hi bert,
hope you and your family make it through the ordeal okay. great reporting
on your part.
cheers,
jerry
On Sat, May 4, 2013 at 2:42 AM, Chris Dimmock <austin.healey@gmail.com>wrote:
> Hi Bert,
> i was only just reading about the fire this afternoon here in Sydney
> Australia
>
> http://mobile.news.com.au/world-news/california-wildfire-doubles-in-size/stor
> y-fndir2ev-1226635036811
>
> My prayers are with you and your family, good luck and hope it all goes
> well
> for everyone involved. I grew up near a National Park in Sydney, and it
> never
> got as bad for us as you have described.
> Sincerely.
> Chris
>
> On 04/05/2013, at 3:33 PM, Bert Van Brande <bertvanbrande@yahoo.com>
> wrote:
>
> > It's been a crazy couple days... it all started with a careless driver
> tossing
> > a cigaret out of a car on the 101 at the Conejo incline yesterday
> morning at
> a
> > moment when we had Santa-Anna winds. These winds come from the north-east
> > inland and as they speed up through the canyons they heat up.
> Temperatures
> > rose yesterday by 20-30 degree Fahrenheit and humidity dropped from 80%
> to
> > single digit. In no time this fire spread to Camarillo and the Dos
> Vientos
> > community in Newbury Park where the Sycamore Canyon Elementary and Middle
> > school and the high-school needed to be evacuated. So my wife picked up
> > Benjamin and Helena and brought a couple friends to our house to shelter
> until
> > things cleared on the other side of the community. No houses were lost
> due
> to
> > amazing fire crews.
> >
> > From there the fire raced down to the pacific ocean about
> > 8 miles away. On the way down the California State University Channel
> Islands
> > needed to be evacuated. This used to be a Mental institution (nothing
> > changed, right?) and rumored to be the Hotel California from that same
> Eagles
> > song. ...You can check in every time of day but you can never leave...
> By
> > night time the fire reached the ocean and started to spread east towards
> > Malibu and threatened the Pt Mugu Naval base.
> >
> > Late morning the winds turned
> > from NE to SW and the fire now headed straight back to our home. It was
> > moving away from us the day before. I raced back from work to make sure
> > everyone was ok and that we were prepared. A dark ominous cloud came
> right
> > over us and ashes started to rain down. The air was barely breathable. My
> son
> > Alex came over to help and we closed all vents with aluminum flashing and
> foil
> > tape. This is where glowing embers usually get sucked into attics. I
> called
> a
> > tow company and my Austin-Healey BN2 "Work in Progress" was brought to a
> safe
> > spot.
> >
> > With our important documents ready in a plastic box, our photo albums,
> > external hard-drive and some necessities we were ready to go on an
> instant.
> > The fire had reached the west side of Hidden Valley right behind us. This
> > valley is home to some celebrities like Tom Selleck and Chris Rock. Sean
> > Connery is selling his ranch there and Britney Spears live on the east
> side
> of
> > this valley! There are a lot of huge ranches in Hidden Valley and our
> > ex-neigbor trains thorougbred jumpers there. This is just over the hill
> > behind us probably just half a mile away. Late pm West Hidden Valley was
> > under voluntary evacuation, people and horses were brought into safety
> but
> > again no houses lost.
> >
> > And then late afternoon the wind kept turning to a
> > south wind and slowed down, this breeze brought cold air from the ocean
> and
> > humidity. And so this dark cloud started to drift away and the fire
> started
> to
> > somewhat subside. The firefighters are focussing their efforts now around
> > Yerba Buena road in Malibu but we could still see spot fires on nearby
> hills
> > so things are not completely over yet. It can be 10 days or so before
> it's
> all
> > clear and the fire called 100% contained. About an hour ago firemen are
> > setting controlled fires on the ridge right above us to clear away the
> "fuel".
> > My family is still in stand-by but we're all safe and as much prepared as
> we
> > can be.
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--
jerry wall BN6
rowlett, tx
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