Tag: disasters

Walking out of my house, I can see the plume of smoke again. It looks like the wind has shifted again.

I’ve tried to find out the extent of the file by means other than listening to KNX 1070. The City of Los Angeles (or the county, for that matter) is of no use. There’s just not a lot of info out there. However, the City of Calabasas is doing a great job of providing information. They summarize the mandatory and voluntary evacuations (even out of their city), provide a map of information, and even provide relatively recent updates. The fire had been moving south most of the day. Now it is moving north (indicating an “offshore” flow… i.e., a flow from the ocean, cooling things down), back towards the San Fernando Valley. Luckily, our house is nowhere near a fire area (we’re in the flatlands near Northridge Fashion Center).

I’m sure I’ll get to see the glow again: tonight is the “Open House” at my daughter’s new middle school.

Some updates on the Southern California fires…

First, the Chatsworth fire isn’t the only one. There was also a large fire in Riverside County, near Calimesa. This fire, which consumed over 1,300 acres, started in a chicken coop, and between 60,000 to 90,000 chickens perished in the blaze. Reportedly, the Grillmaster at El Pollo Loco has been called to assist with the cleanup. And speaking of El Pollo Loco, it is being purchased by New York investors. (“New York City”, he said in the tone of the Salsa commercial). El Pollo Loco used to be owned by the same folks that owned Dennys, and was later owned by American Securities Capital Partners, a private investment firm. The new owners, Trimaran Capital Partners, plan to take the chain national; in particular, they have targeted New York, New Jersey, New England, Chicago, Denver and Texas for expansion and have signed franchise agreements for new stores in those markets. The company hopes to open 150 locations in the next five years, adding to its current 328 sites, which are mostly in Southern California, with a few in Arizona, Nevada and Texas.

Turning from charbroiled chicken to the continuing “char” in Chatsworth. The fire continues to grow. I’m listening to the news as I’m reviewing the document, and the focus seems to have moved to the south. This fire has grown to char over 7,000 acres overnight. You hear nothing about the northern end of the file. Most of the concern is the southern end, which is approaching Oak Park and Agoura, communities near the 101 freeway. There are evactuations in Bell Canyon, Box Canyon, Lake Manor, Woolsey Canyon, and Chesboro and Kanan Road N of the 101. Voluntary evacuations are in Malibu Canyan and Agoura Hills (both N of the 101), Hidden Hills, and Mt. View Estates. There have also been evacuations in Oak Park. The fire has also burned structures on the Santa Susanna Rocketdyne property.

Of course, this creates the next worry: will it burn down to the freeway, jump it, and then jump into the hills of Malibu? We haven’t had a large Malibu fire in years, and those hills are ripe to go. I don’t want to see it: that creates a risk for camp if it makes it down to the ocean. It has happened before.

The seasons have changed here in Los Angeles. Back east, you get the turning of the leaves. But seasons out here are different. We don’t have winter, spring, summer. No. We’ve got: Mud, Fog, Hot, and Fire. It’s fire season, boys and girls!

This morning, when I left for work, I could feel the hot wind. I was listening to the radio report about a small brush fire in Browns Canyon. This was hit with water dropping helecopters and put out by 8:00 am.

Tonight, as I left work, I could see the plumes of smoke. I thought initially the fire was in Malibu… but no, it was in Chatsworth. Tonight, driving the van back, I could see the glowing hillsides as I looked west along Mayall Street. The fire is a large one — I think over 1200 acres now. It started just N of the 118, and has been steadily burning to the south and west. There are concerns about Box Canyon and the northern end of Bell Canyon. I’m worried about my in-laws, who live in Rockpointe, which is next to Chatsworth Park South.

Of course, they are not worrying about the northern flank right now, because there are houses there. But that too is a worry, as the fire could easily move W into Porter Ranch, E into Simi Valley, or N into Santa Clarita. This is the same area that burned in October 2002 (from whence the image on this post comes).

I hate fire season.

P.S.: And boy, do the leaves make a mess in the pool. I just spent a good 1/2 hour netting the leaves in the pool. A great upper body workout, but am I schvitzin’