It is with great sadness that we are reporting our newest blogger and good friend George Stimson and his partner Sandy Good have lost their home to California's latest wildfire. The Valley Fire in Lake County has been fast moving and ferocious, they are by no means alone in their loss but when it's someone you know it somehow makes it more personal.
The Valley Fire started early Saturday afternoon while George and Sandy were out of town. It began about two miles from their home, as the crow flies. In less than 24 hours the fire grew to 40,000 acres. It is now at 61,000 acres and counting. California's drought conditions coupled with last week's 100+ degree temperatures in the area no doubt contributed to the aggressiveness of the fire. Over 10,000 people have been displaced and more than 400 homes lost. Entire small communities were wiped out.
George and Sandy do have some place to stay. They are not in a shelter or living in their car and for that they are grateful. They may be in a state of shock now but they will bounce back. We wish them good things for the future.
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George,
We've been emailing back and forth for the last few days trying to keep each other informed and follow what's going on. You're safe and in the end that's what matters. Glad you were able to save the rabbits. Take care friend, and let us know if you need anything.
Matt & Julie
71 comments:
Anything you need $$$ or muscle to help you get back on your feet.. I'm there,I can drive up and help....
George and Sandy,
This is very cruel, sad news. The California fires were covered extensively on the British news last night, so there is awareness on this of the Pond. I am truly sorry that you have lost your home with all the memories and possessions which you have built up over the years. At least both of you are safe, and that is ultimately the main thing.
I am heartened that DebS is able to report that you both have somewhere to stay. Unlike DebS, Matt and Julie, I don't know you personally, but feel I 'know' you in a way from the excellent contributions which you have been making to this blog. That makes it all the harder to imagine the emotions which you two are going through.
Vera, Matt's off duty for now. I've been deleting your posts. I live on the west coast and can stay up all night if necessary. Please behave yourself.
Hang in there George and Sandy. I'm pullin' for ya.
Very sorry to hear the bad news. Best wishes for things to improve as quickly as possible!!
Does it concern to Sandra Good from Manson family?
I'm glad you're safe, and sorry for what you've lost. Hope you're back on your feet as soon as possible.
This is heartbreaking. Sending love and light.
Zdena... yes it does concern Sandra Good who promised the the good people that during their revolution...." Los Angeles will burn to the ground"
SMDH
So sorry to hear this. If I were in California, I would offer help of any sorts, but alas, I'm in Tejas!
xreles, what you say is true. Good did say that decades ago. Let's keep in mind here that 10,000 people have been displaced by this fire. With last night's updated numbers there have been 545 homes lost. Tragedy.
Last night I watched the horrific video of the "fire." AND while I like most folks have always thought that fire is the most powerful force on earth, I now realize FIRE is soooo powerful that IF there is / are GODS, then the FIRE God must be the MOST powerful GOD in the universe. And HE / SHE does NOT discriminate at all. Plant life - animal life - people life, HE / SHE is the supreme "ruling" force in all of existence itself.
May the REAL force be with us ALL.
Matt,
I am hoping that no one who posts on here is feeling smug at Sandy's expense. This is a huge human tragedy irrespective of what someone may have said many, many years ago.
Perhaps as a US citizen you might enlighten me as to why, year after year, these fires occur throughout California without more effective preventative measures being in place, or a more effective response. I know that we in the UK cannot appreciate the size of territory covered in US states, but I am wondering if California citizens are being let down by their elected representatives.
Mr. Hendrickson, as a survivor of Hurricane Katrina on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, let me assure you that water, not fire, is the strongest force on Earth.
Did she not say L.A would burn to the ground maybe she got the location wrong.
equinox, much of the American west is hit with dry summers. When that happens the wooded areas become fireplace tinder. If a campfire gets left unattended or if someone carelessly tosses a cigarette, this can be the result. Once it starts they get very quickly out of control and this can be the result. Spahn Ranch met the same fate as I wrote about here.
It happens most every year and sometimes the wind cooperates and firefighters armed with bulldozers, aircraft and modern technology are able to contain it. Sometimes they aren't as lucky.
I remember hearing of a squad of firefighters, 19 of them, surrounded by wildfire and lost to the flames a couple of years ago. Horrific and tragic. If I remember right it was Arizona rather than Cal, but it really brought home just how unpredictable and deadly the fires were.
Putting it into perspective. If Sandy "deserved" to have her house burn because of what she said 40+ years ago, what did the people who lived in the other 584 homes do to deserve to have their homes burn?
Climate change has a lot to do with the destructive fires that have plagued California this summer. This is a crisis that has nothing to do with one single individual. Politicians who deny climate change and block any meaningful legislation to rectify our abuses to the planet are far more deserving of scorn. Big businesses, in their greed, have skirted being taxed therefore depleting the funding needed to maintain this country's infrastructure. We are being controlled by the wants of a few which have superseded the needs of the masses.
