Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Calm In Valley Center: 8:30 p.m.
Tuesday evening here in Valley Center came on with a welcome calm, as the winds that were causing so much trouble for firefighters were steadily reduced to nothing. Around 4 p.m., there was something of a light breeze, and by 5 p.m., there was a dead calm for nearly two hours. Other than the smoke to the north, it looked like a regular autumn day here in Southern California.
Since then, the only reports we've heard have been good; the flames that had been advancing towards North Lake Wohlford Road were reportedly held up by the firefighters. As darkness fell, a glance in the direction of the middle school showed no signs of that ominous orange glow we saw last night and this morning, although it's still hard to tell what exactly is happening over those hills.
It also seems like a lot of people stayed put, despite the mandatory evacuations, as one by one house lights on the surrounding hills blinked on. Every few minutes, a car could be heard nearby on Vesper, or more distantly on Valley Center Road, heading east in both cases. There was a helicopter over to the southeast at one point, and some sirens heading away from the North Lake Wohlford area back towards Cole Grade, but the overall feeling is one of calm.
To be on the safe side, I will be heading to Escondido for the night, as will my neighbors. We all feel quite confident that the danger is minimal to none, but at this point, there's no need to take any chances.
We've heard that the evacuation orders won't be lifted until sometime Wednesday afternoon, but there hasn't been any official word at this point, so the best thing to do is keep checking in with local news broadcasts.
Of course, anything can happen at this point, but given what we expected and what we've actually seen here over the course of the last two days, Valley Center has been extremely fortunate to have escaped with very little damage. The evacuations were quick and effective, and even though information has been scarce and sometimes unclear, it looks as though things here are much better than what people have heard in other areas.
So now we wait to hear more good news, and we think of our surrounding communities and the ongoing battles there. Count your blessings, Valley Center, and let's do what we can to help others around us as we try to get through this as best we can.
Dan Kidder
Sports/Valley Life Editor
Valley Roadrunner
Since then, the only reports we've heard have been good; the flames that had been advancing towards North Lake Wohlford Road were reportedly held up by the firefighters. As darkness fell, a glance in the direction of the middle school showed no signs of that ominous orange glow we saw last night and this morning, although it's still hard to tell what exactly is happening over those hills.
It also seems like a lot of people stayed put, despite the mandatory evacuations, as one by one house lights on the surrounding hills blinked on. Every few minutes, a car could be heard nearby on Vesper, or more distantly on Valley Center Road, heading east in both cases. There was a helicopter over to the southeast at one point, and some sirens heading away from the North Lake Wohlford area back towards Cole Grade, but the overall feeling is one of calm.
To be on the safe side, I will be heading to Escondido for the night, as will my neighbors. We all feel quite confident that the danger is minimal to none, but at this point, there's no need to take any chances.
We've heard that the evacuation orders won't be lifted until sometime Wednesday afternoon, but there hasn't been any official word at this point, so the best thing to do is keep checking in with local news broadcasts.
Of course, anything can happen at this point, but given what we expected and what we've actually seen here over the course of the last two days, Valley Center has been extremely fortunate to have escaped with very little damage. The evacuations were quick and effective, and even though information has been scarce and sometimes unclear, it looks as though things here are much better than what people have heard in other areas.
So now we wait to hear more good news, and we think of our surrounding communities and the ongoing battles there. Count your blessings, Valley Center, and let's do what we can to help others around us as we try to get through this as best we can.
Dan Kidder
Sports/Valley Life Editor
Valley Roadrunner
Still In Valley Center: 3:00 p.m.
Things in Valley Center continue to be calm, at least here on Vesper Road, but with the help of some neighbors we've been able to piece together what we consider pretty reliable information about the surrounding parts of town.
Around 10 a.m., Robert Palle reported that in a short drive around Vesper, Mac Tan and Fruitvale, he saw firefighting crews in action, but hadn't seen any flames in the area.
As of 12:30 p.m., a resident just to the south of Valley Center High School reported seeing the haze of smoke we all see to the north, but hadn't seen any flames of any kind. The east side of Cole Grade Road appeared to be fine; no flames there, but still plenty of smoke. At that point, we had heard again that the grade coming into Valley Center was closed, but outgoing traffic was getting through just fine.
According to San Diego news broadcasts around this time, the La Jolla fire (now called the Poomacho Fire) had worked its way towards Palomar Mountain, and may be converging with the Witch Creek Fire from Ramona, somewhere east of Valley Center. The report also said that the Valley Center evacuations would most likely be in effect for at least 24 hours.
Also around this time, we heard that residents in the Saddle Creek area were without power.
