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Online Fire Tracking?
goatbar asks: "Being in San Diego, it is really frustrating to see the lack of information to the public about where the fires are. It seems such a simple thing to have an application where people can add info as to when and where there are fires. We would love to know when it's safe to go home, but with 3 TV stations out, it's hard to know. Seems like basic disaster service, right?"
This doesn't do much good in San Diego, but for readers further north in Los Angeles County, this site has a lot of helpful info on the Grand Prix fire . It seems to be updated pretty frequently, too.
I'm in san Diego, and all of my TV stations are working just fine. AM radio is doing just fine as well. All of the local news stations have a ton of info on their websites. Check the city's site for info. Call the number they set up just for that purpose (619-570-1070). There is no shortage of info.
Incidently, check my journal for my thoughts on the fire.
Yoda of Borg am I! Assimilated shall you be! Futile resistance is, hmm?
There are a few web pages with live satellite imagery of the fire area. This one shows the entire state of California, including both current fires and old burns. You can see the activity around San Diego quite clearly.
3 00 _0700.jpg
http://activefiremaps.fs.fed.us/archive/cgb2003
From the site: "MODIS Active Fire Mapping Program
Welcome to the USDA Forest Service Remote Sensing Applications Center's (RSAC) MODIS Active Fire Mapping web site. Here you will find information on current large fires, active fire maps, and fire imagery as seen by the MODIS instrument on board NASA's EOS satellites, Terra & Aqua."
Also, the San Diego Union Tribune has a lot of good information at http://www.signonsandiego.com/ I think checking the web site of the local newspaper is probably the best way to keep up to date. They has links to lists of evacuated areas that are cleared for people to return.
James
My pictures of the Old Fire burning north of San Bernardino. These were taken Saturday night and Sunday Morning (Day 2 of that blaze burning).
The majority of the pictures are taken from Strawberry Peak which is in between Running Springs and Crestline.
Linkage
I actually had a working photo gallery up with all the pics and descriptions, but it crapped out earlier today. Will try to get it back up and running...
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/Ar chive/Oct2003/California_fc.TMOA2003299_lrg.jpg
A friend of mine living near the Simi Valley fire... (He's gonna love getting slashdotted...)
This sig intentionally left justified.
My friend (he lives in Poway -- about 5 miles from where the fire was last night) went out with a buddy and took some pictures in his area Sunday night. The one with the purple flames is my favorite. (BTW, that web site -- a hobby of his -- is in no way safe for work; as long as you don't go up to the parent directory you should be fine.)
I live about 10-12 miles from the Cedar fire, in Rancho Penasquitos. There's ash everywhere, and the sun was orange today (I heard from a friend downtown who couldn't even see the sun). Traffic has been really light, and it's been generally spooky outside. I stayed up all last night waiting for the helicopters announcing the evacuation. They never came, but I wouldn't have been able to sleep anyway.
As far as preparations? My wife and I both have overnight bags packed and waiting to go. There's another backpack that has all our contact info (insurance, banks, etc.) in it, as well as our passports, birth certificates, etc. We've been meaning to get a safe deposit box for years now, but haven't. In the garage by the door I have a "portable" earthquake kit (basically a bunch of crap in crates) with 15 gallons of water, a couple cases of MREs, first aid kit, a water purification pump, blankets, gloves, chemical flashlights, batteries for the GPS and radio, and so on waiting to go. I've got a bag of food and a leash for the dog, face masks, a bag of pistols, and some ammo. In with the ammo is one of the hard drives from my home file server's RAID1 array. All that fits in my 4Runner. I think.
In getting all that ready to go yesterday, I realized that we'd have to leave a whole lot of stuff behind, but we'd at least be safe and reasonably well stocked. It's somewhat comforting. Even still, it's surreally depressing to be preparing to be a refugee in the U.S. in the 21st century. I don't think I'll forget this feeling for a while.
-B
Ash and Hickory, straight-grained and true, make excellent bludgeons, dandy for the cudgeling of vegetarians.
Up in Los Angeles, I have similar interests in what is going on. Here are some links...
Broad overview by the National forest Service
Excellent PDF of California, updated more than daily
Satellite imagery (Forest Service, very amazing)
More satellite imagery (NOAA, false colored with fires highlighted)
National Interagency Fire Centers wildfire reports
Interactive (zoomable) airspace restrictions map
And this is just the tip of the iceberg/what I happened to bookmark.
Anm