Adam…I have a question…the fire in the clip and where you broadcasted from, you had said cant expand because its a gas line..I think that was it…..anyway…Im wondering….isnt there a chance wind or a spark from it could set the surrounding trees on fire???

Adam,
I am afraid the people I know have lost everything, last evening they were surrounded and wondering if they had to leave. Amazing how loud the gas line is!

At this point I think any abled body in Cali should be helping to put out the fires.

Diane Feinstein was just on the news saying communities need to stop approving building in these fire prone areas…I agree…..it is a local zoning problem….too bad families have been put in this mess….

Here we go again rewarding bad behavior and irresponsibility… First of all, let me express my sympathy and empathy for everyone in Southern California where I lived most of my life, including San Diego until 2004 when I moved to Florida, so I could experience hurricanes, hahaha.

Yes, I believe government at each level has a responsibility to provide aid in major disasters but excuse me if I get alittle irritated when I see politicians like Senator Feinstein (sp?) so eager and so understanding to offer financial help to “a family with four children who lost their home and have no fire insurance…” How much financial empathy and/or sympathy should I personally have when every year I pay property taxes and hazard insurance; fire and earthquake? Should I be thrilled if politicians once again want to give free cheese to those who do not bother to insure their property? Afterall, I will end up paying even more as taxes and insurance go up because of the losses and payouts by the insurance companies and governments.

Sorry, but I have my own financial battles to deal with and I do not feel a financial obligation to bail out those who refuse to buy insurance while I regularly buy insurance for my property. Yes, I still own property in California and I pride myself in being responsible to society and governments alike and I do not think bad behavior should constantly be rewarded, which has become the modus operandi in society since the great social and political revolution of the 60s which I lived through as a college student in California. Yes, I know I am being ugleeee and oh so uncaring but I make no apology for my thoughts on this matter and I have started a blog called curmudgeoneyes to discuss issues such as this if anybody is interested, but if you cannot find it that is because I am new at blogging and not sureif I set it up correctly, but I will get it right in time. That is just the way I am, work hard until I get it right, jajajajaja…..

pazcurmudgeon

Are you the “chosen” one to go to San Diego county? Besides SD, if anyone can get onto Camp Pendleton to see what’s going on there…I bet you can. I live in San Clemente and skies are overcast with dropping ash from the marine base fire. Get on it, dude!

Paz….maybe there is a reason they didnt pay for the fire insurasnce? how do we know what their story is?? some people have medical reasons or other for financial issues which would cause insurance to not be paid….I just think we should not judge without knowing the story…especially over someone who is suffering from this devastation.

Adam,

Outstanding reporting!! You, Casey Stegall, Claudia Cowan, Jonathan Hunt, Dan Springer, ..WOW..It just doesn’t get any better!!

Pasquale-

So in other words, those who don’t have insurance should pay the price?

I saw a family who did not own a house and were renting- they lost everything too.

I completely agree with you Pasquale. Im an insurance agent and I have insureds that struggle to pay thier insurance, BUT THEY PAY IT. They dont live in million dollar homes, but it is their home and they dont want to be left out in the cold if the unthinkable happens–it’s called Being Responsible something that should be rewarded but instead is being in some ways punished. In the insurance world if you choose not to insure your property, you are referred to as “self insuring”. It means that you are CHOOSING to bear the full cost of any losses that occur.

Whatever happened to accountability and responsibility? Has it completely gone by the wayside in place of waiting for someone to step in and cover your butt because you chose not to? Yes Pasquale I agree that we both sound like uncaring beasts with no sympathy and kicking people when they are down, but dang it I pay my insurance and if I didnt I would be too embarrassed to cry about it when something bad happened.

Great job covering this story as always, Adam! Although I live in Tennessee, I have visited many parts of California, know residents, and have a tie to Pepperdine. Be safe! You and the people of California are in my thoughts and prayers.

Hi. I live in Brooklyn, NY. Is it possible to travel there and volunteer to assist in fire fighting and relief efforts? Does anyone know spacifically of any centers that would take in such volunteers or Websites with such information? I am sure that there is much need for workers in many areas there now.

I’m sure there are more help fire victims blogs, but one that has got to be central to San Diego is the San Diego Union-Tribune’s blog, http://helpsandiego.blogspot.com/. You’ll find some really good interaction between those needing help and those looking to help others…real specific as well.

