Yup we got masks; but remaining indoors is the recommended thing so I'm in no 'particulate' rushhttp://www.emofaces.com/png/15/emoticons/gasmask.png at this point; the neighbor fire chief spent the night at home and went back to work this AM. which alleviates much decision making tension. He's the communications/media PR spokesman, so I figure ...HE KNOWS ALL! If he leaves, we leave; simple as that! As before: Saturday's expected winds, both velocity and direction, will be very decisive. This mess is expected to go on for the balance of the month....At least I now have (above) a real-time fire-map to properly monitor the fire's movement-red stuff is flames.

The air war
 

All 10 western states' aerial resources are involved in the Napa/Sonoma fires at this point including the 747 Global supertanker. A spotter aircraft with a experienced smoke jumper to gauge the wind and other imponderables flys into the target and leaves a smoke puff; when the 747 nose hits the puff the 19,000 gallons is released on target....well not always: there have been a few misses that have doused the ground fire crews.:timeout: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped..._in_Israel.jpgSo far in both counties home losses are approaching 5000 and 40 are confirmed dead. The elderly are most vulnerable: the median age of victims is 79. Winds are the key: they are out of the East so air quality is good; but what is good for Napa is bad for Sonoma to the west. Our place is still within 8000 feet of the Redwood RD./Partrick fire line with occasional hotspots so we're still in bug-out mode as yet and can smell the smoke. The situation as of 07:30: http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/x...psnc6cdur0.png

Quote:

11:50; Effective immediately the Evacuation Advisory in place within Napa city limits is lifted. Residents are reminded to exercise caution while emergency vehicles continue to operate within the area.

(subject to sudden wind changes of course):oops: :wah: :timeout:

The wind definitely shifted in San Rafael yesterday and started blowing northward clearing the smoke quite a bit, but the air quality is still bad for toxin levels.

I worked in Santa Rosa at Memorial Hospital Friday and it wasn't any smokier than home forty miles south. Driving up in the predawn dark you can't tell anything is happening oddly enough. No fire glow anywhere but kind of a "Twilight Zone" feel all through the day. Many doctors and hospital administration types, as well as all other workers have lost their homes. The Kaiser hospital is supposed to reopen Monday but Sutter will still remain closed due to smoke.

I've lived in this area all my life and it will be very depressing having to drive through areas forever changed of decades old landmarks.

Thanks for all the help from all over.

Glad to hear you two are safe!
So you are now out of danger?

Fire wise probably:hmmm:; now we'll await the mudslides from the bare-burned steep hillsides when the winter rains hit. Rain is expected around Thursday which will help with the hotspots still burning to the north on both sides of Napa and in Sonoma. The smoke is still discernible so the house stays buttoned up today. The fire hazard is a constant of this area as with my traffic stop two years ago, the primary concern is always to prevent a fire; it is everyman's concern:http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showpost.php?p=2412132&postcount=788 The current rumor investigation is that high winds caused old PG&E power lines to spark.

Quote:

The fires currently burning in Northern California, particularly in Sonoma, Napa, and Yuba Counties, spanned more than 265 square miles as of the morning of October 12, 2017. Weather conditions Thursday could reverse some containment efforts, as the forecast calls for winds gusting up to 45 mph. Emergency workers have reported multiple instances of power lines falling down and electrical transformers exploding, leading some to suggest utility giant PG&E may have caused or contributed to the fires now scorching Northern California through poor equipment maintenance and noncompliance with state fire risk regulations.

But a dragging trailer hitch chain, vehicle backfire, or glass bottle in sunlight can cause it: 40 dead; 200 missing; and 5000+ homes destroyed. Most people in the suburban mountain interface understand the danger of beautiful remote locations; this monster broke the rules: tearing through an entire subdivision in minutes in downtown Santa Rosa. Currently the fire in my area is 50% contained; 11,000 firefighters are on 12 fires. The winds are currently very lenient and the temperatures are cool- all in our favor. Fire officials report the worst is past....EDIT: the news report on TV just now is that a fire tanker truck overturned on the steep Oakville Grade just north of me; killing the driver;http://www.pressdemocrat.com/csp/med...YPE=image/jpeg I hope it was not the gentleman I spoke to yesterday while he filled his equipment from a Dry Creek Rd. fire-hydrant near my home. Crews have been pulling 24 hour shifts but are expected to rotate properly now that sufficient manpower resources are at hand. Fire water tanker-tenders are a particular hazard: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/pdfs/hid14.pdf

Much improved!
 

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/x...g?t=1508093423 :yeah: Fires to the north currently. A slight flare up directly to the NW of me. Calistoga residents are permitted back into their town. Map is in real-time; http://www.pressdemocrat.com/multimedia/7516058-181/pd-default-story-headline-xy Brown is cool; yellow is mellow;...red is hot! NOTE: single red squares along the Sacramento River (south of Napa) tend to be oil refinery flares as this is an infra-red based map.

much better!
 

http://i738.photobucket.com/albums/x...x.png~original

a little post-fuego perspective
 

The new class of homeless people in the California wild fire district ... this is sad for many have no where left to go and the shelters are now down to just three from 30.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/ca...gLq?li=BBnbcA1

Glad this is all behind you. It's sad to see the pictures of all the destruction these fires have done.

Read an email today stating 51 doctors associated with Santa Rosa memorial Hospital lost their homes.

Yep, it's hard to take in. Saw what's left of Stornetta's Dairy Saturday. Made me cry remembering they used to deliver our milk when I was young. Plus that clock.....gone.

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/7553691-181/pge-slowed-fire-risk-mapping-of?ref=most&artslide=0 As I stated in a previous post; what a mess! The Stornetta Dairy was a landmark and I know some of the family members; one was a Napa cop. Saw some smoke along a ridge line earlier this AM while driving a sailboat up the Napa River from Vallejo to the Napa marina for a haul-out. The local Cal Fire tell me there still some minor stuff but its pretty well contained.... for now. One of my techs in Windsor is housing his inlaws who lost their home in the Geyserville Fire; and I've met several locals who lost everything. They are remarkably calm.