At 1 p.m., Kevin Bennett reported from the area between Cool Valley Road and Yellow Brick Road that the smoke was heavy, with some patches of sky visible, but no flames could be seen. He also mentioned that conversations with friends and relatives outside the area weren't sure how much danger was imminently present in the various parts of the community. He mentioned that some of his neighbors were still in their homes at that point.
"There's still some people here and there," he said. "But it doesn't look as threatening as the reports say."
Also around 1 p.m., radio reports indicated that there hadn't been any flames sighted in the Old Castle/Cold Creek area.
Roland Horakh, reporting from near Valley Center Middle School, mentioned a radio broadcast in which Bill Horn indicated that the La Jolla fire was mostly to the north of the 76, but that a portion of the Witch Creek fire had worked its way up the hills to the south of North Lake Wohlford Drive. At that point, firefighters had been able to keep the fire to the east of Lake Wohlford, so Horakh reported seeing lots of smoke, but nothing else.
At 1:30, a radio report indicated that the evacuation center at Valley Center High School was in need of bottled water and non-perishible food items.
Shortly thereafter, at approximately 2:30 p.m., Matt Tyler reported that he had just left Valley Center High School, and that they had found food in the school to prepare for the evacuees, and also that EOC had brought sack lunches to be given out. He also said that once some residents began to leave for the night, heading north to Temecula or other places, most evacuees left the high school to either return home or head for a safe destination.
As for things here on Vesper Road, the smoke is still present to the north, and since the winds have died down to almost nothing, a lot of the smoke seems to be settling down into the valley east of here. Hopefully this means that the fires will be even a little more easily contained, and that things will continue to get better.
For now, the general feeling is cautious optimism, although there are no guarantees. After the unnerving conditions surrounding the evacuation this morning, this afternoon has unfolded better than most had hoped. We still have power, we still have water, we still have the luxury of a functioning internet connection. Things could be so much worse, and from what we've seen this weekend all throughout the county, things are much worse in so many places.
And so with a great portion of the county still engulfed in flames, there is still a long way to go. Keep praying out there, and we hope to have some good news for you later on.
Dan Kidder
Sports/Valley Life Editor
Valley Roadrunner
Around 10 a.m., Robert Palle reported that in a short drive around Vesper, Mac Tan and Fruitvale, he saw firefighting crews in action, but hadn't seen any flames in the area.
As of 12:30 p.m., a resident just to the south of Valley Center High School reported seeing the haze of smoke we all see to the north, but hadn't seen any flames of any kind. The east side of Cole Grade Road appeared to be fine; no flames there, but still plenty of smoke. At that point, we had heard again that the grade coming into Valley Center was closed, but outgoing traffic was getting through just fine.
According to San Diego news broadcasts around this time, the La Jolla fire (now called the Poomacho Fire) had worked its way towards Palomar Mountain, and may be converging with the Witch Creek Fire from Ramona, somewhere east of Valley Center. The report also said that the Valley Center evacuations would most likely be in effect for at least 24 hours.
Also around this time, we heard that residents in the Saddle Creek area were without power.
At 1 p.m., Kevin Bennett reported from the area between Cool Valley Road and Yellow Brick Road that the smoke was heavy, with some patches of sky visible, but no flames could be seen. He also mentioned that conversations with friends and relatives outside the area weren't sure how much danger was imminently present in the various parts of the community. He mentioned that some of his neighbors were still in their homes at that point.
"There's still some people here and there," he said. "But it doesn't look as threatening as the reports say."
Also around 1 p.m., radio reports indicated that there hadn't been any flames sighted in the Old Castle/Cold Creek area.
Roland Horakh, reporting from near Valley Center Middle School, mentioned a radio broadcast in which Bill Horn indicated that the La Jolla fire was mostly to the north of the 76, but that a portion of the Witch Creek fire had worked its way up the hills to the south of North Lake Wohlford Drive. At that point, firefighters had been able to keep the fire to the east of Lake Wohlford, so Horakh reported seeing lots of smoke, but nothing else.
At 1:30, a radio report indicated that the evacuation center at Valley Center High School was in need of bottled water and non-perishible food items.
Shortly thereafter, at approximately 2:30 p.m., Matt Tyler reported that he had just left Valley Center High School, and that they had found food in the school to prepare for the evacuees, and also that EOC had brought sack lunches to be given out. He also said that once some residents began to leave for the night, heading north to Temecula or other places, most evacuees left the high school to either return home or head for a safe destination.
As for things here on Vesper Road, the smoke is still present to the north, and since the winds have died down to almost nothing, a lot of the smoke seems to be settling down into the valley east of here. Hopefully this means that the fires will be even a little more easily contained, and that things will continue to get better.
