A Bad Week

NavLinear

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#1
A Bad Week - The Thomas Fire

This is the fastest moving and most devastating fire that I've witnessed and I have seen a few in my lifetime. Wind predictions for today are 80 mph with single digit humidity. Our horses were in the direct path of the fire but all survived. The hills surrounding the ranch we board at look like it snowed but its 70 degrees F and when driving up the canyon Tuesday morning it looked like a war zone. Burned up hulks of cars on the road, multiple structures gone, driving over downed power lines, lots of smoke and flames made it feel like the twilight zone.

Just got back home a short while ago from visiting the boys and putting out some hot spots. The canyon where our horses are boarded has a mandatory evacuation notice but if the area was vacated more structures would have been destroyed and more livestock would have died. It was a bit sporty at times and there is only one paved road in and out of the area so we had to be careful. Some close friends of ours that live in this canyon lost their homes. I can't imagine being in their shoes.

The link below has some images of the before and after of several neighborhoods that are close to where we live. A couple of families that we know and live in these areas were very lucky as their homes survived.

http://www.latimes.com/projects/la-me-socal-fires-destroyed-structures/
 
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laatsch55

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#2
Navo I I was wondering if the Ventura fire was affecting you.....damn bud, you gonna make it with the horses and house intact??
 

Northwinds

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#3
Dennis, I am hoping you folks escape this unscathed. I can't imagine anything more scary then a wildfire coming at a entire neighborhood!!!
 

NavLinear

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I believe our home is ok - we're a mile plus away from the fire line and this evening I did not see flames in our area but I did see some hot spots. Thankfully we had some air support Wednesday. They are a tremendous help in knocking down this inferno. Winds are picking up now and all bets are off if they hit the predicted 80 mph. The fire is moving west and the town of Ojai and surrounding area is being evacuated. Carpinteria, Montecito and Santa Barbara are next in line.

There's still a lot of fuel where our horses are located. I hung out until midnight looking for hot spots and tending to those I found. If things get sketchy there's a large arena - race track sized that the horses will be moved to. They were there on Monday when the fire burned a large portion of the 135 acre ranch and it took out one side of the arena fence. The horses stayed away from the downed fence so all survived. I'll be back there in a few hours assuming the road is open. Off to bed now for a some sleep.

Thanks guys for the prayers and support.
 

JustMike

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#7
When I first heard of the fires in Ventura, I thought of you Nav.. Please be safe. And I hope all folks in these areas will make it through these
fires.
Its hard to imagine what Dennis and his family is up against if you haven't experienced one of these horrors.
Prayers sent,
Jm.
 

BlazeES

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Hey Nav. Stay safe and keep the faith.

NorCal in October and now this ... a 100 year event.
 
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Bradrock

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Praying for you folks here too Dennis. Looks like Hell on earth! I was going to ask if the fuel had burned up around your horsies. You gave a negative answer. Damn.
News say's this could last through March?
Do you have your own stock trailer in case your whole gang needs to scoot out of there?
 

R1200S

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#10
Please take care of yourself Dennis! I used to live down in Thousand Oaks and went thru something similar back in the 60's. It's incredibly frightening and can move with more speed than we imagine. I still have a few friends in T.O. and Ventura. Thinking and praying for everyone!
 

JustMike

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Please take care of yourself Dennis! I used to live down in Thousand Oaks and went thru something similar back in the 60's. It's incredibly frightening and can move with more speed than we imagine. I still have a few friends in T.O. and Ventura. Thinking and praying for everyone!
We went thru some of the same fires.

I was working in the Malibu Mountains during the horrible 1970 fire that burned from Malibu Canyon all the way to Topanga Canyon.
It was Hell on Earth man. Sixty foot flame walls raced thru the canyons. I remember seeing an A frame home ignite and burst into flames just from the heat
of the fire wall 100 yards away.

Be safe Nav.
 

orange

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#12
Bradrock as much as I love animals too if that fire does what we hope it doesn't they aren't going to have the time to save them.

My biggest suspicion is that it was human caused. Arson or not, humans are not scared enough of fire and act foolishly with it.
 

Northwinds

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A good friend of mine Rob (drummer of the band Cirith Ungol) just told me his house is ok so far in Ventura but his sister's house and drag racing business burnt down in Ojai
 

Elite-ist

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I hope you and your neighbours come out of this fire storm unscathed, Dennis. Pretty horrendous to watch how fast that fire has been moving.

Nando.
 

NavLinear

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#15
Thanks guys for all of the support and we're staying safe. Our home is now safe as are the horses but flare ups are still possible. The smoke and ash are still an issue - more so in the canyon. I come home each night smelling like I've been sitting around a campfire - a good smell normally. FYI - we have a horse trailer with a 7.3 liter turbo diesel dually attached so all is well in that department.

There are approximately 2,500 firefighters fighting this blaze and they are doing a tremendous job along with all of the other first responders and the many volunteers. It's nice to see the good side of people. Approximately 115,000 acres have burned in the Thomas fire and Ojai is still in peril as it is surround by fire. North Ventura was hit on the periphery and stopped when it hit the western edge so even though many are without homes it could have been worse. I'm really concerned about Ojai as it is still in grave danger. Time for a beer - cheers.
 

grapplesaw

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#17
Dennis I am glad your situation sounds like it is not as peril as yesterday. We went through this last summer with two properties surrounded by fires. Living through this is a live experience one can do without. For thoughs not there Your home being one mile from the fire may be a long way normally but in these fires the reality is it’s only minutes away. We send our best thoughts to you and animals. We will watch what happens and hope no hots spots become active.
Glen
 

orange

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It's pretty serious...there is a report that fire has killed a herd of race horses out that way.

When the flames rush in you can't just haul your horses and cattle out in time, and the authorities want you out of there quickly.

The other problem is that horses try to flee in herds and if they are trapped...
 

VSAT88

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Damn guys, GOD's will from Alabama. Don't see how I can help much but we do have a big driveway and back yard that can fit a caravan/camper. No shit and no charge. Phenix City Alabama 36867 . If needed PM me. Not kidding.
 

orange

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yeah, I saw a picture and the account of the lady who was trying to save her horse while freeing the others, those poor creatures had no chance :(
 
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