Was thinking about you over there. Hope you and yours stay safe.
Thanks for the thoughts. I stupidly went in to San Francisco yesterday thinking I had enough time to make a meeting in the morning and still get back in time to beat the Red Flag Warning.
I did actually, but my neighbors started packing and leaving and that freaked out my wife who started packing and called me to tell me so. So I dropped everything and came back. We are packed to leave, motos in the truck, tow hitch on the jeep, other car packed with what matters.
I'm in a neighborhood in the southern end of Sonoma. My neighbors have all prepped their places and left ladders out, hoses out, gates unlocked and pulled the flammables away from their houses. Several of us are firefighters and have a plan of defense from spot fires, but are not prepared to stop a structure fire.
Feeling that the primary effort would be a line on the north end of town, we feel that we will be on our own when the wind blows and brands start falling in town. So we're here until it's over or we can't save the neighborhood.
Fire watch was in shifts last night, with the full expectation that winds would pick up as predicted. It did not.
Currently in Sonoma there are "advisory" evacuations north of Petaluma Avenume, West Napa Street and East Napa Street to East 4th Street where they have now issued a Mandatory Evacuation for all areas North of East Napa Street and East of East 4th Street.
Last night I could see fire over there in the Lovall Valley Road area from my roof. It looked like it was staying in the low fuels with no flare-ups. Also, Cal-Fire had dozed a line around the north side of the City and was reported to e considering a backfire up shocken hill. I don't think they did that, as the south breeze from the bay didn't last too long.
Currently, I am considering a recon trip around the valley to see what's up. I've been in touch with another BARF'er who's house is more threatened than mine and it seems that not only is she okay, but so is her house. I may go over there and look for myself since she has left.
On another note, I've been running a mobile communications center and managed to account for every active and retired member of the San Francisco Fire Department for whom we have contact info and . Many houses were lost, some were saved only by their own effort, and some were just plain lucky.
I spent the night on a line in Annadel Heights the other night when the area was evacuated and we learned that there was not structure any protection (family member in the area). Just 8 guys in gear with some hand tools and a few pick-up trucks. The fire was up in Annadel State Park above Canyon Trail on the ridge. Luckily the wind stayed calm and when real reinforcements came we broke off. We had discussed that a backfire would be perfect, but when you're self-deployed you don't do those things.... The following day, when the weather was right again, that's what they did.
We also spent some time delivering food and water to some crews that had been on the job since 01:30 Monday Morning. Some of them hadn't eaten at all by the time we got there. They were making a stand on Oakmont and managed to make a fantastic save as the fire ran down the hill. I think they only lost one or two houses from embers that got over the line.
Oh, boy, a book.
Everything is good if the wind stays calm....