YES liquorman, water is very powerful, BUT man can control IT. AND HE does where the upper-class resides.
FIRE can ONLY be controlled by WATER and on higher ground where water does NOT pool, man may have to "alter" the course of nature in order to protect material property.
It kind'a boils down to a "choise." Do I worship the WATER God or do I worship the FIRE God ?
In LA it JUST rained. So those Indians must have been doing their RAIN dance yesterday.
I spent three years of my younger life working with the Forest Service and had many opportunities to work on a hand crew battling wildfires in the Western U.S. I never did structure protection; the fires I worked were in remote locations, far from homes. But I have friends who worked structure protection crews on fires in Oregon and Idaho. They commented to me how heartbreaking it was to walk through areas and mark homes as "lost causes" (not suitable for protection).
I feel for the folks who lost homes, but that is just one of the hazards of living off the grid. The best way to avoid wildfire damage is to build homes in areas that are surrounded by firebreak and maintaining the property by clearing fuels away from the home.
FYI - Wildfires are a necessary evil. It is nature's way of cleaning the land. Without fires, Giant Sequoias (and various other tree species) don't drop seed.
And besides, biblical prophetic vocabulary does not constitute an actual threat. I'm guessing that when Sandra Good said LA would burn she was not making a threat but giving angry prophetic warning, a Jeremiad.
SH!t, Must be a horroble experience to loose your Home & All private,personal things, parts of your life in fact....
Equinox says ,,I am hoping that no one who posts on here is feeling smug at Sandy's expense. This is a huge human tragedy irrespective of what someone may have said many, many years ago,,
Debb Says,,Putting it into perspective. If Sandy "deserved" to have her house burn because of what she said 40+ years ago, what did the people who lived in the other 584 homes do to deserve to have their homes burn,,
ECXACTLY !!! Not a thing to make fun off...In NO way !!!
Rest me to wish George & Sandra ALL THE BEST LUCK in future times
Being a LA native this is the worst fire I've seen burn in California. This is extremely devastating for all those who have lost their homes including George and Sandra. My heart goes out to all involved with the aftermath of picking up the pieces and starting over.
Amen to that Dawes. Gloating over someone else's misfortune not only displays to everyone a serious lack of class but opens the karmic door for it to happen to you.
Why is Vera even allowed to breathe the same air as decent folk?
Col: "Why is Vera even allowed to breathe the same air as decent folk?"
Vera has her evolutionary purpose, and her uses. She filters out the toxins from the air and converts them to human thoughts.
Vera
Freedom of Speech means only that the government cannot censor cunts like you. Anyone else can.
Freedom of Speech is not Freedom FROM Speech you dumb cunt.
Vera you don't know anything. You couldn't even use the proxy correctly to prevent being confirmed as Robin you dumb cluck.
Hello dear, goodbye.
Along with climate warming there are conflicts between people who think forests should not be thinned and those who do. So politics plays some part in it and budgets and whatever bureaucratic entanglements there are.
Some environmentalists contend that fires, no matter how hot they get, are good for the environment, while others say when fires get too hot they are not beneficial in the same way fires of old were.
In the Oakland hills fire of 91 people blamed eucalyptis trees yet many of those trees remain in the same location and many fight like hell to not get them removed saying they aren't to blame.
Nature will take care of itself as far as reseeding is concerned. Lightening fires are common and a good example of how nature accomplishes this. I do not understand how a man caused fire, accidental or otherwise can be argued as being good for the environment.
The Lake County fire is believed to have started in an outbuilding on someone's property, it was definitely not started by nature.
Mr. Hendrickson I disagree. There's no way man can control 6 billion gallons of seawater in a 35 foot storm surge. I saw it destroy my entire community. Then of course you probably saw what happened in New Orleans. Trust me, they didn't suffer from a natural disaster but a man made one.
On a different note though....since I'm a new poster on the blog let me take the time to let everyone know how much I enjoy this blog. I've been reading it now for a few years but I finally took the time to sign up to be able to add my two cents. I hope to see many new facets of the Manson saga.
liquorman885,
Welcome.
Just heard last night that friends lost their home to the same fire, & now I see this... Sadness for your loss, Mr. Stimson and Ms. Good. So glad you were apparently able to save your pets. Matt and Julie, please keep us posted: I have a like-new toaster, clothes, etc. I'd be happy to send. It's a sad commentary on the human condition that anyone could have anything negative to say at a time like this. I don't agree with some of their views, but that doesn't stop me from respecting their sincerity, or appreciating Mr. Stimson's writing ability; his book and his blog. As I've said before, they're not hypocrites, whether we agree or disagree, & at least he's willing to engage in discourse rather than solely rhetoric. It's beautiful land up there, & I can only imagine how happy they must have been surrounded by the beauty of that nature and wildlife. It's a terrible loss, & to feel anything but sympathy for them once again reveals the nastiness at your core, Vera.
