Steambender,
That's a good point. But 90% of what you'll need for 3 days, you'll need for one day.

Now you have to worry about changing out the batteries every once in a while, making sure the water is still potable, putting in fresh twinkies every other year, getting fresh stable fuel every quarter, organizing your whole home so the passports and pictures are in a case with a handle, etc. etc. This is just too much fuckin work for a guy who can't manage regular vacuuming or cashing of donation checks.

UT
you are so right...life is too hectic for all of the just in case planning.

and the memories and urgency fade with time even after you've had to do it.

it's an attitude, and a little planning and preparation. we'll do better next time, and we don't or won't prepack any perishables, just use what's around the house at the time.

It just irks me to hear people say "why weren't they more ready?" Who is so organized and in control of their normal life much less contingency planning...

glad things are getting back to mormal.

Gee, I was just there the other day! I didn't flick any butts but I wonder if this fire was semi-divine retribution for that speeding ticket???

As a first one in such locations and being on a bike, what precautions were necessary? Do the streets remain clear? Are there numerous obstructions to be removed? Are flat tires a serious risk? Anything apparent as a threat to you - wildlife or inorganic?

tw lit the fires.

he didn't!
It was always burning, Since the world's been turning

TW-

fly ash and soot, not much debris. nothing that made me worry about my tires. Wildlife pretty much disappears for a while. and I wasn't first, the officials, fire and LEO were all through there, they don't let civilians back until the gas and electric are safely taken care of. I just looked harmless on my bike. I'll tell you though, the air particulate level is high enough that it's not a good idea to do anything strenuous unless you really need to.

Not much news from the northern end of the trouble area today: containment continues, and some assets are freed up to go reinforce the efforts down south. San Diego County is where the major action is now.

As a benchmark indicator of air quality (and why air masks might be useful), how did your clothes smell afterwards? Strong or just an odor of smoke?

New Scientist has a fascinating story about the fires.
There was a camera trap in bushland in Orange county being used to study coyote behaviour. It's the regular set-up that takes a picture when the motion sensor is triggered. The camera somehow survived when the fire raged through, and came up with one astonishing picture, and several others that put it in perspective.

The evening before, Wiley Coyote, possibly fleeing the fires:

Attachment 15680

No caption required:

Attachment 15677

Ten minutes later.

Attachment 15679


More pics at the original story.
I want to know the brand of the camera that survived that blast of heat, and kept shooting. Impressive. Probably not in the design specifications.