 120ºF where it belongs now for the rest of our Summer . MY EPS is running some time as the power lines melt from the fires and short out to ground . I expect that I can have a long time on the internet though as the outages are just a minute or so long at a time and the back-up batteries are in good charge . The US phone system never seems to fail, and that's always a good thing, so my internet should be working as long as I can get power to the computer . Cell phones don't count! In a bit I may climb onto the roof and get some pixs of the borate fire bombing aircraft using the Hemet/Ryan airfield . |
SurferJoe46 (51) | ||
| 804910 | 2009-08-28 23:49:00 | 33.736 latitude, -116.831 longitude Incident Overview A wildfire is approximately 1 mile east of Cranston and 10 miles east of Hemet in the San Jacinto Mountains, currently about 1200 acres and a moderate rate of spread. Highway 74 is closed and voluntary evacuations are in place in the vicinity of Bee Canyon. Visitors to Idyllwild - use Interstate 10 to State Highway 243 Basic Information Incident Type Wildfire Cause Under Investigation for dropped power line Date of Origin Thursday August 27th, 2009 approx 05:13 PM Location 4 miles East of Hemet Incident Commander Fiorella Current Situation Total Personnel 300 Size 1,200 acres Percent Contained 5% Fuels Involved Brush and grass. Fire Behavior Growth overnight on the West and North West edge of the fire-- away from Idyllwild. Significant Events The Cottonwood Fire is approximately 1 mile east of Cranston and 10 miles east of Hemet in the San Jacinto Mountains and is currently at 1000 acres. Overnight, the fire grew in the north and northwest corners. The Big Bear Hotshots completed a successful firing operation on the eastern flank of the fire, which is holding, preventing growth toward Idyllwild. Additionally, crews worked throughout the night with dozers and firing operations to reduce the risk to the homes along Highway 74. The western flank of the fire is showing the most activity, burning in 11-year-old fuel type with a lot of dead component. Firefighters face the challenge of very rocky and steep terrain. Outlook Planned Actions Mandatory Evacuations--for Willowbrook Rd. have been lifted. Voluntary Evacuations--A dozen homes (five people) were evacuated under voluntary evacuation in Bee Canyon Thursday. Growth Potential High Terrain Difficulty Steep and rocky terrain. Remarks Moderate rate of spread, moving north. Current resources assigned: 18 engines, 9 hand crews, 1 water tender, 1 dozer, and 4 helicopters, two airtankers, one Martin Mars Airtanker (7200 gal.) 300+ personnel. Current Weather Wind Conditions 10 mph NW Temperature 116 degrees Humidity 7% |
SurferJoe46 (51) | ||
| 804911 | 2009-08-29 18:14:00 | Got some pixs from my neighborhood. Crews put out hot spots on the Cottonwood Fire along Highway 74 near Hemet in the San Bernardino National Forest on Friday. |
SurferJoe46 (51) | ||
| 804912 | 2009-08-30 00:20:00 | How can a Jolly Green Giant be red? You people don't get weather, it's more of an endurance test. |
R2x1 (4628) | ||
| 804913 | 2009-08-30 01:28:00 | That's a "Sky Crane" and no, this crane isn't white either! We are "proofed" by the weather and that makes us tougher than Crocodile Dundee. The fire here in Hemet is over 2500 acres now and as yet only 10% contained at 17:28 PST or so. I am just hearing of evacuation orders for the Bee Canyon - Hemet area fire - but that won't affect me. Goto: 33º45'18.67"N 116º53'13.52"W and see the epicenter where the fire is currently. It will be noted that there is a huge "chimney-effect" in the mountains that cause the fire to run along the ground at over 30 MPH going almost straight up. Fortunately the wind has been forcing the flames in the opposite direction, slowing the ground advance of the fire in the mountainous directions so far. The winds will die down at sunset though and the fire will get new life then. My residence: 33º46'40.48"N 116º58'26.03"W Idyllwild ( 33º44'47.27"N 116º43'04.05"W )is not very far away from the fire. There are 3-Martin "Mars" bombers and 20 Sky Cranes and over 400 firefighters on the lines. The Martins are getting their water from Lake Hemet and Diamond Valley Lake/Reservoir, about 5 miles away. Fishing and boating are canceled for the duration of the fire fighting air support. Bulletin: 30+ firefighters were "burned over" in the Big Tujunga Fire North of LA. They appear to have survived but are in serious medical distress. The DC-10s have not arrived and may be fighting fires in another state, but the news has no idea yet. We can hear the huge Caterpillars being transported to the fires to cut lines in the front, removing the combustible material. The clouds are still black and very little grey or white which indicates that the flames are active finding new fuel and not just smoldering as if the fire was under control and dying. Humidity is 4% in Hemet right now, temps at 117ºF/47.2ºC. The animal control people are bringing dozens horses and cattle out of the areas and putting them in the huge corrals in the center of town here in Hemet. Helicopter traffic is unbelievable and the fire fighting equipment going into the area is just swarming over all the streets and roads here heading to Cottonwood and Bee Canyon and areas between here and Idywild/Pine Cove. The local Hemet/Ryan airport is swarming with county, state, city and federal firefighting personnel with their tents and supply centers on the sides of the runways. Huge aircraft touch down, roll to a stop and fill up with Fosdex (the red chemical they drop on the fire) and take off again. The turn around time for the bombers is about 30 minutes, but the actual flight time to the fire front(s) is/are about 2 minutes. The fire's THAT close! The whole house is shaking from the air traffic of the heavies and the windows rattle. The dog is going crazy and we can't find the cat. The smog level and warning is at a Stage-3 value "Unsafe for children, the elderly and people with respiratory conditions" and this is BEFORE the fire and smoke pollution! The advice? Don't breathe! Really! It is considered an option at this time. |
SurferJoe46 (51) | ||
| 804914 | 2009-08-30 02:29:00 | Pleased to report it is hosing down with rain here in the Wellington - fire danger about nil. | Twelvevolts (5457) | ||
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