jasperfanatic
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2019
Posts: 463
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Post by jasperfanatic on Sept 9, 2020 14:30:52 GMT -5
It appears 2020 wants to make sure it wears out the words "unprecedented" and the phrase "once in a generation". First day back after Labor Day sure took an "unprecedented" turn... As of right now I'm about 3 blocks from the boundary of a "Must Go" evacuation order. This is from 8:00am this morning, couldn't tell that the sun came up at my house.  8am by Kevin, on Flickr And this is from 11:00am. Poor confused crickets are going to chirp themselves to death.  11am by Kevin, on Flickr Here's a sequence of videos from yesterday heading home from a neighboring town only 15 miles away. There were no clouds in the sky, it's all smoke. The whole thing is surreal, and if I never smell a campfire again it will be OK with me  |
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Post by miket on Sept 9, 2020 14:35:09 GMT -5
Wow. Take care, hope everything turns out ok for you! Yeah, 2020 is a banner year.  |
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Post by rockjunquie on Sept 9, 2020 15:53:12 GMT -5
Yeah, what Mike said. Be careful out there!
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Post by greig on Sept 9, 2020 16:44:19 GMT -5
Surreal. The morning pictures were beautiful, if you didn't know the related devastation. I was around some fires in British Columbia, but none were as bad as that and mostly in unpopulated areas. The fear was being caught on a dead end mountain road that looked safe the day before and then overtakes you at night. I feel for all of those affected.
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Sept 9, 2020 17:40:28 GMT -5
Holy crap! Please be safe and get out if you need to. Make sure you have all your important stuff in your bug out bag and ready to go (don't forget it)!
Praying the fire doesn't get any closer to you.
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Post by jasoninsd on Sept 9, 2020 21:28:28 GMT -5
It's one thing to see the pictures on TV. It's another thing to know online community members are going through it. And it's another thing completely to be going through it personally! Thoughts and prayers to ALL who are being affected! I hate to wish for time to race...but the sooner 2020 becomes 20/20 hindsight, the better!
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Post by rockpickerforever on Sept 9, 2020 21:56:28 GMT -5
jasoninsd , I think we all pretty much are feeling that way about 2020. I posted this in the cave recently, will bring it out to share -  We are all ready for 2020 to bite the dust. Probably shouldn't mention it, but the way this year is going, maybe that asteroid due to pass close to Earth just before the elections will be a direct hit, and put us all out of our misery. Been one of those kinds of years...
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Post by oregon on Sept 9, 2020 22:24:47 GMT -5
Today's Satellite imagery. Winds hardly EVER blow east to west around here. Down slope river canyons exploded in many places. Too many, too big to fight...
all wildfire smoke, no clouds. Ignition points on the right, smoke & Fires traveling towards the west.
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Post by taylor on Sept 9, 2020 22:33:52 GMT -5
Please, please let 2021 be better!
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Sept 10, 2020 17:31:55 GMT -5
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jasperfanatic
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2019
Posts: 463
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Post by jasperfanatic on Sept 12, 2020 15:09:22 GMT -5
Thanks for checking on me, Robin! I ended up having to evacuate on Thursday, 9/10 after the level 3 mandatory order came through as I live in one of the two larger small-towns most threatened by the biggest fires, but gratefully my town is less threatened than the other with the fire being 4 miles out versus .5 a mile for the other. Though not ideal, the weather has been cooperating enough for crews to start making progress in halting the advance and a little rain is forecast starting on Monday. The sheer size of the fires is amazing, last I heard it was around 350,000 acres between these two particular fires. For those interested in that type of stuff, this is the map I've been following the most - CalTopo map I'm hopeful we'll get cleared to go home early next week. I'm super fortunate, many have lost all. I've spent my entire life crawling up and down the woods and mountains that are now ash and probably won't live long enough to really see it rebound, but I know someday it will. From the ashes begin anew. I've seen some amazing stories of community members coming together, which offers at least some feeling of hope for the future, but sadly the toxic political climate and conspiracy theories have been pervasive throughout...I'm old enough to have lived through other challenging times (gratefully) and have never seen that occur before. Not trying to be political at all, but I sure hope we Americans can find a way to work together for the greater good, in my opinion that was always the main thing that made this country great. I know there are others from Oregon on the board, I hope you are all safe wherever it is your roots are planted...meanwhile, I'm Googling "How to perform a rain dance" |
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Post by rockpickerforever on Sept 12, 2020 15:34:30 GMT -5
I've spent my entire life crawling up and down the woods and mountains that are now ash and probably won't live long enough to really see it rebound, but I know someday it will. From the ashes begin anew. I've seen some amazing stories of community members coming together, which offers at least some feeling of hope for the future, but sadly the toxic political climate and conspiracy theories have been pervasive throughout...I'm old enough to have lived through other challenging times (gratefully) and have never seen that occur before. Not trying to be political at all, but I sure hope we Americans can find a way to work together for the greater good, in my opinion that was always the main thing that made this country great. I know there are others from Oregon on the board, I hope you are all safe wherever it is your roots are planted...meanwhile, I'm Googling "How to perform a rain dance" |
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Post by pauls on Sept 12, 2020 16:28:20 GMT -5
Stay safe people.
