Wildfires sweep Southern California

[evolution8]

Wildfires sweep Southern California
By Noaki Schwartz, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Source

MALIBU, Calif. - From the high desert to the Pacific Ocean, out-of-control wildfires continued to engulf swaths of drought-parched Southern California on Monday, having already claimed one life, destroyed several homes and a church in Malibu and forced an entire community to evacuate.

Thousands more homes remained at risk as hot, dry Santa Ana desert winds continued to churn into the region.

Firefighters started the weekend on high alert as forecasters warned of strong winds. But by Sunday night, they had to admit they were overwhelmed.

"You do not expect something to stretch our resources to this magnitude," said Los Angeles County Fire Insp. Sam Padilla. "To try and staff something this big, you cannot predict it."

The Malibu fire was among about a dozen blazes that burned more than 14,000 hectares from north of Santa Barbara to San Diego. Late Sunday, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in seven Southern California counties.

Things weren't improving Monday: Two new wildfires broke out in San Diego county, bringing to four the number of blazes burning there.

One person died in a fire which burned more than 5,600 hectares in an area 110 kilometres southeast of San Diego, just north of the Mexican border town of Tecate, said Matt Streck, a California Department of Forestry spokesman.

Four firefighters and at least 10 other people were hospitalized, Streck said. Some of the injured were hikers, and others may be illegal immigrants.

Another blaze devoured more than 2,000 hectares in northern San Diego County and forced the evacuation of the community of Ramona, which has a population of about 36,000.

Several structures were burned on the edge of town and sheriff's deputies called residents to alert them the fire was approaching the city, said San Diego sheriff's Lt. Phil Brust.

In Malibu, about 700 firefighters worked to protect hundreds of homes in several upscale communities nestled in the hills. About 1,500 people were evacuated and the blaze destroyed a church and several homes, one of them the landmark Castle Kashan, a stately fortress-like home with turrets and arched windows. Chunks of brick fell from the exterior of the burning building overlooking the coast.

No residents or firefighters were injured, Los Angeles County Fire Chief Michael Freeman said.

The castle belonged to Lilly Lawrence, the daughter of a former Iranian oil minister. She said she was able to gather a few things before the fire engulfed her home, including some jewelry and memorabilia that included Elvis Presley's army fatigues.

She didn't seem too worried about losing most of her belongings in the fire.

"My parents taught me not to allow my possessions to posses me," Lawrence told a local television station. "So, that's the story. The house is a house."

Winds carried embers across the Pacific Coast Highway, closing the popular road and setting fire to cars and trees in the parking lot of a shopping centre where a supermarket, drug store and other shops were damaged.

"This fire is zero per cent contained, which means we're at the mercy of the wind," acting Malibu Mayor Pamela Conley Ulich said Sunday.

In all, five homes and two commercial buildings had been confirmed lost throughout the Malibu area, Freeman said. Nine more homes were damaged, he said.

The fire is expected to burn for another two to three days, he said. Until the blaze is extinguished, "there will literally be thousands of homes that will be threatened at one time or another," he said.

The fire may have been started by downed power lines, Capt. Mike Brown said.

"This is a conflagration we knew was going to come at some point," Los Angeles County spokesman Zen Yaroslavsky said at a Malibu news conference Sunday.

"We were cruising for a bruising," Yaroslavsky said in noting Southern California's ongoing dry spell. "We are very, very lucky as we stand here tonight that the damage has been as limited as it has been."

[Ben Kenobi]

Yeah this is a nightmare now.

300k hectares burned and about 300 thousand people evacuated.

Pray for all the folks in Southern California, all the way from Los Angeles to the Mexican border.

[Banned_from_FD]

its only going to get worse down there

they needed some mudslides to put out the widefires ;-)

lets face it,,, California is really only a "temporary" State

hope everyone is able to get out of the way, you can always replace you possesions but you only have one life

[Bill Whatcott]

its only going to get worse down there

they needed some mudslides to put out the widefires ;-)

lets face it,,, California is really only a "temporary" State

hope everyone is able to get out of the way, you can always replace you possesions but you only have one life

It will get worse and maybe California is suffering God's judgement because of their sodomites........

Here's some thoughts from a friend of mine:

Dear Champion of the Lord and the Preborn,

The Lord richly bless you! By God's grace and strength, I've made it to day 27 of a 40 day fast. I've lost 27 lbs in the process. It seems I'm half the man I used to be. In my weakened state, however, God is showing Himself strong.

The battle is raging here in Waco and spreading to the Marlin area. The Waco Tribune, in typical fashion, has used its considerable influence to support Planned Parenthood in their expansion into Marlin. They claim that Planned Parenthood is not the largest provider of abortion, but provides the greatest prevention to abortion. George Orwell would be proud of the double speak that proceeds from our local paper as they strain at gnats and swallow camels. Truly, an unregenerated heart, produces a darkened mind.

Last week, we sent out the hard copy of the open letter to San Francisco, California, and America. It should be hitting the powers that be today. As it hits, there are raging fires fueled by hurricanes striking southern California. This is but the first fruits of what will be God's retribution against their wicked laws, public policies, and cities involved in the unspeakable. God will no longer be mocked. They have crossed the line and must now face the recompense of their evils ways and doings.