Pasquale…..I agree….bad behavior, such as not paying for insurance should not be rewarded….especially by giving a government handout. I didn’t hear Feinstein talk about that but agreed with her that development is too often given permission in areas that are hazardous and should not be developed…even in the mudslide areas….California sure has it’s problems…earthquakes, mudslides, fires…..I am disgusted that now they are saying flight support was late in coming….I understood that flights to fight the fire were delayed because of the winds…..the blame game never ends.

I have to agree with Pasquale on alot of the points. One thing is, if we would allow these areas to be cleaned up (all the underbrush) as it should be instead of letting all the Environmentalists prevent forestation, there would not be these severe fire problems or at least it would be a much smaller scale.
My sympathy and prayers go to everyone in California.

Adam and teams reporting for fox good reporting & video!!! be safe in your travels god speed

Has anyone thought that those people maybe can’t afford the outrageous insurance premiums. Just my thought. Look what happened after Katrina, lots of folks who HAD insurance couldn’t collect because the company refused to pay them. What is a person to do? Maybe it was a matter of feeding and clothing their kids. Please don’t be so quick to judge until you have all the facts.

Richard-

redcross.org- 1-800-redcross-

I have my number with a couple agencies here for donations-

And as for the blogs- I know who not to contact when the chips are down and who to contact.

How does insurance cover sentimental losses? I have insurance but there are so many things I have here which could never be replaced-

Some family yesterday was able to get their two dogs out but the cat stayed behind- How does insurance cover this?

So what do you do? Do you do selective picking? I will help you because you had insurance and I will not help you because you neglected to get insurance?

Signed,

Curious George

JoAnn-
good point and many of these people were indigent, barely able to feed themselves much less get insurance-

quote- think twice before you harbor uncharitable thoughts.

Why is no one suing the enviromentalists that are ultimately responsible for this and other fire disasters in the west? Why does it always get blamed on the stupid notion of global warming?

Fact is…sometimes bad things happen and there is little anyone can do about it-

Amen and thank you-

And- So if people don’t have health insurance, they deserve to die-

Pasquale,Firewife,Linda and others….no, you’re not the only ones that feel that way. I too agree that if you choose to live without home/fire/flood insurance then you’re on your own when it comes to looking for aide to rebuild. This reads similar to those that made bad mortgage decisions in the last few years and are now so deep in debt that they can’t even afford to move. If you decide to make risky financial decisions (which you’re doing when living without proper insurances) then you, not me, have to pay the piper when things turn sour.

Well said Adam!

as I said before..before you judge a victim consider there may be a reason they didnt have fire insurance…and like Adam said, not eveyone suffering lived in typical fire prone areas….

Adam-

excuse our petty arguments-

nothing here like when we argue over on Greta’s side-

Ran-

Planet in Peril- or California in Peril

Once things calmed after Katrina had ripped through this area with a fury I have never witnessed before, I was able to assess the damage to my property. I was one of the lucky ones and the damage was minor and primarily a major clean-up of downed trees. My sons and I repaired the roof then cut and hauled off debris for days. I never even considered filing a claim against my property insurance policy, because I knew what the consequences would be after it was all said and done.

My rates still went through the roof, because of an invisible line drawn by some insurance bean counters. Then I got notice the provider I had used for over 15 years would no longer be insuring homes in my area. Now my insurance rate has become astronomical and I really do question its value after witnessing what has happened to people all across the Mississippi and Alabama coast. It has taken those people years and many lawsuits just to get settlements from the insurers that are in essence a fraction of the value of their original property.

I’m not a socialist by any means, but something is very upside down about this insurance racket!

The renters here on this coverage just lost their rabbit, finches, lizards- poor little boys- these were probably their most prized pets- how does insurance cover the heart ache?

Adam, thanks for your reply to “JoAnn and others”. It’s all too easy to get caught up in the Blame Game nowadays and I’m affraid I may have been caught up in it too….. and I don’t even live in California, thus I’m not experiencing what horrors you guys must be going through. You are 100% right when you say basically, S**t happens. All we can really do is live and learn from it.
The time for debating who’s right and who’s wrong is best left to the time we can all sit together over a favorite beverage. Don’t laugh, that really works. I can’t remember how many times in college we solved all of the world’s problems while sitting in the local bar. Ofcourse, now looking at the present world situations we really didn’t accomplish a damn thing………Oh well, back to the bar and let’s try it again.

