California Screamin: All the leaves are ash, and the skies are too

[Friday]

Just heard local update news conference:

65-80% (estimate) of Paradise gone.

6400 something homes, 250ish commercial structures destroyed.

The Camp Fire is now officially the most destructive fire in California history.

18000 acres grew to 70000 this morning, tonight it's 90000.

Yesterday, my town existed.

Today it does not.

9 confirmed fatalities so far. Some of them were found in their cars, burned beyond recognition. A friend of mine is missing.

[Friday]

Here in Chico, the air is at the worst possible quality. It was dark all day.

On Sunday, the winds pick back up. It's entirely possible Chico will also burn, though they are doing everything they can to prevent that during this lull, lighting backfires and such.

Thank you for the offers of help. I appreciate that I can count on you guys. If I need it, I'll let you know. If Chico burns, I will probably need it. Let's hope it doesn't come to that.

Meanwhile, two fires just north of LA, and also I'd be surprised if more don't break out on Sunday.

[Friday]

Also, big thanks to Esper, who told me on IRC about the fire at about 10:30am (I had no idea before then) and I evacuated right after, before the big crunch of gridlock that had people abandoning their cars as the fire closed in at 12-1. I am not exaggerating when I say he may have saved my life.

[Brantly B.]

Thousand Oaks had a mass shooting and a fire back-to-back; I imagine tensions are rather high up there.

[Upthorn]

Also, big thanks to Esper, who told me on IRC about the fire at about 10:30am (I had no idea before then) and I evacuated right after, before the big crunch of gridlock that had people abandoning their cars as the fire closed in at 12-1. I am not exaggerating when I say he may have saved my life.

Thanks Esper, for warning Friday.
Thanks Friday, for not dying.

A friend of mine's dad may not have been so lucky...
He was bedridden, on oxygen, none of the area hospitals have record of admitting him, and the first confirmed fatalities were on the street where he lived.

Also, add my name to the list of people who "if you need anything, let us know."

[Mongrel]

Thanks Esper, for warning Friday.

Yeah, man. Not everyone would make that connection, especially considering what was a far smaller fire at the time.

I think we all owe Esper some thanks. At the very, very least, he saved Friday from having to drive through hell.

Also, Friday, you've probably heard all or some of this stuff given you're right there, but there was some news about places in Chico doing possibly-helpful-to-you stuff:

- The Goodwill in Chico is giving away $75 worth of clothes if you bring your ID and it has a Paradise address.
- NorCal Unlimited is also giving away clothes and hoodies.
- The Chico Theater Company is staying open 24h with free WiFi, coffee, and the news is on.
- In n Out is giving away free meals to people from Paradise or the surrounding area.

[Esperath]

I was actually on a flight taxi-ing for takeoff, and then realized that I didn't have an IRC client installed on my current phone, so I jumped over to Mibbit last second. Was afraid I was going to lose reception as we took off, but was able to get through in time!

[Wheels]

Echoing many for no reason, but felt the need to say I'm glad to hear you're alright Friday. I was worried when I heard about Paradise.

[mharr]

Still worried, too. It's been a shit of a year and I can't start to imagine dealing with just part of this. Fuck, just let your friend be okay.

[Thad]

I feel like I've got nothing to say that everybody hasn't already said, but maybe it'll help for me to say it too.

Friday, I'm so sorry. This is heartbreaking. I'm glad you're safe, and I'm here in case you need anything.

[Friday]

The good news is a friend of my friend finally got in contact with him, he'd been forced to evac out the back way (up through Inskip) after having to shelter for awhile in town and his phone was out of charge.

I've heard stories of people who had to take shelter in creeks while everything burned down around them, dunking their hair in the water to prevent embers from lighting it on fire.

The thing about this fire was that it was fast. Absolutely perfect fire conditions and winds of up to 50mph just whipped this thing into a frenzy. A lot of people (and I may have been among them if not for Esper) didn't have any idea what was going on until it was already in their backyards and the trees overhead.

Personally, I'm doing okay. I have no idea if my house is one of the very few still standing (and even if it is, the town is fucking dead, so it's not like I can move back in) but I've got friends here who are doing everything they can to help. I just keep telling myself that it's not gonna get into Chico on Sunday. I'll feel better come Monday morning and we're past the bad winds again. I know it's a remote possibility and they're doing everything they can to prevent it, but after seeing everything that's happened... Man, I just want this to be over.

It's still unbelievable to me that Paradise is just gone. It's like someone dropped a fucking bomb on it.

Again, thanks for the support. These fucking fires, god damn.

[Friday]

Trump's response to the fires currently threatening a community that just experienced a mass shooting and completely destroyed the town where I live:

[Mongrel]

wow

just wow

[Caithness]

How is your mother handling it, Friday?

[Friday]

She's doing okay, she was out of town at work the day of and is staying with her friend for now until we can figure out what the fuck we're gonna do.

I mean, she's not very happy about our town burning down. She's pretty upset about losing the house (though that's not 100% confirmed, it's 95% likely or so) and everything everyone is going through. A lot of her coworkers and friends lived in Paradise.

A big problem about Paradise was that it was a retirement community, and there were a lot of people like Upthorn's friend's dad living there: Elderly people who are bedridden, can't drive, etc. They've found old people wandering the streets in the aftermath, some of them suffering from dementia or alzheimer's and can't even give their names, where they lived, or who their family is. They've put up their photos online and asked if anyone knows them.

[Lyrai]

Friday if you want to, I'll straight up drop dirty santa this year in lieu of a fundraiser for you to replace what you lost.
Like we'd try to get actual goods and things, not fifty used transformers and a copy of Sailor Moon & The 7 Ballz.

[Friday]

are you saying I don't need to replace my fifty used transformers and my copy of Sailor Moon & The 7 Ballz?

But seriously, I really appreciate it. My mom had fire insurance, so we should be okay eventually. We've had a few small talks about buying a house in Chico, so we'll see what happens. We don't even know if our house is burned down for sure yet. Please continue to plan for Dirty Santa. I promise if we do end up needing anything, I will let you know.

[Mongrel]

How is your data? Is your writing, games you were making, etc. backed up anywhere? Books or vidja games or such are replaceable, but it'll sting if your personal work is gone.

[Friday]

I had the presence of mind to unhook and grab my tower on the way out, so I've still got my data.

Confirmed fatalities are up to 23 from the Camp Fire, I think 2 down south as well.

I'm doing okay. I've been volunteering at a temporary animal shelter. Walking dogs, feeding rabbits, cleaning cages. Other than that, staying with my friends and trying to have fun. We've been watching a lot of movies.

The fire is still burning, but it's away from Chico now, heading toward Oroville. The winds are picking up tonight (Sunday) and expected to persist until sometime Tuesday. That's just what Oroville needs after the fucking dam. Today the air visibility improved enough to use the big air attack tanker planes, I went to the Chico airport this morning to watch them take off. All hands are on deck.



This is Pearson Road, my house was nearby. I can't even recognize a road I've driven a thousand times anymore.

[mharr]

Those... are rivulets of aluminum, aren't they?