Dispatch from a Burning San Diego

Just about two days after wildfires seemingly engulfed all of San Diego County, turning Southern California into a Hell worse than, well, Southern California, FEMA is thinking about showing up, Michael Chertoff is on his way to survey the damage (and not look totally incompetent on television just yet -- though he is a few hours late already), and the National Guard is here. That being said, as of noon on Tuesday, October 23, over 500,000 people that live in San Diego County have been evacuated. Qualcomm Stadium, home of the Chargers, is housing more evacuees than Network Associates Coliseum often plays host to during a Raiders home game. 70mph gusts of wind combined with under 10% humidity has made the three biggest fires 5%, 1% and 0% contained, having burned well over 200,000 acres combined. We're told that that 5% containment, after the fire has blazed for two full days, is great news. The size of all the fires combined is bigger than New York City. Over 1,000 houses have been lost. And, in case you were worried, when it all started, the news coverage focused more on the multi-million dollar homes catching fire than the (then) more deadly fires closest to the Mexican border. How odd.

That being said, the roles have switched, and the fires farther north -- those affecting the more affluent areas -- have merged into one 150,000 acre fire, cutting swaths back and forth throughout the region, revisiting some towns a second time, burning down houses it missed the first go-round. The Santa Ana winds are so strong, choppers have had trouble getting into the air to assess the best way to attack the fires, or drop retardant on the flames. But because (more) fancy mansions might burn down and white dudes might lose their houses, states of emergency are declared, and the president is stopping in on Thursday to tell us that everyone's doing a heck of a job. Until the Feds really mobilize, however, firefighters from up and down the state have hauled ass down to San Diego County to do everything possible. Blackhawks are in the air, doing something useful, or at least keeping the Navy busy.

And yet, near my apartment, over a dozen miles from any of the flames, business as usual. Pizza was delivered, gas tanks were filled, even costumes worn once were returned to Party City before receipts expired (and since when are costumes fifty bucks, anyway?). If it weren't for the thick layer of Pompeiian ash at my feet as I walked from my car to my office in San Diego's South Bay, I could live my life oblivious to the mass disaster around me, perhaps just wondering why the air was a little funny.

But I keep the TV and radio on as long as I am awake. I see and hear the devastation, but I also see and hear, either because of or in spite of the dangers all around us, an outrageous amount of support coming from the San Diego community. People are opening their homes to strangers that need a place to stay. Businesses are opening their parking lots for RVs, horses, and everything else in between. Even that GREAT EVIL Wal-Mart has donated thousands of cots for the displaced. People are calling radio stations informing others where and how to help out -- and people are listening. There has been a steady procession in and out of Qualcomm of civilians dropping off anything they can afford to give. One person, displaced to my couch last night, stated he was almost embarrassed to witness the amount of charity being poured out in the midst of this disaster, considering the Katrina debacle, and all the "snags" that went along with that.

It's nice to see that even if FEMA had decided to sit on its thumbs for three days before stepping foot over here, the residents of San Diego decided to take care of themselves. I had planned on going to Qualcomm myself tonight, yet the radio tells me that they actually have too many donations. There are more volunteers than they know what to do with. I will be taking supplies to another site, where they are announcing they need no more food or water -- too many people have given those necessities. Instead, they are asking for specifics, such as denture cream and sandwich bags. And the beautiful thing is, they'll get all of that. San Diego as a community has banded together, and we're insisting that we don't even need George Bush to care about us, whether or not he arrives on Thursday. With help from the extraordinary efforts of the state's firefighters, the members of the community here will take care of each other.

UPDATE via text message: In the past 20 hours since I wrote my post, the fires have nearly doubled, and the situation has gotten much worse. Anyone with the means is asked to help by donating to the Red Cross.

Comments

[QueenCeleste]

God bless my hometown, San Diego, during this tragedy. I am not surprised by the number of volunteers, contributions, hospitality, et al. It is not called "America's Finest City" for nuthin'! May all of the evacuees get home soon and safely. I am devastated for those who lost their houses. It is just heartbreaking to watch families sifting through rubble in hopes of finding a few posessions. And may the insurance procedures be swift and hassle free.