For now, the general feeling is cautious optimism, although there are no guarantees. After the unnerving conditions surrounding the evacuation this morning, this afternoon has unfolded better than most had hoped. We still have power, we still have water, we still have the luxury of a functioning internet connection. Things could be so much worse, and from what we've seen this weekend all throughout the county, things are much worse in so many places.
And so with a great portion of the county still engulfed in flames, there is still a long way to go. Keep praying out there, and we hope to have some good news for you later on.
Dan Kidder
Sports/Valley Life Editor
Valley Roadrunner
Reporting From Valley Center: Tuesday, 10-23, 12:30 p.m.
This weekend's battle with the wildfires throughout the county hit home in a big way this morning, as most of Valley Center was put under mandatory evacuation orders, some as early as 4 a.m.
I woke up at about 5:30 to the smell of smoke, the howling of the wind and the commotion of my neighbors packing up their cars for the possible flight from the area. It looked like a scene from a movie when I walked out my front door; the wind was whipping through the trees, the smoke created a haze that created a cocoon-like effect, the rising sun gave off an orange glow that I'm sure many confused for an oncoming blaze, and at that moment, a county sheriff came up the driveway with lights flashing to announce the evacuation.
After quickly getting my own things together, I got together with my neighbor and his wife (both Valley Center residents for more than 20 years) and we decided to wait and see what was coming before we added to the chaos on the roads out of town.
I have to add that my neighbor was a firefighter in New York City for a number of years, and also served as a volunteer firefighter here in Valley Center before we had our own department. He has also seen his share of wildfires, and given our unique position (on Vesper Road near the CDF station), we have a clear vantage point of any oncoming danger.
At that point, we decided to just be ready, so we made some coffee, had some sausage and eggs, and kept an eye on the eastern skyline.
Gradually, the winds seemed to slow, and as the sun rose, we could see that it didn't appear as dire as we originally thought. We could see smoke to the north, and there was a bit of a haze to the east, but the smell of smoke wasn't as bad as it had been last night.
So we spent the morning making sure we had what we needed in case we felt that we should leave, then clearing the brush and leaves from around the house to disperse any potential fuel for a wayward spark or ember that may find its way here.
Since then, we have kept current with the San Diego news broadcasts, made a number of phone calls to concerned family and friends, and gotten updates from other residents in Valley Center to see what's happening in our town.
I'm going right now to talk with some neighbors to see what they've heard, and I'll continue to check back in every few hours until things clear up or I need to leave.
Wherever you are, I hope you're safe, and please keep Valley Center in your prayers as we hope to hear more good news.
Dan Kidder
Sports/Valley Life Editor
Valley Roadrunner
I woke up at about 5:30 to the smell of smoke, the howling of the wind and the commotion of my neighbors packing up their cars for the possible flight from the area. It looked like a scene from a movie when I walked out my front door; the wind was whipping through the trees, the smoke created a haze that created a cocoon-like effect, the rising sun gave off an orange glow that I'm sure many confused for an oncoming blaze, and at that moment, a county sheriff came up the driveway with lights flashing to announce the evacuation.
After quickly getting my own things together, I got together with my neighbor and his wife (both Valley Center residents for more than 20 years) and we decided to wait and see what was coming before we added to the chaos on the roads out of town.
I have to add that my neighbor was a firefighter in New York City for a number of years, and also served as a volunteer firefighter here in Valley Center before we had our own department. He has also seen his share of wildfires, and given our unique position (on Vesper Road near the CDF station), we have a clear vantage point of any oncoming danger.
At that point, we decided to just be ready, so we made some coffee, had some sausage and eggs, and kept an eye on the eastern skyline.
Gradually, the winds seemed to slow, and as the sun rose, we could see that it didn't appear as dire as we originally thought. We could see smoke to the north, and there was a bit of a haze to the east, but the smell of smoke wasn't as bad as it had been last night.
So we spent the morning making sure we had what we needed in case we felt that we should leave, then clearing the brush and leaves from around the house to disperse any potential fuel for a wayward spark or ember that may find its way here.
Since then, we have kept current with the San Diego news broadcasts, made a number of phone calls to concerned family and friends, and gotten updates from other residents in Valley Center to see what's happening in our town.
I'm going right now to talk with some neighbors to see what they've heard, and I'll continue to check back in every few hours until things clear up or I need to leave.
Wherever you are, I hope you're safe, and please keep Valley Center in your prayers as we hope to hear more good news.
Dan Kidder
Sports/Valley Life Editor
Valley Roadrunner
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]