Gap Fire in CA not far from me, in case you were wondering

[martha24]

I’m not sure how many are aware of the Gap fire in California or the fact that it’s not that far from where I live. But I thought I would post this just in case anyone was wondering as the fire is growing in size and probably will get more media attention as it is now the top priority fire in California being that it is closest to more homes than the other California fires.

It started Tuesday evening and has been burning mainly in chaparral that hasn’t burned since 1954, but is getting much closer to homes in all four directions. It started north-west of me and Tuesday night wasn’t that big. I could see it on the mountain by walking a few blocks from my home. By Wed. night it was 5 times as big and by Thursday night it had doubled or tripled again was directly north of me about a mile or 2 from my house in the hills/mountain. Across the street from us was the evacuation line, so we decided it would be wise to pack up just in case as evacuation areas can change at anytime depending on the fire. The sundowner winds, winds blowing off the hills to the ocean, started out really bad on Thursday evening, but fortunately died early. By 2am I could feel cool winds blowing from the ocean. I can still see parts of the fire from my house, but it isn’t nearly as bad as Thursday night. The fire has continued to expand especially east & west burning the chaparral in rough terrain, as there aren’t any good places to put fire lines until it gets closer to homes. Last night there were just over a 1,000 firefighters here and there more coming in. There are now 20 aircraft dumping water & fire retardant on the fire. 8,357 acres as of this morning have been burnt and the fire is now 24% contained. Fortunately no houses have been burnt so far, but there are many still in danger. Hopefully the firefighters will be able to protect them. I’m still waiting for the fire to be contained north of me before I totally unpack the cars, as weather & winds can always change for the worse. I unpacked my computer this morning or you wouldn’t be hearing from me.

[Dean in Eureka, CA]

Martha,
I'm so glad to hear that you guys are OK.
I read about the evacuations yesterday, then realized it was where you lived. I posted my concerns for your safety in another thread and Gage let me know that you and David were alright.
I just read that hot dry weather is expected for this coming week, so I sure hope they get a handle on that one sometime this weekend.
We're keeping you guys in our thoughts and prayers...
Thanks for taking the time to check in.

[Gage]

Hello Martha. Glad to here you guys are alright. Our sister drove by the other day checking on ya and then called me. I had told the board (on another thread) that you guys were ok right now but the way the fire was moving, there was concern.

[martha24]

I missed that thread, on Friday my computer was still in the car.
Providing there aren't some major sundowner winds which aren't in the forecast, we should be fine. From what I've seen of past fires around here, with the right winds things can change in a hurry.
This afternoon they have let some people go home to the north-west of me, but straight north and north-east are still all evacuated. This fire has really changed a lot from day to day and sometimes hour to hour.
I was out just for a little while Thursday evening and when I left home everything looked fine. Trying to come home just over an hour latter I was lucky to get home and had to sneak past a barrier on a little road by my house as the main road I live on was totally closed down at main intersections with road blocks guarded by cops, all in less than 2 hours.
All day yesterday there was hardly a car on the road in front of my house and only this afternoon does it seem to be returning closer to normal. As the main road from the local high school, now fire command center there have been lots of fire equipment & police cars zooming by.
I must say it is great to see how they can get firefighters from all over so quickly. Unfortunately this was a fire started by humans either accidentally or on purpose, so I hope they catch them.

[Dean in Eureka, CA]

Martha,
All those cop cars... That was just the Govinator stopping by for a visit.
It sounds like things have improved, but...
You guys take care and be on your toes...
Fire like that is a scary thing.

[Catoosa Grani]

Martha, so glad to hear you are o.k. I can't imagine what you are going through out there. We have toronadoes but they are over in a matter of minutes. They may leave a lot of devastation but you know what to expect and don't have days of wondering what will happen. I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers.

Grani

[mandy]

Martha this years fireseason is terreble. You and all your neighbors in CA are in my prayers.

Mandy

[Miriam C.]

So happy you all are safe. Amazing how something like that can get so out of hand so fast.

Stay safe

[martha24]

Thanks to Dean, Gage, Grani, Mandy & Miriam for your concern.
Miriam, it is amazing what fires can do. The worst fire around here happened on June 27, 1990 called the Painted Cave Fire. It started on hot day in the mountains with strong winds going down the mountain passes toward the ocean. It started at 6pm and in 2 hours it traveled 5 miles jumping various major streets and a 6 lane highway. At 9pm the winds changed and the firefighters where able to get the fire under control 2 miles from the ocean. With the changing winds it started to burn up the mountain. It burnt 5,000 acres, 440 houses, 28 apartment complexes and 30 other buildings. When a fire burns like this, no one can stop it. All I can say is thank God we didn't have such weather conditions with the Gap fire.

The Gap fire isn't out yet and will take a while in some areas. I am happy to report the southern section of the fire, where I live, is totally controlled and as of today there are no warning for residents in that area. Also with the hard work of the firefighters, not one house has been lost -only a motor home, some out buildings & cars. At the peak we had some 2,500 firefighters and as of today there are still 2,000.