The fires in Northern California continue to burn unabated, There are at least 17 current Northern California fires.

The fires in Northern California continue to burn unabated, the fear is they will gain intensity again tonight. There are at least 17 current Northern California fires as this is being written, it very well may change by the time I get the blog written, the fire is moving rapidly. We do unfortunately expect for there to be fires in Northern California but not with this intensity and the immense area involved, tens of thousands of acres, so large the estimated size is being related in square miles.

The power pole is 1/4 mile away, normally I can see the Diablo Range of Mountains easily.
The closest fire is about75 miles North West of here. 

  I am inside the house today, this morning the air is full of smoke from the fires in Northern California. Visibility is now (4:00 pm Oct. 11, 2017) about 1/4 mile, it is hazy up to that point then the smoke turns into a wall. We will be affected by the smoke at least through the weekend, but this is nothing compared to the situation our friends and neighbors are experiencing to the North of us. One of my grandson's works for the CCC, (California Conservation Corp), we had not heard from him for several days, of course, I started to worry. He will be assigned during these events to help out all of the emergency response situations that are occurring. The last fire he was in a relief camp helping to settle the victims as best as could be done, he was also at the Oroville Dam catastrophe.  We have found out he is working in a campground in the high country, Loon Lake, a fairly isolated lake high in the Sierra's, so he's safe installing fixtures in the camp bathrooms. Current Northern California Wildfires Link.
  My wife belongs to a dance troupe, some of her dance partners live up north, last night she told me a story one of her friends related to her. She (the friend) was staying in a hotel in Santa Rosa when at 2:30 am they awoke to loud pounding on the door, when they opened the door a law enforcement officer hollered to them "Evacuate Now!". She said they had no time to grab anything, the wind was gusting 50-85 mph, according to news reports. They step out of the door and encountered a wall of smoke, sparks, and wind, they escaped with their lives. 21 others were not as fortunate, an estimated 3500 buildings burned to the ground, of the 1,000 people reported missing, 600 have been accounted for. The deaths have risen to 31, the number keeps changing, for the worst.
  That story is the same exact one related on the cable news networks, when my wife got home I was going to relate the same story she told me. One elderly couple I heard about, they had been married for 75 years, he was 100 years old, she was 98, both perished in the fast-moving blaze. Thier son discovered them in their charred home, they could not get out fast enough. There will be many many stories of this type yet to be told, for now, I wish there was something I could do to help, a monetary donation would be best. I want to send a donation to the Mayor of Santa Rosa, or the Fire Chief of one of the crews no matter what they spend the money on it would be for the cause. I believe when people are up to their eyeballs in crocodiles all of their efforts go towards the solution to the problem, that's my reasoning. I feel as if any local agency would be able to use the entire amount, possibly avoiding the scams and money grubbers, there are a lot of them.

