2003 Cedar Fire Views From Our House: | |
For the 2003 fire, some jackstick newbie hunter got lost for about a frickin' hour and panicked.
He was about a half-hour walk away from civilization (in almost any direction).
The genius decided to fire a flare gun into a bush to start a signal fire, during a Santa Ana,
on a hot, windy day. Here's yer sign. More than 20 people died because of that twit. Countless wild animals,
livestock, trees, and about 3,000 homes went up in smoke. He got a fine. He should have been "put down". It might be hard for some to comprehend unless you've lived or live in the West, but fires like these
don't start in one house and burn down a block or big building and go away. These fires start near towns
like Ramona or Santa Isabelle, an end up as far West as Del Mar by the beach, as far East as Julian at the
edge of the desert, as far North as Fallbrook or Temecula, and actually cross the Southern border into Mexico.
They're big. |
2003 Cedar Fire
Standing in front of our house looking South East.
Standing in front of our house looking South East.
2003 Cedar Fire
Standing in front of our house looking East.
Standing in front of our house looking East.
2003 Cedar Fire
Standing in front of our house looking North East.
Standing in front of our house looking North East.
2003 Cedar Fire
Standing on top of the motorhome looking East.
Standing on top of the motorhome looking East.
2003 Cedar Fire
Standing on top of the motorhome looking South East.
Standing on top of the motorhome looking South East.
2003 Cedar Fire
Standing on top of the motorhome, zoomed in looking South East.
Standing on top of the motorhome, zoomed in looking South East.
2003 Cedar Fire
Zoomed in close to the North East.
The fire is over a ridge - not too close, but close enough.
Zoomed in close to the North East.
The fire is over a ridge - not too close, but close enough.
2003 Cedar Fire Views From Mitchell: | |
I got some photos from one of my friends who still worked at Mitchell. Since I had left,
Gateway Computers had built a new headquarters nearby as well as a few other businesses. Poway Business
Park is a fast-growing area. It was directly in the path of the fire, but it was all saved. |
2003 Cedar Fire - Mitchell Building
Mitchell is near the East end of the Poway business
park - close to the fire as you can see in the photos.
Mitchell is near the East end of the Poway business
park - close to the fire as you can see in the photos.
Looking across Scripps Poway Parkway
Toward Gateway Headquarters
Toward Gateway Headquarters
Looking Due East From Mitchell Building
View From My Old Office
2003 Cedar Fire - Big, Nasty & Close
2003 Cedar Fire Map
Not a map of the whole fire, just our little corner.
Not a map of the whole fire, just our little corner.
2003 Cedar Fire - Our Julian Property: | |
Well, this part was sad. My brother and I had a beautiful 10-acre plot of land in Harrison Park,
near Julian. Our cousins also had lots there. All toasted. I used to let friends go up there to hunt wild turkey.
I saw quite a few when I went up to check on the property. Easy to catch and already toasted. Some of it looked as though the fire had kind of blown through. At the top of the hill where
there had been a firestorm, old giant Oak trees were completely gone. I mean, the roots had
burned out and left behind little tunnels reminiscent of Godzilla's footprints. I saw big mountain lion tracks in the snow and realized he was probably hungry, so I undid the
safety on my 380 and hoped that if I actually needed it, the noise might scare him off. |
2003 Cedar Fire - Harrison Park
2003 Cedar Fire - Harrison Park
2003 Cedar Fire - Harrison Park
2003 Cedar Fire - Harrison Park
Hard to tell, but this snow-filled divot used to be an Oak tree.
Hard to tell, but this snow-filled divot used to be an Oak tree.
2003 Cedar Fire - Harrison Park
2007 Witch Creek Fire: | |
This fire was started by an exploding power transformer out near Santa Isabelle.
This is the one that went allmost all the way to the beach near Del Mar.
This time the Santa Ana (hot wind from the desert) was zipping along at 90 MPH. Another 2,000 homes were lost this time. Seventy families from our church lost their homes.
One family lost more than that. Church members from our church and many others throughout the country
banded together to help people recover with whatever they could do. Pam was able to help more than
me due to my work schedule, but I did make about 30 screeds to help sift through the ashes. The photos aren't the best, but still give a little idea. In 2003, the fire came from the East and
swept around us to the South and then continued West. This time, it came from the East, swept around us
to the North and continued West. Our one-block neighborhood was the only one in the area that did not
get evacuated. |
2007 Witch Creek Fire - Looking East
2007 Witch Creek Fire - Looking North East
2007 Witch Creek Fire - Looking North
2007 Witch Creek Fire - Looking North West
2007 Witch Creek Fire - Looking West
2007 Witch Creek Fire - News Photo
2007 Witch Creek Fire Map
According to the map, we were evacuated. We weren't,
but it sure got smokey and we had moved some vehicles.
According to the map, we were evacuated. We weren't,
but it sure got smokey and we had moved some vehicles.
2007 Southern End of Fire - View of Downtown San Diego
Avila Beach
Buell Motorcycle Riders Meet - Buellton/Solvang, California
30th Anniversary - Catalina Island
Independence Day 2001 - Coronado
Corral Canyon - Lake Morena
Car Show - Del Mar
Wine Country - Napa/Sonoma 2007
Air Museum - Palm Springs
San Clemente Weekend Getaway, 2008