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"Ride" Report - OLD

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First and foremost our condolances to those who lost lives, loved ones, or property during this past "Hell Week". There are many who suffered greatly over this tragedy and everyone should do what they can to help.

Also many thanks to the Fire, Rescue, and Police folks who work this catastrophy. Particular thanks to CAL FIRE Siskiyou, Lakeside Fire, and Santa Barbara City Fire - YOU ARE AWESOME!!!

Thanks also to those of you who sent P.M.s and/or called to offer your assistance. Y'all rock!

One particularly haunting image from the news as related to our brothers and sisters here; the back of a couple hugging while examining some smouldering ruins, and the man was wearing an SDAR Desert Dash 2007 T shirt. I don't know who it was, but I hope they're o.k.

We returned from the Superstition race late Sunday afternoon. I had considered leaving the trailer due to the high wind warnings, but when Tommy called and said we had received a rverse 911 call to evacuate due to high winds and fires starting in Potrero, we decided to get home as quickly as we could. On the drive home we encountered an overturned big rig as well as a 1/2 ton truck and travel trailer at the Buckman Springs overpass. We made it through with minimal damage to the toy hauler (some of the siding was "sucked" away on the driver's side), but this was going to be the start af a hair raising week.

I drove the trailer straight to the shop in Lemon Grove to drop it off and we headed to the house to collect posessions. At about 11:00 p.m. we lost power (and it's still out so we're running on a diesel generator, SDGE expects to restore it by Nov. 11!). With most of our prized items safely at the shop I headed back out to monitor the situation. Monday morning I returned to the shop to get the generator, then back to the house to clean-up and prep for arrival of fire. The cops paid us a visit and we assured them we were packing-up to head out (which Ron did) but I stayed behind to wait and see.

Here's what it looked like to the South of us on Monday

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Tuesday at about 03:30 the F.D. arrived and strongly suggested that it was time to go. They assured me that they would do what they could and I heeded their request. I arrived at the shop and was nervous as a long tail cat in a room full of rockers all morning. Then my partner Dave callede around 10:00 and said there was fire about 2 miles south and no F.D. in the valley - That's when I couldn't take it anymore and headed for home.

Here's what it looked like heading into the valley on Tuesday morning. My house is just out of view in the lower left portion of the pic. The house you can see belongs to my nearest neighbor to the south who left behind some 2 dozen cats, more on that later.

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On arrival at the homestead I put in a call to my good friend Guy (PalmAveRider) who owns a water truck service. He's bee through this stuff several times and, after some specific inquiry, assured me that fire would not reach us until late in the afternoon at the earliest. He also advised that he and his brother Jack would be there within an hour with 2 water trucks. I felt much better.

During our game planning session we were visitied by the Campus Police, that's right, I said the Campus Police, who assured us that his 5 years of firefighting experience dictated that we were in immediate danger of losing our lives, my house, and everything else in the path of the approaching "freight train". He said the house would soon reach 1200 degrees fahrenheit (sp?) and spontaneously explode! Guy thanked him for his time and concern and told him he could be on his merry way. Then C.P. asked "What's it gonna take to get you guys to leave?" I replied that a personal guarantee from him of several water drops when the fire reached my home would do it. That's when he headed out...

Here's a view from the front yard looking at the house about 3/4 of a mile South of us

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We drove to the end of our road to check-out the neighbors yard. About an hour after this there were HUGE plumes of thick black smoke coming from this area and I thought the house was gone, thank God I was wrong.

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It was about this time that the Cavalry arrived. A mix of about 2 dozen or more CAL FIRE and city fire trucks from across the state took up positions at all of the homes in our valley. The Sheriff also paid us a visit at the house and asked why we were here. I told him "I built this house with my own hands 20 years ago, and I'm not going through that again..."

Captain Mark (hanging out on my "observation" rock) and Firefighter Jason from Lakeside Fire

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View from the front yard

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PalmAveRider & Me - This one proves I was there...

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The backyard

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The aftermath

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Glad you and the family (and all other SDAR) are getting along

Didn't bug out this time (just sent the vitals away in a trailer), but did during the Cedar... I know where you're coming from, and glad you are ok.

awesome pics btw...

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The house you can see belongs to my nearest neighbor to the south who left behind some 2 dozen cats, more on that later.

You can tell us, he is really raising coyotes and the cats are just food..right? :unsure: Ken

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Glad all is well. It dosnt hurt to know guys with big ass water trucks either. :unsure: Looked like you guys were having way to much fun for being in the middle of a fire. Any pics of the toy box?

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Glad you are okay. I didn't realize fire got to where you are. I didn't even know where you are, anyway :unsure:. But the key thing is that you are still there :blink: .

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You can tell us, he is really raising coyotes and the cats are just food..right? :D Ken

Oh yeah, the CATS! So I goes down the dirt road on Wednesday morning to see what's still standing. On the way back home I spotted a grey cat at the neighbors house. This character has a Cattery (they're English) so I stopped to see wassup :blink: Upon walking around the outside of the locked-up "cathouse", I found that he had left behind a big cat that looked like a leopard, a cross-eyed cat, and a little female cat that was on the south side of the building - the side with MAXIMUM exposure to smoke and fire!!! Well I was pretty pissed to find that this coward would abandon these animals when there was actually plenty of time to get them housed safely. As the week wore on, and upon further investigation, I found that he had a 5th wheel trailer with about 8 cats in it so I decided to break-in to the "cathouse" where I found another DOZEN cats :o !!! I fed and watered them all, as they were completely out, and most of them seemd happy (the Leopard and a pair of wild housecats were PISSED).

All of the cats we've ever kept out there seem to come to an untimely demise. We had on a few years ago that looked like a skunk and lasted for a year so we decided to pay the $150 to get her fixed. Two days later she was invited to Wylie Coyote's $150 a plate charity function and we never saw her again :unsure: We'll see what happens with our latest adoptee... We call her Pele (Hawiian godess of fire and volcanos) :lol:

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Glad to hear ya made it OK Orange. Next time I'm in the area I'll have to pee on your neighbors doorknob for leaving his cats locked up like that.

Thanks for the flashback Aaron. By far the BEST skit comedy show EVER produced.

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