[rbdavid]

We tried to return to our house in the Westwood subdivision of Rancho Bernardo on Wednesday afternoon but were turned away by police and national guard. The cops manning the line said they needed the area clear because George Bush was going to be visiting. Thank you, George!

[rc2250]

Thank Bush that our service men are safe and sound in Iraq and are spared the horrible fires. Halliburton is looking into the situation in California for President Bush and is coming up with a plan for rebuilding contingent upon retroactive immunity for pass fraud and accounting creativity in Iraq. They are promising a freebie for this one, on the house, so to speak. Just a little something for Christmas.

Halliburton wants to get in on the "ground" floor for the mud slide season coming up next spring. With all the fires taking the ground anchor away, it should be a encore rebuilding extravaganza! WE are talking BIG money here to rebuild, and in an election year, there is no limit to off budget money to throw at the problem.

Got to hand it to President Bush, he knows how to reward loyalty!

At least the foreclosure problem is going to be solved. Those folks in California sure know how to fix a problem. So creative! Those idiots in Michigan and Ohio would have never thought of something like this...

[doctormark]

I would like to point out that San Diego County voters had the opportunity to approve a bond issue that would have provided improved fire protection for the county following the massively destructive Cedar Fire.

Voters defeated this bond measure. Unfortunately, too many Californians don't want to pay any taxes, but they get upset when they find that their fire departments are understaffed and under-equipped.

[connorin]

Points of interest:

-Katrina: Why didn't Bush go there sooner; CA fires: Why is he coming...make up you freakin' minds

- No matter what you Dimwits think...Bush is not a King...he is not responsible for every single decision in this country in the event of an emergency...the local leaders are responsible for their local area...plus budgets are passed or not by Congress (the opposite of pro-gress especially with their current 11% approval rating), if there is money to come from the federal government to help prevent these kinds of things...blame your lawmakers who didn't ask for or didn't approve of funding...whoops, my two year old fell down on the patio...BUSH IS TO BLAME...why didn't he spend money to make patios out of rubber...where is he at this time of crisis when my child is hurt

- Hey Reid, Boxer, Lt gov of CA...how about we help the people in dire need first...THEN politicize it...BTW 85% of the CA nat Gaurd is still in CA and waiting to be called...90 or more planes are waiting to be called on too...but 100 mph winds plays havoc with those darn things trying to spread water...

PS: if the conservationists would let the land be cleared or at least have access ways in...this could have been not as bad

[quetzalfan]

Nice job of twisting the facts. First, Bush presented his budget to the Republican controlled Congress until this past year. Sorry, the blame for screwed up funding clearly lands on Repubicans (sic) shoulders.

Second, just stop with the Conservationists are to blame argument. I've heard it for years in Montana too. But it has quieted down a lot over the last two years, since some of the most intense fires have been on cleared lands. Somehow, it seems that brush that stands several feet high burns very hot and intense too.

[connorin]

look who's twisting the truth...many of the fires over the last several years have been in areas either overgrown or full of dead trees and brush

oh and Bush was in charge of California's budget? and or ZERO Dims voted to pass any of W's budgets? Why didn'T Clinton/Gore satiate the people of CA with funds when they were in office? Oh right, CA didn't have wildfires when they were in office

[tralfas]

Why do you all insist on blaming someone for these fires? Why do you insist on the federal government being there to prevent the disaster, which is impossible, and then solve it after it occurs? Face the facts. SoCal, were I lived for 25 years, is a desert. October is hot and windy. Alway has, always will be. Houses were lost not because of government, but because people built houses in a fire zone. Guess what, people know that and still want to live there b/c the weather and scenery are great. In fact, there is a bit of pioneer pride in living in California and always being subject to disasters. Same thing in Florida. Stop blaming gov't and instead marvel at how people in San Diego opened up their homes, kitchens, and pocket books to help their neighbors.

[cynara]

Well said. While there is always room for improvement, I thought the overall response was excellent. We have to remember, in San Diego alone, the firefighters were battling up to 8 fires at once in 50+ per hour winds. To expect them to prevent all damages would be asking way too much. Anywhere you live there is a risk of a natural disaster, ours occured, and the response was orderly, thorough and well-planned.

[politicky]

Why are people comparing this to Katrina?