Hi liquorman! Welcome. I'm in NOLA. I'm guessing from your post that you're along the Gulf Coast or maybe St. Bernard.
Yes, welcome liquorman. Thank you for deciding to comment.
Suze, I couldn't agree more with your statement.
Trilby said:
"... It's a sad commentary on the human condition that anyone could have anything negative to say at a time like this. I don't agree with some of their views, but that doesn't stop me from respecting their sincerity, or appreciating Mr. Stimson's writing ability; his book and his blog. As I've said before, they're not hypocrites, whether we agree or disagree, & at least he's willing to engage in discourse rather than solely rhetoric."
Beautifully said Trilby. I agree wholeheartedly with all that you have said here.
HUMP: I knew someone very well who lost a home in the Oakland FIRE. Yes - EU TREES - bad, very bad - BUT "sprinklers" on top of the roof of houses could have saved many. Also, there is an under-eave exposed "wood" problem with many older homes in ALL forests.
I have been researching / working on "fire" / home problems for decades. In California WE know how to fire "proof" a house, BUT to re-hab the many older omes is costly. "Sprinklers" on the roof - very easy and very inexpensive, BUT we also have a totally "liberal" government who will NOT let anyone alter / add to their home without a "permit" that will NOT be issued without THEM making $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.
Remember: this is the state that prefers to pay $62,000 per year to house a person in "prison" versus paying $9,200 a year to educate that person.
Liquorman: YES - BUT from my perspective, the REAL tragedy of Katrina, was the "government man's" total ignorance in dealing with the impending disaster and the aftermath, where the good folks of new Orleans were permanently DISPLACED "forever." I have seen most every doc on Katrina and also studied it's effects.
YOU do know the "trade towers" in New York were built with an intentional flaw. IF the same planes hit the Empire State building, it would still be standing.
So IF you really want to do something constructive - VOTE for a "builder" NEXT time.
A politician wants your VOTE, so HE can have a job - that has perks - like "interns." So, VOTE for a politician and YOU become HIS employer AND thus ALL problems within the country become YOURS.
Yes Trip by I live in Gulfport. Mr.Hendrickson my perspective differs from yours because I had to flee my home that day. All the reading you've done pales in comparison to seeing it for yourself. Katrina wasn't my first rodeo but by God I pray that it was my last. I also survived Camille, which was only a week after the murders. Two storms of the century are more than enough for me.
Thank you Matt. It's a pleasure to be welcomed.
Gulfport Trilby.
Thanks equinox.
Such a beautiful area and such resilience, liquorman. I drive over there alot to sit on the beach and watch the sun come up, & think and write. Makes me feel the insomnia is worthwhile.
liquorman lol now there is a name you can really respect :)
you need to come up with an appropriate avatar lol with that name- the imagination runs wild lol at least mine does...
YES Liquorman: You are RIGHT and guess what? Everyone on this blog has a different "perspective." AND that is probably the ONLY commonality WE all share together - we are ALL uncommon unto each other. So we try to find common perspectives within others here.
I know it sounds "crazy" and it actually is, BUT isn't crazy sometimes a good thing? I mean "normal" in a crazy world can be dangerous.
When I was about 7-8 years old I as at the back of a market and saw the firemen on the roof of the 2 story "burning" building. All of a sudden one fireman fell through the roof to the floor of the second story. There was a window with bars on it. The other firemen quickly raised a ladder to the window and tried to hack-saw through the bars to get him out.
As they worked frantically, we all watched the trapped fireman grasping the bars from the inside as the flames literally fried him right before our eyes.
For the rest of my life I've tried to understand just what "perspective" I should have toward the incident and the "fireman" who died.
Because the bars were there to prevent anyone from reaching the store's money safe, I think it's ALL about the money. BUT maybe HE was a hero OR maybe HE was just stupid. I mean, after all is said and done, is there anyone YOU would die for just to save their MONEY.
Maybe EVERYTHING is simply about "perspective."
Robert, what was the intentional defect in the trade towers? I experienced a house fire, we lost an entire floor of possessions, but no one died, it was still devastating. The insure would only pay half the claim after we had to take then to court. It was over three years before the house started to be rebuilt. We couldn't afford rent as well as a house payment, so we had to live in the basement of the burned house, it was a small basement one bathroom, no kitchen and four people with all surviving possessions. My cat survived the fire but died two years later from liver and kidney failure. I believe he died as a result of the fire, he was only eight years old when he died, very young.
