Reply #18: I have not gotten to watch coverage as of yet.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

the winds are kicking up and it's growing. Another complication is that some of the fires could connect, there are apparently a couple more I hadn't followed. The one in Santa Clarita (Simi Valley) has the potential to connect with the one in Ventura.

I am not clear of the water issue yet. We are well into a draught. I don't know if they are relying on ocean water and scoops for any of it yet.

Here is an update from the LA Times:

Wildfires Destroy More Than 200 Homes
Thousands Evacuate as Flames Scorch 50,000 Acres

Wildfires driven by winds and high temperatures burned out of control Saturday in the San Bernardino Mountains, triggering firestorms that destroyed more than 200 homes in foothill suburbs and forced the evacuation of thousands of residents from San Bernardino to Rancho Cucamonga.

Stoked by Santa Ana winds that knocked firefighters off their feet and grounded water-dropping helicopters and airplanes, scattered fires covered more than 50,000 acres from Ventura to San Diego counties and raised a ceiling of thick black smoke that spread ash for miles. In all, more than 4,000 firefighters were deployed and more than 13,000 homes threatened.







Two San Bernardino men were reported dead, apparently from heart attacks, Saturday—one as he tried to evacuate and another as he watched his house burn. They were identified as James W. McDermith, 70, and Charles Cunnigham, 93. Firefighters searched smoldering homes overnight for residents who might have failed to escape.

Firefighters, who had already labored for days in triple-digit temperatures, faced their gravest challenge Saturday in the foothills of the San Bernardino Mountains just east of the 215 Freeway.

Cyclones of embers tore through the historic San Bernardino neighborhood of Del Rosa, setting dozens of houses ablaze. Flames leapt from building to building along cul-de-sacs on the edge of the foothills, as palm and pine trees exploded in flames. As residents fled, some homeowners ignored the order, wrapped towels over their faces and attempted to save their homes with garden hoses.

"Today we have bad news and worse news," San Bernardino County Deputy Fire Chief Dan Worl told a group of fire evacuees. "We just don't have any place to contain this fire."

The blaze, 50 miles east of Los Angeles, spread rapidly along two fronts and late Saturday threatened to burn explosively dry forests devastated by drought and bark beetles. By 9:40 p.m., a separate fire in Crestline had prompted mandatory evacuations of Twin Peaks, Blue Jay and Crestline communities and closed Highway 330, the route to Big Bear, to all traffic. Federal officials Saturday closed the San Bernardino National Forest to all visitors.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-fires26oct26,1,4891037.story?coll=la-home-headlines