San Diego Wildfires 2007

As many of you know Jeff and I were in the direct path of the San Diego wildfires that started Sunday morning and are continuing even now. Fortunately we can say we are completely safe and our home and belongings have not been hit. This is more then we can say for a lot of our neighbors and coworkers living in nearby neighborhoods. I suspect when we return to work we will learn of many friends and acquaintances that have lost all their earthly possessions. As of today 560,000 people have been evacuated, more than half of San Diego County. We were next to be called when the fires turned and headed west. While we were packed and ready to leave at a moments notice we were fortunate not to get the reverse 911 call warning us to flee.





Here's the time line we experienced to let you all know how things have progressed.

-4pm Sunday: We were driving home from the zoo when we saw the orange sky and what looked like dark low clouds. As we rolled into University City (our neighborhood) we smelled the smoke and saw the haze in the air. It looked like a thin fog but made it hard to breathe and stung the eyes.

-8pm Sunday: We headed over to the pool and found the ash collecting.

-6am Monday: I woke up and we decided Jeff would stay home while I went to work. The night before we heard stories of people not being able to get back home to retrieve their animals before the mandatory evacuations came and we didn't want to take any chances that we couldn't get home to get the cats if we needed to. I guess this was the beginnings of our evacuation plan. During the ride to work light ash swirled around and the small of smoke continued.

-7am Monday: Shortly after getting to work they decided to close my office. When I got back Jeff had the cat carriers out and ready to go. At that time there was talk of major road closings and gridlock on the highway so we weren't sure if we should plan our evacuation by car or motorcycles. Obviously the bikes could get out fast but we'd have to contend with the kitties and the toxic air. It took us several more hours to decide the car would be the best bet. After all there were evacuation centers in the city (Qualcomm Stadium) which would serve us fine and wouldn't require us to sit in gridlock. Plus we could fit more of our things in the car.

-9am Monday: Jeff's office closed.The Witch Creek fire was about 15 to 20 miles away.

-12pm Monday: The fire started to turn due west rather than southwest in our direction. The smoke eased up but ash continued to collect coating everything outside in a dull brown/gray color. I got the call that there would be no work on Tuesday.

-7pm Monday: Smoke began to intensify significantly outside. The calls for evacuation were coming closer to our neighborhood. We moved the motorcycles to the basement to avoid ash collection and burning if the fires came. The Witch Creek fire was 11 miles from our house.

-9:30pm Monday: We got notice, via the news, that our area was issued as a voluntary evacuation zone. We decided to wait until the notice was mandatory since several hours were going by between evacuation notices.

-11:30pm Monday: We were getting tired so we packed our clothes and made a mental list of things we needed to grab including birth records, tax records, insurance information, photos, cards & letters, iPod (what?), and bedding.

-1:00am Tuesday: Sleep, with the TV on.

-8am Tuesday: Didn't get a call to evacuate overnight. Yay. It seemed the fires progressed on a western path avoiding us. The news reported that so many people in San Diego were volunteering that they literally had lines of people showing up at evacuation centers and more people than volunteer opportunities. I signed up at Volunteer San Diego which emails people as needs arise. I got a call to volunteer tomorrow serving food at Qualcomm Stadium but I also got the call that we're heading back to work in the morning so I won't be able to help out until the weekend. I'm sure there will be a great need for volunteers over the coming months.

-4pm Tuesday: The air quality greatly improved in our area so we went our for a walk through the outdoor mall around the corner. Everything was covered in soot and half the stores were closed. The only other people out were others experiencing cabin fever and a few die hard shopping teenagers.

-6pm Tuesday: Watching the press conference on TV. These fires are being called the worst in California history. While they still burn, they are progressing more slowly due to the change in winds. The Witch Creek fire is 9 miles from our house. The Harris fire is 15 miles away.

I have had lots of calls and emails from concerned friends and family. Please know that we are totally fine and safe and have an evacuation plan. Things are getting under control and the city of San Diego has been incredible about getting people the notice they need to get out in time.



If anyone is interested in giving to the Red Cross in San Diego they are taking monetary donations that will go directly toward the wildfire efforts and will be spent immediately. You can check out their official website at www.SDARC.org



Here's is the Google Map of FIRESTORM 2007 as they call it on the news. It is being updated regularly.


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Knott's Scary Farms

PA105834, originally uploaded by lead.salad.

Last night Jeff and I went to Knott's Scary Farm with my coworker Marleen and her boyfriend Terrance in Orange County (O.C.). By day, Knott's Berry Farm is a large amusement park catering to the L.A. area and much of Southern California. By night it is transformed into a freak show teaming with monsters, haunted mazes and banks of creepy fog. Oh, and about 50,000 terrified teenie-boppers.

This was Knott's Scary Farms 35 annual Halloween Haunt making it the first amusement park in the country to transform itself into a haunted ghost town. Since they started the trend many other have followed suit including both Disney and Universal Studios. Knott's however still boasts the title of largest in the country. Unfortunately, it can also boast the title of most crowded and longest lines.

The park had 13 haunted mazes set up with a variety of themes. Again, the long lines kept us from seeing most of them, including the Doll Factory, Beowulf and the Grudge II which I would have liked to have seen. We were able to get into Lost Vegas, Lore of the Vampire (my favorite), Black Widow Caverns and Red Beard's Revenge.

Actual rides were out of the question. Two hour lines were the norm and since the park opened at 7 (with an hour wait to get in) and closed at 2am even the most efficient park goer would be hard pressed to get more than 4 or 5 attractions in.

The detail they put into the park was impressive. Nothing was overlooked including the skeletal transformation of the main fountain, the menacing movie titles at the theater and even the subtle thumping heartbeat you feel when wandering over a grave stone at the cemetery, which few found as it was well off the beaten path. (No pun intended). The professional monsters were true professionals and at times even worked in tandem. One to distract you while the other scared the pants of you.

The experience itself was worth the hefty price of tickets at $46 a piece (with advance purchase) but unfortunately Knott's Scary Farm does itself in by selling WAY too many. To make it worth the cost of admission they need to cut ticket sales by a good 25% at least.