# California fires



## Goatzrule (Feb 7, 2013)

is everyone here from southern california safe?


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## wifeof1 (Mar 18, 2016)

We are ok. No electricity, no water, no heat. Road closures. Gnarley winds. Freeway shut down off and on today. Goats have it good under the oaks in a little valley. Keeping water warm for the milkers, and kids has been a challenge. And cell service has been off an on. Paper plates tonight.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Prayers sent your way.


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

Sending lots of prayers your way.


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## wifeof1 (Mar 18, 2016)

Thank you. Goats are fine. Enjoying the new batch of acorns and leaves blowing in their pens. Got my generator back up so my fridge is good and I am able to charge my phone. Too much madness on the freeway so I am staying put. Expected to last until Dec. 12th ugh.


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## Goatzrule (Feb 7, 2013)

How far away are the fires?


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## billiejw89 (May 7, 2014)

Prayers! It is not fun being in that situation. I remember being evacuated a few years ago and I was worried sick about the goats. Thank God everything was ok. I am thinking of you all!


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## groovyoldlady (Jul 21, 2011)

(((((Hugs))))) Our prayers are with you!!!!!


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## wifeof1 (Mar 18, 2016)

We're good here. Don't even see smoke. Since the power has been out, I have been unable to be informed. But the big fire is maybe 100 miles away as the crow flies. The little fires have been about 30 miles away. Freeway is open on and off. 
The electric co shuts down the power "In case a wire should break and spark a fire". So even the fire department has no electricity to pump the well.
Lousy plan in my opinion.


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## New-goat-mom (May 21, 2017)

Very glad you and yours are safe.


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## catharina (Mar 17, 2016)

We had the fires up here in Sonoma County CA not long ago--the worst part of it was no phone or cable TV so we didn't know how close the fires were getting to us. Smoke was everywhere but luckily we were spared the flames. We should have worn those paper masks--we have been catching colds & stuff every 2 weeks since then, no doubt the toxic smoke of burning carpeting, paint, linoleum, cars, etc. etc. Doctor says we aren't the only ones, so wear a mask if it starts to get smoky where you are! Good luck!


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## billiejw89 (May 7, 2014)

catharina said:


> We had the fires up here in Sonoma County CA not long ago--the worst part of it was no phone or cable TV so we didn't know how close the fires were getting to us. Smoke was everywhere but luckily we were spared the flames. We should have worn those paper masks--we have been catching colds & stuff every 2 weeks since then, no doubt the toxic smoke of burning carpeting, paint, linoleum, cars, etc. etc. Doctor says we aren't the only ones, so wear a mask if it starts to get smoky where you are! Good luck!


 Yes, it's a scary situation when you have no way to communicate. You rely on word of mouth to assess the seriousness of the situation. I remember loved ones trying to call and see if we were ok but we were completely isolated here! We have a bunch of family in Sonoma County also and were worried sick for days! My brother lost his home but everyone is ok!


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

How devastating.


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## Goatzrule (Feb 7, 2013)

So glad everyone is safe


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## catharina (Mar 17, 2016)

billiejw89 said:


> Yes, it's a scary situation when you have no way to communicate. You rely on word of mouth to assess the seriousness of the situation. I remember loved ones trying to call and see if we were ok but we were completely isolated here! We have a bunch of family in Sonoma County also and were worried sick for days! My brother lost his home but everyone is ok!


Wow, so sorry about your brother's house. 14 people at my husband's work also lost their homes. It's unreal to see entire sections of the city with little but chimneys standing. SO sad.


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## billiejw89 (May 7, 2014)

catharina said:


> Wow, so sorry about your brother's house. 14 people at my husband's work also lost their homes. It's unreal to see entire sections of the city with little but chimneys standing. SO sad.


That is so sad! My dad grew up in that area. He is still in disbelief that this could have happened there. He worked for the DNR here in washington for many years and he said that place didn't have the right conditions for fires like that. At least it didn't before. These huge fires are becoming common in many areas now and it's scary!


