Southern California Fires Affecting Battle at the Border

[Jon Jack]

As I'm sure many of you are already aware there are several major fires burning in Southern California.

San Diego is being hit very hard by several of these fires. So far teams 1622 (Team Spyder from Poway, CA), 2029 (Team Sevnet from Ramona, CA) and two other 'pre-rookie' teams from Ramona are in areas that have been affected by these fires. Two (I-8 and I-15) of the three (I-5, I-8, and I-15) major interstates in San Diego have been closed, and a chance that the third could be closed by the end of the week. Having two interstates closed will make it difficult for teams to come to Battle at the Border and if the third were to close while the event is going on it would essentially trap all the traveling teams in San Diego indefinitely.

I have to say sadly that if the conditions continue to worsen we will have to postpone and possibly cancel the event. We will make a final decision Wednesday night as to the future of Battle at the Border 2007.

[Madison]

Good luck down there. I've been watching the KNSD news feed all day and it's just a mess all over southern California. Nobody is going to sweat the loss of the event.

[Jon Jack]

Here's another update for all interested:

We have heard from one family on 1622 and they have been evacuated and are safe. We haven't heard from the others. No word from any of our Ramona teams, but Ramona was hit very hard last night and early this morning.

There has been a voluntary evacuation for an area just 2-5 miles from 1527's school. The voluntary evacuation could turn into a mandatory evacuation at any time.

As for my team (1538) we have fair pretty well considering our members are scattered all over San Diego County. So far we know of only two members (one of our drivers and one of our directors) that have had to be evacuated. From what we've heard our and his family are safe and their home is still standing. As for one of our directors, she is in Indiana and her family had to be evacuated. They do not know the status of their house.

Right now there are about 7-8 teams being threatened by these fires. In total there are 8 fires burning in San Diego County. We've only heard from the team's I've listed above.

[synth3tk]

That's awful. Praying your conditions get better. You gotta do what you gotta do...

[Zyik]

I have family down there that has evacuated. I hope none of you are hurt. Good luck with your event.

[ChuckDickerson]

Please continue to keep us all informed when possible. You are all in my thoughts and prayers. Please stay safe. I dare say the event is the least of your worries.

[Jon Jack]

To all,

Still no new word from the teams north in Poway and Ramona. Some of the video coming out of that area is not looking good. It has just been reported that several new structures have just caught fire in these areas. Let's hope for the best all those in that area.

As for my team... The director who is in Indiana still does not know the status of her house. Last I heard from her, the fire is directly closing in on her house in three directions. Our driver and his family are safe and some other members who live in the outlying areas of San Diego County are safe, but they could be evacuated by the end of the night or morning. We also have another mentor and close friend of mine lives in an area that is being closed in by the evacuation calls.

Several members of team 1527 have been evacuated, I have no new information from them.

We will be having a meeting tomorrow morning around 8:30 PST to discuss the future of Battle at the Border. I would not expect that the event happen this year. Perhaps we can postpone it, we shall see.

The major fire in the area, the 'Witch Fire' has burned over 145,000 acres and has destroyed over 600 homes and hundreds of commercial buildings. In total there are 12 fires covering over 512 square miles. All schools, colleges and universities are closed. The Mayor has asked that no one go to work and everyone stay off the roads whenever possible just to keep the roads clear for emergency workers. Over 250,000 people have been evacuated, that is roughly 20% of the population of San Diego County. All city services have been shutdown until further notice.

On a personal note, a friend of the family is a Captain for a local fire department and mother to twins. She went on her 24 hour shift at 6am Sunday morning. The fires started around 11am-12pm Sunday and shortly after the fires started it was reported that a female fire captain was severely burned and that she was put in an induced coma at a local hospital. We have no update from her since she went on duty. We are anxiously waiting for word from her or her family.

[DanDon]

Jon, thank you for keeping us all up-to-date. It is greatly appreciated. My thoughts and prayers are with your family friend and everyone in the area.

Looking forward to more updates,
--dan

[AdamHeard]

Wow, any news on how it was started?

Good luck to all.

[Jeff K.]

San Diego is being hit the hardest, and good and you're still okay Jon.
They're not exactly sure how they started, but it could be just from the wind as the root of different events, and it also being one of the driest years doesn't help. These started around Saturday and could be from the Santa Ana winds. They were overall pretty intense, some hurricane status winds. Last time I checked though there are 17 fires, 21 including the 4 that were contained. These go from a bit north of Santa Barbara down to the border and from the ocean to San Bernardino.

[EricH]

Originally Posted by AdamHeard

Wow, any news on how it was started?

Good luck to all.

Depends on what fire. Reading the news, Malibu was downed power lines (suspected), one of the others (OC?) may have been set, a car fire started another...

[Nica F.]

The fires are scattered throughout Southern California. There were at least 14 fires burning in the SoCal area.

Here's a map of the fires


For more information, you can go to http://cbs2.com/topstories/local_story_295010422.html

Hope you all are doing okay, and hopefully things will get better for the lock in.

[Jon Jack]

That map doesn't even show the 'Witch Fire' burning down here.

[Nica F.]

i figured because for the 14 fires they speak of, there aren't that many being represented on the map. I just assumed they were general areas.

[EricH]

I don't get why Castaic is burning again. I'd have thought the Day Fire last year would have cleared that area out. The same goes for Malibu last winter.