I wish I could say I don't know what it would be like, but as an Aussie I really do know.
I am too old now to go off fighting fires but I have had plenty of experience of this sort of thing, and they are getting much much worse each year. I understand California burns, same as Victoria my home state they have always burned, but to see places that should be damp forests and even rainforests burn for the first time ever is scary stuff.
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Post by rockpickerforever on Sept 12, 2020 16:53:52 GMT -5
Short of doing a bonafide rain dance, I have found the best way to get the skies to open up and give us liquid sunshine is to wash my dirty, filthy car. It may go a year (or more!) Between washes, but the moment I wash it, it will rain, lol.
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Sept 12, 2020 18:34:25 GMT -5
jasperfanatic glad to hear you're safe. Hopefully, rockpickerforever will wash her car and all of you on the left coast will get a good drenching (and maybe even send a little out this way).
Continued prayers for all of you out there dealing with the fires!
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Post by rockpickerforever on Sept 12, 2020 20:33:42 GMT -5
And the hits still keep coming... Robin, I think I will put off the car bath for a little while. Seems I am having some electrical issues, would rather not add water to the equation right now.
First, the turn signals started blinking rapidly, signifying a burnt out bulb. But no blinker bulbs were burnt out. Hmm. Then they started functioning normally. The next day, the engine died and wouldn't restart while it was on my driveway. Opened the hood, and just took a gander at it. Didn't see anything out of the ordinary, but then, this 2005 Chrysler Pacifica has a transverse engine (sits sideways), and I've never worked on it myself.
Before I shut the hood, I turned the key, and it started. Yippee! No issues since, and that was a week ago.
Then I had a lowbeam headlamp bulb burn out. Looked in the owner's manual in the glove box to get the bulb number. I replaced them both a couple years ago. Went into Walmart to get a bulb, went to install it this afternoon.
I removed the light housing from the car, and I could see the bulb number stamped on the back. I bought the wrong bulb, H1 instead of H7. OMG, what's wrong with me? But the bulb didn't appear to be burnt out.
While it was apart, I could see little footprints and poops on top of the engine, and around the engine compartment. We've had a squirrel in the yard for six months now, it comes around when we put seed out for the birds. He has been up under the car, making himself at home. So it would be perfectly logical that that little mf'er could be chewing on the wires. I looked, but only saw feet prints and fresh poops, no gnawed wire.
Put everything back together, started the engine, shut it off, shut the hood, put my tools away, came in the house, called it done for today. Will drive it cyclops in the dark Monday 6am going to my dad's, pick up a correct bulb, and give it a try again Monday afternoon.
It's always something, ain't it? But, ya know, as bad as it gets, it can always be worse...
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Sept 12, 2020 20:38:24 GMT -5
Oh man, Jean, squirrels and pack rats .... GRRRRR!
No water until you make sure all your wires are good.
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Post by rockpickerforever on Sept 13, 2020 18:34:33 GMT -5
And now for some good news on the car headlight situation... Went out and got the correct (H7) bulb, came home and installed it. Success, it works, won't be a cyclops tomorrow morning. When I took out the non-functional bulb, I could indeed see it was burnt out. So hopefully, no squirrel-chewed wires anywhere. But on the way home, the blinkers did do a jig once or twice. Will be keeping an eye/ear on it for a while. Cars, a love/hate relationship. Second good news, the Valley Fire is at 79% containment and rising. Crews are still keeping an eye on hot spots.  Won't be long now!!!! |
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Sept 13, 2020 20:53:10 GMT -5
Good news on both fronts for a change! Glad to hear that fire is finally getting under control.
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Post by rockpickerforever on Sept 13, 2020 22:17:12 GMT -5
87% contained as of an hour ago.  On Monday morning, California Interagency Incident Management Team 15 and CAL FIRE will be transitioning the fire back to a Cleveland National Forest Type 3 Team. After more than a week, the fire's just about concluded. A little more mop up, and soon they're be nothing left to do but the paperwork, and paying the bills. For the folks that lost their homes, the nightmare of dealing with insurance companies and bureaucrats is just starting. |
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