OT: Firestorm in Sonoma and Napa

[fairgambit]

These fires are really bad, and things are getting worse. The air quality down here in the central Bay Area is terrible today, worse than yesterday. Can't go outside; poor visibility, and smells like the inside of a chimney flue.

There is no wind to speak of, either here or in Wine Country (about 40 miles away), but these fires are (according to news reports) "zero percent contained," and the forecast for tonight is 30-40 MPH winds.

It is difficult to comprehend what I see on TV. The smoke and flames look like hell on earth.

 

[zwick53]

Don't know if you guys have seen this yet, but the North Bay is engulfed in fire right now. Santa Ana conditions, a regular event out here in the month of October, have the humidity at 14% and wind gusts of 40-50 MPH in the Sonoma and Napa Valleys.

A fire started somewhere up there at about midnight last night (reason currently unknown). The strong winds picked up burning embers and deposited them in a variety of locations. By 4:00 A.M., fires big and small had developed all over the place. Two hospitals in Santa Rosa were evacuated. The spa at the Silverado Resort (where they just finished a PGA tournament), was burned to the ground. So were a number of homes surrounding the two Silverado golf courses. William Hill Winery was burned to the ground. Cardinal Newman High School in Santa Rosa, too.

Calistoga, at the north end of the Napa Valley, is now on fire as well. They are bringing in fire trucks from every part of the State.

What a year for natural disasters!

Didn't California secede?