High tech, low tech

[pbray]

It rained on and off here yesterday, and last night I woke up to the sound of more rain. My first reaction was guilt--in my drowsy state I felt there ought to be some way to send the rain to San Diego.

Yesterday was phase two of the server migration, which did not go well, and meant I was at the office for over 12 hours, before packing up to keep working at home. Much of the day was spent with web browsers open in the background, for the latest news on the San Diego fires. I have two aunts who live in Rancho Bernardo, plus a cousin who lives just east of San Diego, so it's been a tense few days for them. High tech was great in that I could access the San Diego Times Union's fire blog site for the latest news, not to mention other sites with maps showing the progress of the fires, burn areas, evacuation areas, etc.

Low tech in that I couldn't reach anyone for much of yesterday. Both aunts had been evacuated from their homes so I couldn't call them there, the cell phone number I had wasn't working, and although my cousin was in a safe area, I didn't have her phone number with me--it's on a piece of paper at home. Since it's an unlisted number so I couldn't even call directory assistance.

But I could access San Diego's city website, so when they finally posted the list of homes destroyed in Rancho Bernardo, I could see that their homes had been spared.

Finally heard from my cousin last night that everyone was fine, if a bit shaken up. It's still not over, of course, and it's likely to be a while before they get to go back to their homes in Rancho Bernardo. But they're among the lucky ones--they had friends and family to go to, so they're not camped out in an emergency shelter. So there's room for optimism.

Still wish I could figure out a way to email them some of this rain.

ETA: I can't send rain, but a donation to the Red Cross or the Salvation Army is a good way to start. The number of evacuees is approaching the one million mark, and there's obviously significant need for both short term and long term assistance.

Comments

[libwitch.livejournal.com]

One of my friends want to quite literally try to send rain (she's pagan, so...), and I pointed out that weather magick does sadly tend to backfire and they really don't need flooding on top of this, now or later.

Sadly, nature does work in a balance, and a horrorific as what is going on there, it is part of a cycle (Sant. Ana winds and low humidity), combined with human error - people overbuilding to the point that they have been unable to do simple measures like controlled burns that would prevent such problems. You know like building on flood plains here. *sigh*

And yes, I do have relatives (mom's cousins) who have lost their house now - the second time in a row. They lost it in 2003. But they have already said they will rebuild because its just so pretty out there. (I think there is a reason my mom doesn't talk to them much - I am beginning to think they are not very bright!)

We had a bit of scare, also, not realizing that my future sister in law and husband were moved last month out of Pendleton and to the Mohave Desert, so we were very happy to finally get through to her too.

I am glad to hear that your relatives are safe and their homes spared - and hopefully, when they are able to get back, the smoke and fire retardant damage is low as well.

For pet lovers (and I know there are folks who are always worry about the furry ones), there are number of shelters that are taking in pets of evacuees - Fark.com has had a total of 9 threads so far that is reporting info about fires and shelter info faster then what is hitting the news if anyone is intested - people from the fire areas are typing in as fast as they get news.

[pbray.livejournal.com]

Sorry to hear about your mom's cousins. Personally I would hesitate rebuilding if I'd been burned out twice in four years. At least our local issues--floods and blizzards, usually come with time to prepare.

Pets are always a concern, but people can be amazingly generous. Yesterday the newsblog even included announcements of where people could bring their horses.

[tcastleb.livejournal.com]

Those of us out here in San Diego say "Thanks!" I'm fine, since I live downtown, but my parents' house (where they don't live yet) is in Rancho Bernardo and is a few blocks away ones that got burned. I'm glad you were able to find the list of burned homes and that your aunts' is all right. There are quite a few places where folks can take horses, and everyone, pets included, is being very well-provided for. Also, the famed Wild Animal Park is right in the fire area, but all the animals and people that work there are safe. They lost a couple outbuildings, but they were very prepared too.

[pbray.livejournal.com]

Glad to hear that you're okay, and that your parents' house survived. Scary times all around.

[allaboutm-e.livejournal.com]

I hadn't heard about the WAP outbuildings before, thanks for that info. I know they evacuated some of the animals from there, like the condors...

[tcastleb.livejournal.com]

You're welcome--here's the link to their little blog on how they're doing: http://sandiegozoo.org/wpmu/fire/

[allaboutm-e.livejournal.com]

Many thanks for the URL -- I hadn't thought to check the Zoo web site...

[allaboutm-e.livejournal.com]

The number of people evacuated is just stagggering! I am glad there is so little loss of life, wonder how much of it is due to effective communication systems.

[tcastleb.livejournal.com]

The communication is very, very effective. Lots of reverse 911 calls (revised and perfected after the 2003 fires) and lots of police out making sure everyone leaves. As of last night, there were five or six deaths, one lost in the fire, and several elderly that died during evacuation.

[jjschwabach.livejournal.com]

I have to say, I think some credit has to go to the Governator. He actually took the situation seriously, rather than reacting as certain other elected officials did in certain completely-unrelated disasters in certain other states... Plus, they are going around trying to save pets, too. My brother and his family left on their own, but I can't get the list for Del Mar to come up.

[pbray.livejournal.com]

Hope that your brother's house turns out to be okay.

[dynastic-queen.livejournal.com]

Everyone's families are in my thoughts and prayers. What a horrible situation. It's certainly taken my mind off of our dwindling water down here--for the moment.

Just terrible.

[elizabeth-welsh.livejournal.com]

If you want So Cal news and can't find it any other way, email me. I'm smack in the middle of it. The sky is brown here tonight as there are fires all the way around us. You can find me at haroldbethwelsh@yahoo.com

[pbray.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the offer. The middle sounds like a scary place to be.

The news from my family continues to be good, though naturally even for those whose homes were spared, it's going to be a while before life gets back to normal.