It's very hard to drive people and supplies through 5 to eight feet of water, and over downed trees and wet downed power lines.

[ariuszme]

I understand the comparison, but it's out of ignorance most likely. I don't think people understand how katrina was much different. 1st of all, katrina was much larger square mile wise, and yes there was the water that didn't discipate for a long time. But the square mileage was great and far, 100's of miles..

In San Diego neighboring cities, communites are helping, but in Katrina, the neighboring communities and towns were also under water. Also, a huge factor is electricity. There was no electricity at the stadium where everyone gathered during katrina. Sewage backed up, phones were down , and streets for miles were blocked by mud and/or water.

technically, there's just no comparison to be made here. It doesn't matter how you look at it. Bush and his incompetent administration failed in New Orleans and to this day there's hardly anything been done, and what's done has been by donations and volunteers, not our gov.

We have the most corrupt and incompetent administration in history. They went to war based on a lie, INTENTIONALLY, to profit and to line the pockets of their corporate backers.

There's no argument or discussin to be had here, facts are facts.

Let Bush send money to help those hit by the fire, and he should stay away, and Fox Snooze and MSNBC should both STFU and stop going on and on 24/7 about how wonderfully Bush and Fema handled this fire in San Diego.

Sad that with cable and all the channels we all have, that we are left to nothing but CNN for half competent news media. Without them and their half ass job, we'd have nothing but right wing pimping of Faux and MSNBC.

BUSH- stay the f'k away!

[wildbill999]

Bush neeeds to stay in Washington. Just in the way there.

[GalaxieGal]

How long before Barbara comes forward to point out this is working out quite well for those who lost their homes? After all, they would soon be facing a mortgage crisis.

(sorry for duplication, accidentally posted this on anther fire thread).

[eddieinc97]

Nobody could have every expected the levies to break....o­ooops...wr­ong disaster. Your doing a heck of a job Arnie.

[GrendelKhan1]

Remember now, it's not a "disaster", it's an "opportunity". An opportunity to give all our tax money to our corporate friends, because they're the only ones that can save us. Obviously "underfunded", er I mean "socialized" firefighting doesn't work, so let's privatize it. And let's clean out, er I mean clean up, some of these *ahem* run-down neighborhoods, so only our friends can afford them.

I can't wait to see all the garbage the powers that be push thru while we're all reeling from the fire. Good luck Cali! You'll need it, Disaster Capitalism is coming for ya.

[chendri887]

"And, in case you were worried, when it all started, the news coverage focused more on the multi-million dollar homes catching fire than the (then) more deadly fires closest to the Mexican border. How odd."

Despite my disdain for all things conservative, I thought the local media did a balanced job covering the fires. They sent their reporters to numerous locations and tried to move around as those locations became "hot spots." Living in Rancho Penasquitos in North County, where the initial coverage became heavy as the fires moved through the San Pasqual Valley on the second day, I think that it is only logical that the local news focused on these areas since there are so many homes located there. The Harris fire in South Bay stayed less developed areas while the Witch Fire threated to engulf RB. Also, I wouldn't exactly describe the areas receiving heavy coverage on that day as filled with multi-million dollar homes. RB, Poway, and Rancho Penasquitos are all solidly middle class. There are also many renters in these communities. The real multi-million dollar homes in Rancho Santa Fe and Carmel Valley did get some coverage at the end of the second and beginning of third day, as the Witch fires moved there, but I didn't think it was nearly as heavy as the coverage given to the Haris fire and the Witch fire as it moved through more middle class areas.

[snideelf]

Whatever happened to the 747 that was being fitted to dump the largest amount of water or fire retardant on huge fires that was featured once on one of the science channels on cable?

I guess there was no money for that.

Too bad it's more important to fight an unnecessay war and use most of our tax dollars (around 500 billion) going to Chimpy's War and not here to take care of very serious matters here on the domestic front.

[ScottHickoryIsMyPornName]

It's probably down there. I know Calfire has one; it was used up here in the Bay Area to fight the Stevens Creek fire last month.

Remember, they only have one, and the fires are over a huge area.

Agree with you about the war!

[cynara]

I heard two days ago, it was on its way... I assumed its in action by now.

