More on Rancho Santa Fe's rules, regulations, really good McDonalds Paninis

CNN has picked up on Rancho Santa Fe's "shelter-in-place," designed to insulate homes from flames if people cannot evacuate. According to CNN.com:

Trees and bushes must be a certain distance from the house and cannot exceed a certain height. Roofs must be nonflammable; shrubs near the house must always be watered. Indoor sprinklers are a must. Columns must be masonry, stucco or precast concrete; windows must be dual-paned or tempered glass; wood fences cannot touch the home.

Some fear the "shelter in place" design lulls people into a false sense of security. A home is never "fire proof", it's just "fire resistant." But even San Diego County is rumored to be looking in to stricter fire regulations.

Bush is touring, Christi something or other from Headline News is happy we're watching her, you're welcome Christi something or other.

President Bush just finished getting a first hand look of wild fires and says the nation owes debt of gratitutde to thousands of fire fighters on front line. He also pledged immediate and long term federal help to those who need it in the area.

And now back to the burned houses and this really cute guy named Reggie taking us through the rubble. I like his shirt. I'm falling in love with CNN news.

The Coop is still in the building! (Alternative headline, The Coop hasn't flown the coop.)

The Coop is in Rancho Bernardo! He's rocking that "in the field with my safari looking jacket and my mussed hair from my serious in the field reporting because I'm a field reporter damn it" look. *Drool*

According to The Coop (who is never wrong, look at that face, that face is RIGHT). "California has maxed out it's firefighting resources and is asking the Federal Government for help."

There are at least 15 active fires tonight, statewide nearly a million have had to flee. San Diego county came within minutes of a major power outage but managed to clear a threat before it took out the last major power line.

Now back to his planet in peril.

National News Roundup: According to CNN it's bad, but not that bad...

Things look good, but not too good, but pretty good. There's a very long fight ahead, but the firefighters are on top of it, but they are still having trouble containing the fires, but the winds are better, but not perfect and they can change at any time, or they couldn't. Damage could top 1 billion, or less, or more. The weather has been dicey, but is improving, but it could get worse, or better, or stay the same.

I quite liked this exchange between two of the reporters:

"How bad is it?"
"It's bad."
"It's bad?"
"So bad."
"Bad, bad?"
"Bad."
"That's too bad."
"But it's not all bad."

CNN, reporting from the front lines.


Oh yeah, and in case you were wondering CNN says this is so much better than Katrina. (Apples, meet oranges.)

National News Roundup: This is still not Katrina

I'm noticing a disturbing trend in news reporting about the great fires of 2007. It's a "this is not Katrina" and "since we are doing such a good job lets pat ourselves on the back and forget all about that pesky Katrina stuff." From CNN:


President Bush will visit the area Thursday, the White House said. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff arrived in San Diego on Tuesday afternoon. Chertoff promised a different federal reaction from the one in New Orleans in 2005. "We have been preparing and planning and training together for the last 2½ years," he said. And the scene at Qualcomm Stadium on Tuesday did seem to live up to Chertoff's expectations as volunteers cheerily handed out chairs, food and water.



You're right people, this is NOT Katrina. Lets just ignore the fact that they are two completely different parts of the country, that they are two completely different kinds of natural disasters and that they are happening in two very different ways. Lets even gloss over the idea brought up on CNN this morning about "the difference in socio-economic status" of a lot of the evacuees. Heck, lets even ignore the lessons that probably were learned (heard something mentioned about having ALL resources available immediately after the disaster rather than in phases? Really, that took you that long?). Ooo, lets even ignore the fact that Mrs. Bush Sr. hasn't showed up yet to tell those at Qualcomm how happy they should be to have such good accommodations and how they probably like it better there.

No, lets just focus on this. The San Diego city center is in tact. It has mostly been homes destroyed in these fires, not businesses. In a city of suburbs, expansive and connected by freeways there has been ROOM for people to run. It is not a city underwater with little to no way out. It is not people stranded on rooftops with signs asking for help.

Apples and oranges and all that, just let it go. Give California it's props for reacting so quickly, for wanting to help, for banding together, for offering 420 friendly accommodations via Craigslist. I love San Diego, and will continue to tell everyone it is THE place to be, but we are NOT Katrina, and what's the point in letting us know that every 20 minutes? Thank you for all your help on this one Federal Government and News Media but guess what, you still can't get out of the whole Katrina debacle.

So concentrate on the now... and concentrate on still hoping for some New Orleans forgiveness, because when the Supreme Court is STILL denying insurance claims, well, don't tell me you're doing EVERYTHING you can do for those survivors.

The Coop is still in San Diego in his tight tshirt reporting from Qualcomm, looking clean and happy.

The Coop is reporting that winds are dying down to 20 MPH (vs. 100mph winds of before). They are expecting the firefighters to get ahead and on top of the fires tomorrow. We're reaching the turning point.

From the ashes, a miracle. The Coop comes to San Diego!

The Coop is in San Diego! Standing in front of an oogling crowd of Qualcomm goers is one Anderson Cooper, reporting from the San Diego front lines.

Oh Coop, if only you could have come to visit for different reasons (we're a lovely city you understand), but I understand you're exploring your "Planet in Peril."

San Diego has...talent (and a redesigned City Beat website)

I know, it's time for some other postings non fire related. Visit here if you're curious about more fire stuff. We're waiting for Gov. Arnold's press conference which CNN promises is coming up, sometime, eventually, they're not quite sure when.

For those that are looking for some other "news":

Been meaning to post about this one for a while (a while being a little over a week). San Diego City Beat, aside from redesigning their site, is featuring short fiction (101 words or less) turned in by their readers and judged by their... judges.

I've posted the winning story below, but check them all out. San Diego has... talent.


First place

Summer Vacation

Our town is dismal, the color of coal. Dad spits black, even on weekends. August is too hot and I can’t swim in the strip mine anymore because Joey drowned there. Everyone sits on the porch in their underwear and complains. Uncle Ralph talks about sex, tells us Aunt Millie’s tits weigh eight pounds. Mostly, I’m bored. At night, I avoid my older brother and sleep nude against a broken window screen. In September, Our Miss Brooks makes us write about summer. I make something up and get an A. Nobody wants to hear the truth about summer in this place.

Bil Fuhrer,Clairemont

San Diego Fires claim 100+ homes, CNN reports.

Just watched a quick update on CNN. 100+ homes have been destroyed by the fires in San Diego County. Over a quarter of a million people have fleed their homes and over 100,000 acres have burned (so far). There is some concern (still) that the fire could (possibly) reach out to the coast. And it's the wind that's cause for concern.

Over on CNN.com I found this bit of info.

The fast-moving fires are threatening the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park. The park was closed Monday and some of the animals, like endangered condors, are being moved to a safer location, according to zoo spokeswoman Yadira Galindo.

You can find live blogging coverage here.

Or if you go here there's some more information. Qualcomm is looking for donations. Belly up and Casbah are closed tonight. Help your neighbors, stay inside, stay off cell phones.