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

Well it probably wasn't the right conditions before but we have been in a drought so a lot of brush and trees have died off. We got a good amount of rain last year which actually kinda makes it worse because there's a wonderful crop of dead grass under all that. The Santa Anna winds just made it devastating this year we had a fire about 7 away and just had a baby breeze and we had ashes all over us. I can't even imagine 80+ winds! My husband was in the San Diego fire and he said it was one of the worst he has been on. He is a dozer operator and there really wasn't even anything they could do because it was just blowing three the lines.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)




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## Goatzrule (Feb 7, 2013)

I cant imagine what the families are going through.


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## wifeof1 (Mar 18, 2016)

It's crazy how many of us choose to live here. Earthquakes, droughts, winds and wildfires. Yet we pay high dollar for the location. $5.29 a gallon for propane. Commercial electric rates on our wells. Super high property taxes. 
But, it's home.


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

wifeof1 said:


> It's crazy how many of us choose to live here. Earthquakes, droughts, winds and wildfires. Yet we pay high dollar for the location. $5.29 a gallon for propane. Commercial electric rates on our wells. Super high property taxes.
> But, it's home.


Lol oh boy I was rethinking it today lol although honestly if it wasn't for our ranch which my family homesteaded on and husbands job I would probably book it  I have to admit though I'm 33 and never felt a earthquake


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## wifeof1 (Mar 18, 2016)

Jessica84 said:


> Lol oh boy I was rethinking it today lol although honestly if it wasn't for our ranch which my family homesteaded on and husbands job I would probably book it  I have to admit though I'm 33 and never felt a earthquake


6 generations of SoCal. That's hard to leave. A few years ago I was promoted to matriarch. The grandkids are the anchors.


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

California once was a great place to live. Grew up in a simple world and it was a nice way of life. 
I really hate it as it is now.


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## wifeof1 (Mar 18, 2016)

toth boer goats said:


> California once was a great place to live. Grew up in a simple world and it was a nice way of life.
> I really hate it as it is now.


Back in the day when Dr.s still made house calls, the milk man dropped milk in glass bottles off on the back porch, and you could never find your skate key. Yep. The good ol days.


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## catharina (Mar 17, 2016)

wifeof1 said:


> Back in the day when Dr.s still made house calls, the milk man dropped milk in glass bottles off on the back porch, and you could never find your skate key. Yep. The good ol days.


No place is like that anymore! I like living in CA, & I have lived a LOT of other places. Just wish land wasn't so expensive, so my goats could have more space.


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## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

My son (who lives here in KY) LOVES CA. He even loved being homeless in CA. Imagine those conversations.

"How's Jim doing?"

Last I heard, he was OK. That was a while ago now, though"

"Oh, where is he?"

"Back in CA, Venice Beach...Last I heard."

"Got an apartment there?"

"No, he went out with a plan of living in his truck. But I found out that his truck was impounded because of parking tickets."

"...So where's he staying?"

"I'm unsure. I can't call him, he won't answer his phone. John (his friend, who Jim DID call) told me he's just on the streets close to the coast."

"You need to tell him to come home."

".............(I try to think of a way to answer someone who I've just told I am completely unable to contact my son telling me I need to tell him something)..........Yeah, I'll do that....(some snark sneaks out) I never thought of doing that, just telling my grown son who is doing exactly what he wants and is breaking no laws and over whom I have no power to please use my credit card to buy a bus ticket home. Oh wait, maybe I have. Yeah, it's all coming back to me now. He's got an answer for my tactics, not answering his phone."

"................"

Plain fact is that some people just really love California. I hear it is amazing!

Good luck all you Fabulous California Girls. I never thought about you not knowing how close the danger is. Hugs.


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

I watched 60 minutes the other night and found out that California makes up of over 1/4 of the homeless in the whole United States! I had to scratch my head because Brown said that raising gas prices and taxes has been the best thing for the state but then talked about the amount of homeless we have. I was very shocked by the amount though


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## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

It is your climate. People could be homeless and still live OK.


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## Goatzrule (Feb 7, 2013)

kY is so beautiful, i cant wait to move down there. The weather definitely help with the homeless population in CA. An updates on the fire?


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

I agree with you all.

California fire maps:
http://www.calfire.ca.gov/general/firemaps


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

mariarose said:


> It is your climate. People could be homeless and still live OK.


I didn't even think of that!