I wonder if anyone has ever explored the possibility of a fire protection sprinkler system for the exterior of a home. A steady spray of water over the roof might inhibit the flames starting from a windborne ember. Hmmmm…….. just a thought…..

I’m here in san diego. The fires are all around me, pretty much land locked, but safe. The damages will be life changing for many and those that are directly affected by this act of nature. There is only so much that can be prevented in these conditions.
Maybe insurance can be incorporated in the beginning of the purchase of a home. Like car insurance,priced depending where you choose to live. Insurance does need to be made available 9affordable for all including renters). So much to say on this topic.

Adam, this time there is somebody to blame – the arsonist who set these fires. I thought I just read somewhere that they the Highway Patrol caught some guy setting a brush fire at Lake Arrowhead. They weren’t sure if this is the guy who intially set the fires to begin with, though.

Something else I’d like to add – I would actually like to hear more on how the less affluent are coping with this tradgedy. The media seem to want to focus more on the wealthy and their million dollar homes. I don’t feel sorry for them – they more than likely have great insurance that will pay and if they can afford these mansions – they can afford another one. These people are not the ones staying in a shelter – they’re staying in luxury hotels, or another home they own somewhere else. They knew what they were getting into when they decided to build in the wilderness. There are people who would love to insure their property, but probably have to chose between food, medicine, or the house payment itself. And if these people were to somehow scrape enough together to pay these premiums, who’s to say that the insurance companies will even pay? As we’ve seen with Katrina – more people than not were left high and dry.

I guess I sort of have the same point of view as some of the Californians had expressed after 9-11. I don’t live there, I’m not really interested. Anyone thinking about mans expansion and development into areas he really shouldn’t be building homes ?

Adam, I understand that wild fires are caused by lightening, a tossed cigarette or a camp fire getting out of control. Sometimes arson. My question is, what has caused these fires to happen all most at the same time and in differnt areas.

Any thoughts or info your getting from the authorities as to the cause of these fires.

Thanks,
Mike

Michael, that’s an interesting thought and if may add, how about making the roofs and outside walls of the structure out of fire proof or fire retardent materials. That is what Pepperdine University apparently uses for their “safe” buildings, stucco walls and clay tiled roofs. ( Adam would know for sure ). Sure it would cost more initially, but it should be cheaper than having to rebuild the home every 4 – 5 years. As a last resort, you could have a fire proof tarp to cover the home, however with the speed these fires travel and the streght of the Santa Ana winds this probably wouldn’t be feasible.

These fires are some of the worse I have ever seen. Adam, is there any danger where you live and the other Fox crew out there? I hope and pray this situation will soon be over and people will be able to get their life back together. My prayers are with all of you. Please stay safe. Love your blog. Oh yes, Greta is whooping it up with Laura Bush. She is having a ball.

There are ways to make your home safer against a fire–poured concrete walls, steel frame instead of wood and roof shingles made of concrete. It is more spendy but it might provide a little peace of mind and you get a break on your insurance rates.

I agree that it is easy to fall into the blame game and start the finger pointing, but I think it all stems out of frustration and the wanting of a “fix” for the problem. There are so many angles to this problem from building in a fire prone area, to arsonist, to the Santa Anna winds. In the end what is done is done, we cant take it back and try to change things, we dont have that luxury. What we can do is learn from this and take the necessary precautions and thank the Lord that only one life, be it extremely tragic, and not more have been lost considering the amount of people in harms way.

John, you make a good point about fireproof roofing materials.

In many instances nothing would have saved some of these homes and businesses, because of the intensity of the flames and their rapid movement. However, in watching the reports that show one home burnt to the ground while another only a few feet away was spared, makes me think about the possibilities of prevention. Maybe a way to quickly disburse a fire retardant around the perimeter of the property and then envelope the building in a shield of water, or other chemical deterrent. The costs may be prohibitive for some, but might be well worth it for those multi-million dollar homes that have been threatened more than once.

