From: "Cheryl"
Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2003 4:20 PM
Georgia. Someone wants San Diego to burn! This whole fire situation is unbelievable. As you know, I live in San Diego. I spent Sunday packed and ready to evacuate. I am out of danger now but thousands are not.
This has been the most disastrous situation imaginable, and it didn't have to get like this. Saturday night, four fires started. No one fought them! They were basically allowed to burn out of control until Tuesday or Wednesday. I have been listening to KOGO local radio, and the things they are reporting is astonishing. Our Representatives and City Council members have been trying to get help in here to fight these fires and everything has to go through the Governor's office and the Governor has held up all help until now. Governor Davis was called several times by numerous people requesting help and he refused to give the go-ahead until Tuesday. By then, of course these fires were raging totally out of control all over. These fires have burned 100,000 acres A DAY! These are not forest fires. They started in San Diego and until yesterday were burning within San Diego itself, not out in the east county as they are now. Over 1,100 homes have burnt to the ground needlessly. The immense problem is not that the fires started but that no one fought them until now. Someone would not allow anyone to fight these fires. Canada offered to send C120's or 130's and were told NO. Fire fighters from all over have offered to come and volunteer and were told NO. The military here (Miramar Air Station and Camp Penalton) offered to help and were told NO. They wanted to use their C120' and C130's and helicopters and were told NO. No air support was allowed until Tuesday or Wednesday. There was no real serious fighting of this fire for 3 DAYS! And on, and on, and on these stories go! Fire Officials are saying this San Diego fire is the worst fire in THE HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA!!! Whoever controls the Governor, the same ones who control everyone else.....obviously.....WANTS SAN DIEGO TO BURN!!!
From: Cheryl
Sent: October 29, 2003, 7:50 PM
.......It is so strange here. For 4 days now the air, everything is so very eerie. Everything has an orange glow to it, even indoors. I can't even describe it. It's as if a nuclear bomb went off. Quiet, calm, no one anywhere around, living in an eerie orange cloud, it's dark even in the middle of the day (the street lights are on during the daytime) my deck is an inch deep in ashes (like the inside of a fireplace). They say that the air pollution index is in the 700's all over the city (the high 100's is considered dangerously high). Those who go out are wearing surgical masks or bandanas over their mouth and nose. We are told not to go outdoors. The entire city is shut down. This is a city of over a million people. The schools are closed for a week. Employers are told not to have employees come in, all gov't offices are shut down, etc. Only emergency personnel are suppose to be out in this. The first day or two most of the freeways were shut down. A city of a million plus people, has come to a complete stop. The first day they told us they were going to cut off all gas and electricity to everyone. That didn't happen (praise God). But over the course of 4 days, we now have FEMA and the Office of Homeland Security here. People are saying that some of the ones who are knocking on doors telling people to evacuate are the "Swat Team". Now to my knowledge, the only way people would know that it is the swat team is if they were wearing their swat team gear. They have over 2 dozen evacuation centers set up that people are suppose to go to if and when evacuated. I don't want to sound paranoid (I don't want to BE paranoid), I realize that we do have a major catastrophic fire going on, but the whole thing gives me the creeps. Think about it. The Swat Team comes to your door and tells you that you must evacuate, then you are to go to an evacuation center set up by FEMA and register with the Office of Homeland Security! Maybe I am being a bit paranoid. Anyway the fire has passed where I live and is heading the other direction from me, but the whole thing is extremely spooky. I guess it is just preparation of things to come....Thanks again and God bless you always....Cheryl.