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## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

Ha! When Colorado became the first state to legalize recreational weed, loads of Californians migrated here and massively swelled our state's homeless population. Now that California has legalized, they're starting to go back. It's way easier to be homeless through a California winter than a Colorado one!


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## toth boer goats (Jul 20, 2008)

Yeah, but there has been deaths of people with hypothermia in California being homeless.
It does freeze and sometimes goes below 32 degree's. Add the wind chill and it is a disaster. 
So no place is the best place for not being too cold for the human body. It is truly sad.


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## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

Damfino said:


> It's way easier to be homeless through a California winter than a Colorado one!


But apparently, not so much easier that legal weed won't get one through the tough times! Although, it is curious, I haven't noticed illegal weed being too hard to find... Like moonshine in a dry county. Now that Metcalfe is no longer a dry county, good moonshine is getting harder to find.

People are fun! Thanks for that observation Damfino.


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## SalteyLove (Jun 18, 2011)

So.... not living in a place with these huge fires. If the fire moves very fast and you have to leave without notice - do you just open all the barns and gates to release the livestock so they have a chance?

Here in New England they covered this awful story about 30 horses burned alive because there were padlocks on all the stalls?


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## mariarose (Oct 23, 2014)

Saltey, you may like this story. I don't know what everyone caught there will do, but this may make you feel better.


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

I was homeless in Colo. back in 1979-1980 in Vail. There were 3 National parks in the area. You could tent camp for 30 days. So I would camp in each park for 30 days. Every 90 days I'd start all over! Winter was interesting and cold. 20* below 0 at night! 

I had a job too. But even back then, it was hard to afford rent. Work, ski and sleep in a tent. No worries, no car, it was great! I should have gone to CA! It would have been warmer!


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## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

There have always been a few people who set up camp on public land and it's never been a problem until the last few years. But recently homeless people have been invading Colorado's unimproved camping areas and leaving a huge mess for the locals to deal with. It's pretty sad and I'm glad it's not happening down south where I live. http://www.denverpost.com/2016/05/29/camping-crisis-homeless-put-boulder-county-sites-under-siege/

Anyway, back on-topic, I feel for all you folks in California right now and I hope these winds back off so the firefighters can start getting the upper hand.


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## Jessica84 (Oct 27, 2011)

SalteyLove said:


> So.... not living in a place with these huge fires. If the fire moves very fast and you have to leave without notice - do you just open all the barns and gates to release the livestock so they have a chance?
> 
> Here in New England they covered this awful story about 30 horses burned alive because there were padlocks on all the stalls?


That's basically all one can do. I haven't had to be in that situation yet but I think about it a lot and that's what I would do. Load what I can and start cutting fence. On a local FB fire page I'm part of theres some handy tips that I never would have thought of. Write your number with a sharpie on the horses hoofs or spay/ paint it on the them. Load the easy to load horses first. If you go with the hard one first you may not get any of them loaded and that could go with Goats as well. I just hope, pray, cross my fingers I never have to be in that situation.


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## Damfino (Dec 29, 2013)

Yeah, spray painting your number on your animals is super important to ID them, and it can be read even at a distance. I would avoid the Sharpie on the hoof method since the horse may end up running through ashes and the black marker won't show up well and may not be noticed unless someone washes all four hooves.

I'm part of a local team that helps deal with animals during natural disasters, and many of them helped out at the Black Forest fire in 2013 where lots of animals had to be evacuated on short notice. Many people only had time to fling corrals open, so reuniting displaced animals with their proper owners was really difficult when they didn't have any identification on them. Some were never identified and had to go to shelters to be rehomed. It's always sad when that kind of thing happens.


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## Goats Rock (Jun 20, 2011)

Damfino said:


> There have always been a few people who set up camp on public land and it's never been a problem until the last few years. But recently homeless people have been invading Colorado's unimproved camping areas and leaving a huge mess for the locals to deal with. It's pretty sad and I'm glad it's not happening down south where I live. http://www.denverpost.com/2016/05/29/camping-crisis-homeless-put-boulder-county-sites-under-siege
> 
> That figures, a few always ruin it for everyone else. All we left behind were memories. No trash, etc.


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## goat girls (Dec 13, 2017)

hoping all you California folks and goats are safe


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