So Sorry for everyone living in the Fire's path.
Hoping to hear it's under control soon.
Iris
----- Original Message -----
From: "jrcrin001" <jrcrin001(a)cox.net>
To: <CARPENTER-L(a)rootsweb.com>
Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2003 9:43 AM
Subject: [CARPENTER] Hello from John R. Carpenter
Hello,
I got home late last night. It was a long 3 days. I am on stand by.
Everything is fine here. My home was on the edge of an evacuation area,
but I was
at work an hour away, so it would not have mattered. We lost
power and have a bit of ash but we are better than the 1300 other famlies
who have lost their homes. Currently my wife is in Arizona. My 17 year old
daughter is staying with friends.
My cousin Chuck either lost his house or had it damaged. He is not yet
allowed
back in. He was able to use a telescope to look in the burnt area.
The street looks totally different now so he is not sure which home is what
from miles away. He was able to evacuate with about 30 minutes warning.
Other immediate family members are okay. My Sister-in-law had to evacuate
but they
were allowed to go back home.
My work was on the other side of the fires. We had 75 mph winds and had
to receive
evacuees from other camps when the wind shifted early Tuesday.
After the wind shifted we got smoke and ash fall. Visibility dropped to
about 100 yards at times. I had to move between dorms several times and
wound up using a mask and my inhaler.
Many staff had to take care of families first or could not get to work due
to the
fire. As it was I just got through myself before one fire jumped the
I-8 Sunday morning. I forgot to reset my clock so I went to work early and
was able to get through.
Many of my coworkers have lost homes or had to evacuate. Many of the
Juvenile
wards in the same boat. We allowed many otgoing phone calls as
possible until the trunk line went down. Our new buried fiber optic line
(for computers, and secure telecom) went out late yesterday when the fire
destroyed a hub location after the wind shifted. We were lucky still
because we had back up generators for electricity when the main lines went
out on Sunday.
To get an idea what the San Diego area is like as viewed by the residents,
go to
the following web page and click on ...
Fire Photos From Viewers, Part I
Fire Photos From Viewers, Part II
or the direct web page at:
http://www.thesandiegochannel.com/index.html
The 7 major San Diego County fires that raced toward the coast with the
Santa Ana
or Devil Winds are mostly contained. Those fires which did not
double back on themselves when the wind shifted are still burning back
toward the mountains. Homes are still being lost, people are still being
evacuated ... just not in the tens of thousands.
I am going to rinse out my eyes once again and go back to bed.
John R. Carpenter
La Mesa, CA USA