Sorry, I’ve been reading this blog all week (Adam, your coverage is amazing!) and I can’t keep quiet any longer. I’m with you guys, Pasquale, Firewife and others. Whatever happened to personal responsibility? I work to pay our bills – insurance included. This is not a socialist state. Government is not responsible for taking care of everyone’s family. Yes, bad things happen like a drought, an arsonist, etc. That’s why it’s important to buy insurance. If you can’t afford insurance – then move to a cheaper house and/or neighborhood!

Prayers and blessings to the firefighters and emergency personnel who have performed so brilliantly. You are the heroes of this tragedy!

Adam, how is it that you/crew are allowed so close to the fires? How do you know that once you get in you won’t be surrounded on all sides and unable to get out? Be careful! You’re making me nervous…

On the subject of insurance, rates are high and this should be considered before the purchase of a home. If you can’t afford the insurance for the home you are considering, you should look for something else. If you choose not to have insurance because you don’t like the way the insurance companies handled Katrina claims, then you’re just out of luck. I agree the insurance companies took advantage of the Gulf Coast residents but having insurance in the event of a tragedy such as this is better than the alternative.

I had someone in the insurance industry tell me once that insurance is supposed to put you back to where you were before you suffered your loss. It’s not supposed to improve your life and it’s not supposed to set you back. Unfortunately there are people who believe it is supposed to improve their life and they milk it for everything its worth. I heard stories of people here in Mississippi who filed claims with their insurance providers and received money from FEMA for losses that were not Katrina related. We all watched the stories in the media about FEMA abuses. So blame goes both ways.

I don’t believe in a government bailout but I believe there should be a plan to compensate a reasonable amount to those who chose not to have their belongings insured. The basics such as clothing, hygiene supplies, shelter, food etc. should be provided to all those in need regardless of their insurance coverage. We should not punish people who are already suffering. Replacing a house that someone chose not to insure should not be an option. Put a FEMA trailer on the property until such time that the owner is able to rebuild. If I chose not to insure my home and I lost it to fire today, no one would be beating down my door to hand me money to replace it. And if I were in this position, I would be eternally grateful for a FEMA trailer. This is a major tragedy and there are many people affected so the kindness of others needs to be shared among all.

Firewife,
What I did notice is the lack of steel homes in CA. In rural Texas they are dime a dozen, you get a big insurance break for having metal roofs. Copper roofs are gorgeous, I know the style is spanish but I do wonder if they need to rethink construction types.

Jarrel, TX built many concrete walled homes after the second Cat 5 tornado, I would expect some type of change to come that way in CA.

horrific fires, but great reporting of them. our thoughts and prayers are with everyone involved.
hey, Jonathan Hunt, which is worse? Greenland or this!!??

Just saw a guy on Cavuto talking about his fire retardant system. So, it is already available, but needs to be made more esthetically pleasing.

Esthetically pleasing or not I would be glad to have my “ugly” house after this, but I know what your getting at!

My heart goes out to everyone that has lost their homes and keepsakes. I’ve lived “in the woods” and knew when I lived there I was balancing risk with pleasure, and although far from wealthy and raising children on my own, I managed to pay for insurance on my little cabin. One reason it was not a big cabin is that if I had bought a big cabin, I wouldn’t have been able to afford the insurance and upkeep.

As for renters, I don’t know about rates in California, but here in Colorado where we also have fires, my renter’s insurance is only $17 a month and it would replace all of my furnishings, clothes, etc if my rental burned. I’m working on keeping getting all my years of pictures scanned and stored digitally, off site. Again, I’m not wealthy, but premiums are easily paid as long as you don’t build your “cabin” too large. If the insurance becomes too costly, then it’s time to re-group and downsize or move to another area where the premiums are affordable. I know that the insurance would help me recover what can be recovered, but could never replace everything lost.

It’s sad, but the best places are, as always, for the wealthy. I’m not willing to accept Socialism or Communism to overcome that fact. What is much more sad is that the wealthy can choose to take huge risks, take them over and over, and when those risks are turned into reality, everyone pays..higher taxes, higher insurance premiums.

High risk areas should be covered by a distinct insurance pool that does not affect the rates of others. If you can afford a multi-million dollar home in a high risk area, you can afford the high risk insurance far greater than someone like me or someone just trying to keep a roof over their children’s head, food on the table.