As much as we would want to hope otherwise, there comes a time when evil becomes so entrenched in a nation, culture or civilization that it takes the wrath of God to eradicate it from the earth. It was the prophet Amos that prophesied, "Come to Bethel, and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression; and bring your sacrifices every morning, and your tithes after three years: And offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven, and proclaim and publish the free offerings: for this liketh you, O ye children of Israel, saith the Lord God. And I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and want of bread in all your places: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord. And also I have withholden the rain from you, when there were yet three months to the harvest: and I caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it not to rain upon another city: one piece was rained upon, and the piece whereupon it rained not withered. So two or three cities wandered unto one city, to drink water; but they were not satisfied: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord. I have smitten you with blasting and mildew: when your gardens and your vineyards and your fig trees and your olive trees increased, the palmerworm devoured them: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord. I have sent among you the pestilence after the manner of Egypt: your young men have I slain with the sword, and have taken away your horses; and I have made the stink of your camps to come up unto your nostrils: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord. I have overthrown some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and ye were as a firebrand plucked out of the burning: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord. Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel (Amos 4:12)."


God sent remedial judgments, one after another, to awaken the nation of Israel from the spiritual stupor that led to her idolatrous condition. Israel refused to turn back to the God of her fathers, and was simply left with "PREPARE TO MEET THY GOD!" San Francisco, California, and by extension America, is going to meet God in way they will regret in the here and now, but worst of all in the age which is to come.

Some may question why the extreme unction against them. I assure you, it is not based upon some subjective, ethereal vision concocted by a half-starved Christian. It is based upon the objective truth of God's word. Sodom and Gomorrah had for years paraded their sexual perversions before God. It was not until the sodomites reached to rape the angels of the Lord, that God rained fire and brimstone upon their wicked heads. The same holds true with the decimation of the Benjamite tribe in Israel. They became infested with sodomites. Eventually, those perverted men reached to rape a priest of God. As a result, God wiped out most of the tribe. He left only 600 men in His mercy to repopulate the tribe. The Biblical principle is clear. Once homosexual sodomy and its perverted sin touches the sacred, it is inevitable, God's judgment will fall upon them.

I have no time-table, only the assurance that the Lord changes not. Therefore, San Francisco is in deep trouble, along with California, and by extension America. Prepare to meet thy God!

IN KING JESUS' SERVICE,

Rusty

[Ben Kenobi]

I'd agree, but that would make San Francisco and not San Diego the epicentre.

[evolution8]

By GILLIAN FLACCUS, Associated Press Writer
30 minutes ago
Source

SAN DIEGO - Faced with unrelenting winds whipping wildfires into a frenzy across Southern California, firefighters all but conceded defeat Tuesday to an unstoppable force that has chased an estimated 1 million people away.

Unless the shrieking Santa Ana winds subside, and that's not expected for at least another day, fire crews say they can do little more than try to wait it out and react — tamping out spot fires and chasing ribbons of airborne embers to keep new fires from flaring.

"If it's this big and blowing with as much wind as it's got, it'll go all the way to the ocean before it stops," said San Diego Fire Capt. Kirk Humphries. "We can save some stuff but we can't stop it."

Tentacles of unpredictable, shifting flame have burned across nearly 600 square miles, killing one person, destroying more than 1,300 homes and prompting one of the biggest evacuations in California history, from north of Los Angeles, through San Diego to the Mexican border.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said the flames were threatening 68,000 more homes. More...

[Theresa]

Last week Arnold announced that California will no longer use the term mom and dad, in public schools ...schools are to accommodate transsexuals for example-let a boy who thinks he is a girl use girls facilities such as washrooms etc. If a male or female wants to identify as the opposite sex at school they can and it cannot be reported to the parents etc. this was days before the fires erupted. this is a small part of this bill it is horrendous as it takes away any parental authority to oppose this sexual indoctrination.

god is a patient God but The fires, the church sacrilege and Arnold's announcement as the antecedents to these fires is no coincidence. IMO

[Ben Kenobi]

Again, all this would be centred on northern California, not San Diego. San Diego has one of the world's largest naval bases.

More likely to be a terrorist attack then anything else.

[evolution8]

Again, all this would be centred on northern California, not San Diego. San Diego has one of the world's largest naval bases.

This is true BK.

There's a huge Filipino community in San Francisco and San Diego and they were advised to leave their homes immediately. :cry:

Let's pray for their safety and also all Californians who were affected by this tragedy.

[evolution8]

World (as of 5:28 AM)
Reuters

SAN DIEGO - Firefighters battling 15 fires across Southern California got a break from slowing winds on Wednesday, but major blazes burned unchecked for a fourth day after forcing the largest evacuation in California's modern history.

Some 1,300 homes have been lost in San Diego county, the most critical area, and an official estimated damages would exceed $1 billion.

"Based on initial estimates, just the homes damaged will be over $1 billion," Ron Lane, San Diego County emergency services director, told a news conference.

Two big fires merged in the county and covered more than 200,000 acres, half of the total burned area in California.

More than 500,000 people have been forced to leave their homes in California.

"We have several tremendous fires still going on," San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders said on Wednesday.

The Los Angeles County area showed major progress against blazes, and, although mountain fires continued to burn, firefighters expressed hope that Wednesday would be the turning point.

"The wind today, we hope, is not going to be nearly as drastic as it was yesterday," firefighter Jim Christian told local television. Continued...

[Theresa]

They are in fact investigating it as arson.

[Banned_from_FD]

It will get worse and maybe California is suffering God's judgement because of their sodomites........

goofy statement

there has been wildfires in Cali since the beginning of time, earthquakes and mudslides too

its part of nature

[Banned_from_FD]

actually, ignore my rational and historical explanation of a natural occurance

go back to your deity conspiracy theories

its funnier :!:

[Theresa]

I agree with you banned from FD, wildfires in california are a natural consequence. I also believe by sheer reason and common sense that the earth , and all that dwells within or without it was created by God. When we turn our back on the natural expectations of God he then leaves us to natural consequences. In California the natural consequence that brings extreme damage happens to be the ease of which fires spread and destroy.

[Princess_Jules]

It will get worse and maybe California is suffering God's judgement because of their sodomites........

What, is your buddy Rusty pals with Reverend Phelps? Will he be picketing soldiers funerals soon?