Satellite view of the fires in northern California

  The most recent update I have heard stated there were at that time, just before noon today, there were 17 raging fires none were under control and the wind was once again gaining velocity. That's a little strange, the wind, normally where I live in the Delta, they are on the Northern edges of the waterway, the wind normally howls in our area and is relatively calm up there this time of year. The extreme wind, we do not get Hurricanes, but we do get high winds up to 80 mph on occasion, just south of the wind velocity of a Catagory 1 Hurricane. It can rip buildings apart if it is steady, but in a fire, with all of that fuel, it is a bellows in the forge. If you're not familiar with the type of fuel that the fire is consuming, it's a bit a-typical, not for California but as compared to other parts of the country it's unique.
  Manzanita, the large bushes some people use as Christmas trees and outdoor grilling. It has a high creosote content making it highly flammable as well as an extremely hot burning fuel. When it drys out, which it is after 5 years of severe drought) it is like an explosion when it ignites, and it burns terribly hot. It's a good campfire fuel, and it's pretty but boy is it flammable.
  We have Oak trees, California Oaks, they are not the towering trees we see in the Eastern or Midwest States, these are what I call "scrub" Oaks. They too are bone dry, even though we had a lot of rain this past winter, being that day they will also be like an explosion when exposed to the 2,000 degrees (I'm guessing at the heat, but I think that's close) the trees are instantly gobbled up.
  There are a lot of Eucalyptus trees, I don't know if the concentration is really high there, I do know that they line highway 1 and parts of 101 in places, they are not native to the state. These trees are stately, very tall and also have a high creosote level, after drying out they burn rapidly. Like I said I'm not sure how many of these trees are up there, I'm sure there are some. Everything looks to be on fire there. NASA's article on the Current northern California forest fires Link.
  The searching is continuing for the missing people, 180 in Sonoma County alone, there is some good news 57 (the entire fire scene stretches over 5 counties, where 1,000 total missing were reported, 600 have since been accounted for) people who were reported as missing have been found safely, yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon. The searchers are optimistic most the residents reported missing will be found safe, let's pray for that. It didn't work out real well for cell phone calls, 77 cell phone towers have been destroyed, there is no electrical power so with no way to charge phones and without towers, calls are limited at best. Most people who evacuated had just enough time to escape with their lives, many did not attempt to grab anything, not even their eyeglasses, that's how fast the fire was moving. One report stated it traveled 20 miles in 4 hours, then went on its rampage in Santa Rosa. 25 evacuation centers are set up, it looks like the people will be there for quite some time.

This photograph is from last year, the fires are more intense than this.

The Wind is forecast to reach 25 miles per hour tonight, and shift to a Southerly direction. The wind (I am not a meteorologist) was caught in a high-pressure area, circulating around it in a clockwise rotation. It whipped north on the west of the cell and south on the east of the high-pressure area, it explains to me how the fire spread so rapidly. A fire official said some of the embers went airborne and landed up to 14 miles from the flames, I was not aware they could stay lit that far. I heard some on-site reporters being asked if they had seen any of the huge firefighting tankers flying overhead, they had not seen any. The Cal State fire Chief was interviewed and asked that same question, his response made sense to me. He replied that the fire is over an area of 5 counties, some of the fires are in extremely remote areas, there are a lot of them in California, the tankers are out of sight, but they are working. They have been sent to the backcountry, to places where it is difficult to get the firefighters to, it sounds to me like the best use of that resource. Then again I am not one to second guess anyone making decisions in such an intense situation, they are doing the absolute best they can do, and I appreciate it.
  There is so much happening now in the world, it's no secret to anyone who has not been living in a cave for the past two years. The human suffering caused by these events is overwhelming in many ways, and it is the most important item to address them all. The Wildfires have been an expected occurrence in California for century's, Hurricane's on the Gulf Coast are the same, Harvey, Irma, Maria and Nate, the season is not over yet. Earthquakes in Mexico, four major quakes and thousands of aftershocks. Then there are the horrendous murders that occurred in Las Vegas, all life-changing catastrophic events, there is no score keeping. So many disasters, Tornado's have taken a back seat to them, even though they are still occurring, we have to search fairly deep to find a report.
  Let's keep our evacuation kits at the ready, Link our shoes next to our beds, vehicles fueled up and cell phone's charged, we don't know when it will happen to us. Let's all get prepared. The same state of affairs could occur where I live, I am preparing each evening before going to bed. I put my laptop (all of my website stuff is on it) in my carrying case along with the charger and my cell phone. I leave the cell phone plugged in inside my satchel, that way my phone will be charged and the charger will be readily available. My wife has a portable charger, there are many available, it will charge a phone 3-4 times, I don't know what makes them tick but they do work. Being disabled and slow I don't know if I could have made it out safely if these fires were to happen here. I would surely try to get Mother in law (she's 95 years old) My wife (no comment on the age) My grandson and the dog out.
  Thanks for reading, liking and sharing, let's say a few prayers for the fires to be put out, While watching a big barn on TV completely up in flames, I wonder about the livestock, they didn't have a chance. The only "silver lining" if there is one, is I read about an old tortoise that was rescued in the nick of time. My YouTube video shows how clear it is, watch it here Link 

jacquesandkate  emergencykitsplus.com