Big fires up in the wine country. Hoping and wishing that the Painter family in Napa (Napa country iris farm) and the Richard family (Pleasant’s Valley iris farm) in Vacaville are safe and that their homes are unaffected by this tragedy.

Oh no! I sure hope the best for them.

Amen to that Leslie.

I hope everyone stays safe from these devastating fires.

my thoughts and prayers go out to everyone.

grannysgarden said:I hope everyone stays safe from these devastating fires.

Update: not good, 13 reported dead and 150 missing. And although we are 50 miles away from the original Napa fire, today there is one locally right by us that sprung up, but it’s under control. The air is ash laden, smoky and difficult to breathe due to the burning and our girl dog is freaking out because she was traumatized as a puppy when her home caught fire and she was rescued. The worse part is knowing there is difficulty containing the fire and we might eventually have to take action. Hoping that’s not the case.

Richard, I hope and pray the fire doesn't travel 50 more miles! I know you know this, but, just in case I would start thinking, or making a list, of all the things that are important to you, or would need IF you need to evacuate.

more to everyone.

Yes, definitely put together a 'bug out' bag and keep it close to an exit. Keep gasoline in an escape vehicle and put a travel bag containing necessaries in that vehicle. I sincerely hope you never have to escape.

Another thought is your computers hard drive.

They say to also take pictures of all your rooms so you have a record of contents if the worst happens. Pretty sound advice if you need to make an insurance claim.

Please stay safe. Those fires are moving so fast.

A wildfire can travel faster than most vehicles safely can. Having things packed and waiting is sometimes the only way you can save them. Especially if you spend moments looking for a precious pet that has hidden from the fire. Also, remember that one of the first things you will lose in a wildfire is electricity. After dark Imagine rounding up beloved scared animals, trying to find the bag you packed and find the exit in all that smoke and darkness. Think of possibilities and plan accordingly. and then I hope all your packing and planning will be a waste of time.

Richard
I saw a video recently of people fleeing an Australian fire in their car. They came across a tree that had fallen and blocked the road. Luckily they had a chain saw with them and were able to cut through it and move it. If you have to flee, take a chain saw.

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I must admit I wasn’t thinking too far ahead in the event of an evacuation. My thought was to secure the dogs and parrots, grab our wedding album and anniversary journal and get the heck out of dodge. My wife was worried about important documents like the house deed, but I had to reassure her that it’s reccorded and we’ve got our important documents in a fire proof safe (at least that what it was advertised as). Really disheartening to get updates that indicate the fires are minimal or not contained at all to this point. We have friends up in the fire zone areas and are concerned about their safety and well being. And lastly, the local fire this morning had reports of a man running away from the scene which is one of my suspicions that arson could be a real problem since there are so many fires in the Bay Area all occurring right now (although conditions for a fire are ripe). Time will tell, and we plan on going down to my mom’s birthday celebration in a few days so we will be out of town, and hopefully when we return the fires will be contained and well on their way to being extinguished.

Hoping all will be contained. Stay safe, all of you out near the fire!

Hope everyone says safe.

The advice here in Australia - and I cannot stress this enough - is if you are going to evacuate, leave early. Don't wait until the fire is almost on top of you, as this is when you are most likely to get caught by it and often causes loss of life.

If you decide to stay, prepare the property - things like cleaning out the guttering and filling it with water, moving anything you can away from the house so that there is nothing around it that can easily burn, have water available in buckets and the bath (bear in mind the mains may fail), seal windows, etc. The main fire front will pass quicker than you expect and if you have prepared your house, there is a good chance that it will survive. Check the roof cavity after the fire front has passed, as one of the key causes of loss of property is embers getting into the roof.

Whatever you do, do NOT try to outrun a wildfire on foot or leave at the last minute. Your house will NOT burn down in seconds and even if the house does catch alight, it will protect you long enough from the main fire front to allow it to pass.

Richard, I hope the fire doe not come any closer. It's frightening to have that going on around and thoughts of what could happen. Been there a couple of times.praying for everyone affected by the fire.

lilpod13 said:Big fires up in the wine country. Hoping and wishing that the Painter family in Napa (Napa country iris farm) and the Richard family (Pleasant’s Valley iris farm) in Vacaville are safe and that their homes are unaffected by this tragedy.

Has anyone been able to contact them and make sure that they are safe?

Wild Iris Rows Farm in Santa Rosa, CA has been lost to fire.
My prayers are with you and all the victims of the natural disasters occurring across our nation.

I'm so sorry!