My House

This is my house. And I am thankful. I'll just have to enjoy one of my favorite spots in Rancho Bernardo with a different perspective now...My father was right. At risk of sounding cliché, home is where you lay your hat, where your family is, and the beach doesn't hurt. Now when I'm at home, my favorite spot up the street--

It's a Bench With a View.

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This was a Nightmare

Livin' the Dream

I love San Diego. The city is known for its beaches, fun tourist attractions and fantastic weather! I've had some of the best times of my life there. I miss it all the time. When I graduate in May I'm planning on moving back.

What is it they say about San Diego? 72 and sunny year round...that's life

Katie

Things like this make you reflect. One of my old best friends lived up the street, on Cloudsley, in Montelena. You can see her house in the video. That was quite alarming for me when I saw it, thanks internet.

I hadn't spoken to her in years, prior to the fires, but I felt compelled to contact her and check on her and her family. It was as if I was listening to my friend 10 years ago. She sounded exactly the same. It was comforting to hear someone talk about the streets we grew up on, people we knew, places we went in the context, especially with each of us not being present at the outbreak of the fires. She lives is in San Fransisco and I am here in Morgantown.

I'm glad her house is still there. Even though there aren't many others near.

Evacuation Party

With over 500,000 people driven from their homes due to the fires, Qualcomm Stadium, home to the San Diego Chargers, became a temporary haven. But this was no Katrina evacuation. There was entertainment. There were clowns, barbeque, dogs roaming around...it looked like and from all accounts, seemed like a party. People were taken care of. When my parents left our house, they went south, towards downtown, to their office and then luckily were able to stay with a friend. They had to stay there for several days before they were let back in.

Upside: they had a bed to sleep in.

Downside: they didn't get to shower in the Chargers lockroom at Qualcomm.

This is cool

When I think of winds I think of Winnie the Pooh. It was always a Blustery Day in The Hundred Acre Woods. But these were not the same type. However these winds did make for some stunning visuals, notwithstanding the red skies, flames and destruction they left in their wake.

Video

You know when you think you're sick, or you get a diagnosis, doctor's tell you not to go google it, cause it'll scare you? This is a perfect example of why you don't go looking for ALL the information you possibly can on something. It scares you.

Helpless

The fire scared my father. My father is not an emotional man, at least not outwardly. When we speak about it, he recounts the 30 foot flames englufing the tree next to our house. He reminds me that my mother was yelling at him to get the hell away from it, that they needed to leave, as he had a garden hose in one hand the other covering his nose and mouth. It was 4am when they evactuated, as my mother opened the shutters and saw nothing but red out the windows. They left the house with nothing but tooth brushes, a change of clothes and my dog.

Watching the fires unfold on the news, via the internet and through the phone was a nightmare. I was in constant contact with everyone I knew. Checking in with, well, everyone I knew, even people hadn't spoken with in years. I saw old friend's houses on TV. Everything they were showing on CNN was my neighborhood: it was Montelena. It was surreal to see houses detroyed that were your neighbors, where children you knew played basketball, you griped at the old woman's yapping dog as you walked by...it was...odd. My sister who lives in Northern Virginia and I, were in panic for our parents. They were not allowed back into our neighborhood. No one in the "fire zone" really knew the status of their homes. All anyone could do was watch and wait to hear if they were on the "destroy list." It was a hopeless feeling, for everyone involved.

Santa Anas

The winds are what perpetuated the fires. They got up to 70 miles an hour at times. Santa Ana winds are warm, almost hot, offshore winds that swirl up dust and smoke into the air in the fall. They are a seasonal occurance mostly. The reason the winds affected the fires to such an extent was because embers would jump with the wind. This is why there would be several houses destroyed and one standing amist it, untouched, or vice versa.

Map of the Area

Click on blue pins or link below.
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Locations

There were up to 10 fires, I believe at one point, the most intense in San Diego County and the worst damage was done to two areas within the county. The area is known as North County Inland, a "town" or section called Rancho Bernardo. Within Rancho Bernardo there were two developments that sustained the most damage and took the biggest hit: Westwood and Montelena. I live in Montelena.

Fire.

Late last semester, San Diego County as well as part of LA and Santa Barbara Co's burned. The fires were initially started in Malibu by thunderstorms, an uncommon occurance in Southern California, which knocked down power lines. The sparks were fueled by the fierce Santa Ana winds.

Words of Wisdom

My father has always told me that "home" is where your family is. As a child, or former child of a government family who moved often, I found it hard to identify one location as "home." Every few years we would relocate and I would change schools and make new friends. Fortunately, I grew to like this lifestyle and adapted well, but the it doesn't mesh well with putting down roots. However, after living in San Diego in my formative years and then moving back before college, I really identified and fell in love. It became my favorite place out of each location I had lived in. I'm not sure I would want to live outside of the West Coast as an adult.

Go On...

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House

I am from San Diego, CA. This is my house.