[cynara]

Agree completely. The coverage seemed to be following the damage. The first day it was all rancho bernardo and Ramona (mixed income areas), then it was Rancho Santa Fe (rich) and Chula Vista (lower middle class), then onto Jamul. Today the coverage is back to Rancho Bernardo, which appears to have had the worse damage.

[BartJY]

Can we please impeach both of them now?

[VoodooAndValentine]

Hear Hear.

[PDXTransplant]

The ONLY thing that matters when there is an event such as Tornadoes, Hurricanes, or Fires is the AMERICAN people. We can do more on our own and are more giving than any other country in the world. When people need help WE HELP. No government needed or the red tape that ends up wasting donated money. Billions of dollars are donated to organizations every year, but yet no one knows where it went. I would rather donate straight to the hand that needed it. At least I would know it got there.

[citizenofmars]

So there was Chertoff, standing next to the Governator, sputtering away, stuttering actually. He looked just like a deer in the headlights. All the millions given to DHS, and I ask- "Where are the FEMA kitchens"? Where the hell do those millions go when they go down the DHS rabbitthole to Wonderland?? Heckuva job indeed. Now even the fabled Republicans of Orange County can plainly see what a F*****g JOKE it is to actually depend upon these people to respond ON TIME to disasters. It's all a scam, from 911 to Katrina to this. Bush & his cronies don't give a goddam about the average citizen. Not a crap.

[cynara]

We didn't need FEMA kitchens. In San Diego, they have been telling us for the last three days, that they are no longer accepting donations since all needs were met by hundreds of thousands of donations on day one. I tried to volunteer, but all shelters and relief agencies were flooded with more volunteers than they could handle. San Diego took care of its own, and then some.

[LightningJoe]

I don't know your personal politics, PDX, but the lines you spin are sheer Bush-serving propaganda.

Sure, the people matter, no argument. Sure we help when a brush fire catches up with us. But that is no excuse for a national disaster response framework that does not respond to national disasters.

This administration has been force-feeding the TV audience (that's you, my friend) the line that private interests will somehow "waste" less than government services, whatever they undertake. But that's only true if you accept their MBA premise that profits aren't waste.

If you flip the page on that unstated assumption, you find that they waste MORE BY FAR, if you define waste as money that will never impact the targeted service. Tax money that pays for CEO Caribbean vacations is wasted just as thoroughly as tax money spent on the wrong things by the government itself.

Free market fundies like downsizing government because it kills two of their birds with one stroke: It funnels more tax money into private hands, while lowering government oversight of the spending -- a necessary condition of "freeing" capitol.

And when government "downsizing" is combined with disasters, you get the best of both worlds! California will now be ground zero for privatization schemes that amputate government services by substituting "contractor trees" that don't do the job AND can't be held accountable for it, because all their data is "private."

Hmm, public work resulting in no work and no data to trace it by. That's a win-win.

Oh, it hasn't happened yet, you say? Ever been to New Orleans? Lately?

[doneflyin]

Privatization schemes that follow disasters now all sexed up and called Disaster Capitalism.

Hmmmm, I think that used to be called Carpet Bagging.
See Civil War.

Not so nice nor socially constructive.
But heh, greed is good right?

[Orlando]

There is an additional cost to waging wars of aggression in other parts of the world.
All of the equipment is in Turkey or Iraq.
They had to send for planes from Colorado and North Carolina to fight this fire. IF we had men, material and equipment here we could have done much better for San Diego and New Orleans.
We should be hanging these criminals for treason who lied America into a war of aggression. They have depleted our resources and morality to serve thier corporate masters in the oil business. We have been betrayed.

[Lemeritus]

Orlando, thank you for clearly defining our foreign adventures as "wars of aggression". It's important to remember the Bush Administration chose this path.

[BobK]

I agree! And I can't help but ponder how much it's gonna cost the taxpayers to fly Chimpy out here in his personal 747, assemble his personal entourage of bodyguards and equipment (not to mention interrupting the usual flow of daily doin's) JUST SO he can satisfy himself that Steroid boy's not tryin' to pull a fast one in requesting aid!
"Atta Boy, Arnold! You're doin' a heckuva job with what little there is to work with!
An don't worry, California! We're gonna build it back just like we have in New Orleans!"