Some people will loose much more if their critically ill children die of lack of care because Mom and Dad couldn’t pay for it. THAT is a very different story. I maintain that if someone can afford to pay thousands of dollars for a pair of shoes or a purse, it wouldn’t hurt them to contribute a bit more to insurance premiums or some other mechanism to help others. On the same note, people who have five children and make very little money shoulda coulda thought about that before conception. But even there, you have good parents left with little after a spouse dies or deserts..and that certainly was not in the cards when the children were conceived..so have to be careful there too. I never expected to raise three children on my own, without help, but that’s what happened.

I firmly believe that you cannot put yourself at risk, and then expect Santa Clause to rescue you when the risk becomes a reality. That’s not fair to all of the other kids who won’t get toys because Santa was busy helping you recover from a risk you knew you were taking. Ya gotta know when to hold em, fold em, walk or run, and not expect that you can build again and again and again and again in high flood/earthquake/hurricane/fire risk areas and expect everyone else in the country to bail you out, no matter how much money you do or do not have. Perhaps the developers who choose to build in these areas should be the first to contribute significantly to the “high risk” insurance pool, which should also partially pay for the costs of fighting fires, rescue, etc. If that were the case, we might find fewer HOMES being built where they really should not be.

hope for all of San Diego…

This guy’s system had a huge tank, or reservoir for the chemical and several other cylinders that probably act as a propellant of the fire retardant. It could probably be engineered in a way to make it less conspicuous on a small landscape.

Laura Ingle has an entry on her blog about readily available products that hook up to a typical garden hose. So, now I think it is more about educating those in potential danger instead of re-inventing the wheel.

If there was a hurricane repellant available in my part of the world I would keep several buckets of the stuff on hand.

Ah Ha! There is already talk that insurance companies might not cover some of the losses! There is probably some small print in the contracts that attempts to minimize their risk. In this part of the world the battle was over damage caused by water vs. wind. Just what good is “hurricane” coverage if it excludes water damage? A hurricane is all about wind and water!!!!!!!!

Susan

You keep talking about those poor renters — fact is they left those animals behind locked in their home. They had plenty of warning to get them packed and in the car – they saved their coin collect and a shark tooth necklace. Locked in a house and burning alive – spare me if i am not impressed. I am proud of the people who saved their dogs and horses. Horses are especially difficult to evacuate. I am impressed by the people donating hay and spaces for the animals to stay and the people going in to rescue animals left behind.

Adam, I would like to see more coverage of the rescues – can’t you go in with the animal resource teams?

I agree with the Katrina guy who had insurance and saw how the insurance companies screwed everyone by finding reasons not to cover people who paid premiums for years. I do feel people can be made to be responsible in other ways. Everyone could serve time as fire watchers just like others volunteer to be fire watchers. Others can volunteer to clear underbrush and plant vegetable fire retardant ground cover. Lets’ see how the insurance companies respond to rebuilding in CA. You are lucky in that you have good public officials who will fight for your rights. CA is showing the world what every state should be organized to do in disasters. Other states should take a lesson.

I personally would like to sue those blaming environmentalists for these fires. These are arson fires probably set by those who are going to profit from them, either by logging or getting insurance from unsellable homes or to divert border guards while illegals cross over or contractors who will make money rebuilding. Wait and see before you blame environmentalists. Demand that interrogation are done by the FBI and Homeland Security as well as the locals. It will be important that the arsonists name his co-conspirators. Offer big rewards to those who inform.

Adam blames the weather but the weather is only used by arsonists not the cause of this kind of fire.

I was watching Fox News, On The Record/Van Susteren 10-24-07 approx. 7:45 pm and was watching an inview with a firefighter working in Running Springs The property looked like our house with the chain link fence with the gate at the left corner with the revene beyond the fence. Is there any way of finding out what street that interview took place on? We have not been able to find any news as yet regarding the statis of our home. Our property is located on Knoll View Dr. off of Live Oak Dr. in Running Springs. Thank you.

Mona – I’m not sure if this will help, but Google maps has been updating their aerial maps every few hours. You might want to check out their site.

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=114250687465160386813.00043d08ac31fe3357571&ie=UTF8&z=8&om=1

Mona – This link might also be heplful.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-fireday2-sg,0,2762894.storygallery

[...] New Raw Fire Video I shot this standing next to my live shot at Lake Arrowhead. There are two fires burning up here and 400 homes have […] [...]

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