Received evacuation order for our cabin (CA fires)

Chew Toy McCoy

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We don’t live there year around but since my parents retired they spend about half the year there. My grandfather built it in the 40’s (permits-shmermits, all you needed was a rough concept, some tools, and beer) and we’ve put a lot of time, money, and love into upgrading and remodeling it over the years while still keeping the cabin aesthetic and feel. (I hate when people say they have a cabin and by every measurable standard it’s a modern house that just happens to be located in the wilderness)

The area is under threat from the Dolan fire in NorCal east of Monterey. We received the evacuation order earlier today. I hope they are being a little overly cautious because there is only 1 main road in and out of the area. There’s a permanent fire house and station about a mile from our cabin and in the past firefighters have used the property our cabin is on for a camp as well as getting water from the river. So they are well aware of the cabins on the property and trying to protect them.

I’m just wondering if we are going to have to go through this crap every year now with climate change. I’m about 3 hours north of our cabin and the sky has been a sickening dark orange all day from a completely different forest fire. It’s been like an all-day eclipse.
 

Eric

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My son in Oregon, a friend in LA are also both facing level 1 (prepare) evacuation orders. Many here in the central valley are facing the same, depending on location. My friend sent me these from San Francisco a couple of hours ago, keep in mind this is midday down there. Right now a huge swath of the west coast is on fire.

Greenshot 2020-09-09 13.24.03.png
 

Chew Toy McCoy

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My son in Oregon, a friend in LA are also both facing level 1 (prepare) evacuation orders. Many here in the central valley are facing the same, depending on location. My friend sent me these from San Francisco a couple of hours ago, keep in mind this is midday down there. Right now a huge swath of the west coast is on fire.

View attachment 406

Yeah it’s like scary dark in the middle of the day and we’re not really near the fires. On the plus side it seems to have crushed the expected heatwave, ironically. It’s a comfortable high 60s outside.
 

Chew Toy McCoy

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I got a photo from a friend in Oregon earlier. Totally orange. Totally surreal.

SoCal is pretty infamous for their hills burning down every year, so much so that The Onion did an article interviewing homeowners talking about how they are going to rebuild a house that will burn to the ground even faster next year, but this year does seem its more of an entire west coast issue.
 

Eric

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Please do be extra careful. The fire can move unbelievably fast from what I hear. I read a story yesterday about a kid and his grandmother who were trapped and died. It can happen just like that.
You hear about this sort of thing happening quite a bit around here unfortunately. My friend who works in law enforcement worked search and rescue in Paradise (one of the towns leveled from fires) and the stories he told about how they found bodies of those trying to hide is just terribly sad.

You're right, they move swiftly and creep up on neighborhoods and often with little to no notice. Fire fighters are so overwhelmed right now that they're unlikely to show up if something pops up in your area as well, so you really have to be your own advocate.

There's a hilltop close by that I've driven to for the last few nights before bed where I can see for miles in any direction (although still limited due to the smoke), just to keep an eye out for anything that may be coming. These things wipe out entire neighborhoods in a period of hours.
 

Chew Toy McCoy

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The people who have a cabin close to ours have an outdoor security camera that faces our cabin. They sent us a picture this morning and so far so good.
 

Eric

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The people who have a cabin close to ours have an outdoor security camera that faces our cabin. They sent us a picture this morning and so far so good.
Glad to hear that.

There's a house in Detroit, Oregon that is owned and shared by members of my son's mom's side of the family that burned to the ground, along with much of the town. He's really bummed out right now, he spent nearly every weekend there.

 

Chew Toy McCoy

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Our cabin area has been downgraded from evacuation order to evacuation warning. :) At one point earlier in the week they even had firefighters on the property running hoses to the river to protect the structures.
 

Althea

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There's been some amazing photos from the city that have come out of this thing.
I'm sure. Not unlike NYC during the lockdown. There were deer cruising on Broadway.

The smoke from the fires is in NY in the upper atmosphere. Clear days look very hazy. We don't have blue skies.
 

Alli

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I'm sure. Not unlike NYC during the lockdown. There were deer cruising on Broadway.

The smoke from the fires is in NY in the upper atmosphere. Clear days look very hazy. We don't have blue skies.

My son noted the same thing in Brooklyn.
 
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