Thank you, Equinox. :)
St., hope you're doing well! Sending you healing wishes for better times ahead. (I vote for a Cuervo Gold avi.).
Beauders, that's terrible. Poor kitty probably did have liver damage as a result of the toxins in smoke, their livers are ultra-sensitive. One of mine is on phenobarb and has to have her liver enzymes monitored regularly.
Mr. Hendrickson, you are a brilliant man (even though sometimes it takes me alot of thought to figure out your posts. But I like that. Sometimes it gives me a headache, but I still would rather be challenged to think. :)
Trilby said...
Mr. Hendrickson, you are a brilliant man (even though sometimes it takes me alot of thought to figure out your posts. But I like that. Sometimes it gives me a headache, but I still would rather be challenged to think. :)
Yup! Thank you, Trilby :)
Thanks Trilby! All is well and getting better. My thoughts are on the future lol. Seeing George and toasting to better times at Manson Tour 2016... Lol
Jeez, St., I hope this is the year (2016, rather) I can finally tag along with all of you on the tour, but the traditional week it's held is usually during a 2-week stretch that I can't get away. I just sulk and wait to see the pictures!
Glad you are feeling better ST
RH what do you mean by " there is an under-eave exposed "wood" problem with many older homes in ALL forests. " How is it remedied?
Thanks Patty!
Very interesting.
Beauders: the towers were structurally designed for build with minimal "vertical" strength.
A young engineer was hired to "approve" the plans - where NO competant engineer would likely do it.
Hump: the under-eaves are the "roof overhang" usually a few feet past the exterior walls. BUT if the house is entirely wood, only ROOF springlers might help for only a short period time.
ONLY a "stucco" marterial will protect the house from "fire." There are also government required exterior "vents" to an attic, that allow FIRE to be sucked into the attic - which, of course, is catastrophic.
BUT without FIRE, and 'government' regulations many government workers would have to get REAL jobs.
That's not true about the WTC. Or at least it's not true as to why they fell.
They actually were designed to withstand nothing short of a nuclear explosion. Look at the pictures and you'll see that the buildings reacted exactly as they had been designed: that an arch would be created which would hold the rest of the building up. Meaning there would be plenty of time to put out the fires.
It was the fireproofing that was used on the steel skeleton of the building which was the problem. It had become friable with age and so the impact of the planes knocked almost all of the fireproofing off which allowed the fires to get directly to the steel, which heated them up so and weakened them enough that the floors above the fire tsarted to collapse, pancaking on top of one another in a chain reaction that was just too much for the rest of the superstructure to stand.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1effqQoLuLc
STARSHIP: Do you realize that IF it was TRUE that the "fireproofing" was in anyway defective or NOT made to LAST, the manufacturer could be liable. AND for sure - EVERY "insurance" company in the world would CANCEL every insurance policy on every building that incorporated that same BRAND of "fireproofing." AND the same terrorists would be licking their chops over the NEXT attack.
Actually, ANYONE that even got near any tall building FOREVER more would have to be absolutely stupid.
thanks RH...interesting observation Starship.
RH - yes, the manufacturer could be liable, unless the product came with guarantees that did not include lifetime performance even when struck by commercial airliner. And to be fair, those same terrorists might have found a similar spectacular almost impossible to pull-off with the increased security now in place at airports. 9-11 caught us all by surprise. Do you remember the liberal bout of national soul-searching in the following days - the orgy of "why do they hate us?" introspection? You can't take a clock into a high school these days, let alone bladed weapons onto airliners. So those guys have tried different approaches, small 'lone wolf' operations, like beheading UK soldiers in the street, "workplace violence" in US military bases, etc etc. And more importantly, they have their own nation state now! And they've worked out that sawing an infidel's head off on camera is actually more shocking and psychologically disturbing than causing two large buildings to collapse, however great the body count that day.
MHN said...
"... unless the product came with guarantees that did not include lifetime performance even when struck by commercial airliner."
They would not be allowed to exclude liability in this way. Contracts have implied terms, particularly where it would involve safety.
equinox, I know, I was being slightly facetious given the 9-11 legal and insurance wranglings that drag on to this day. For instance, concerning the liability of WTC owners and airlines regarding the cleaning of a nearby building contaminated with dust from the tragic day: "The Second Circuit upheld the trial court's decision that the Act of War exclusion prevented liability." And on it drags. It was a throwaway line the point of which was that it seems nothing is ever legally clear-cut in the States - there's always another court, another sub-clause, another exemption. Col Tate had the right idea: screw legal wrangling - I'll go up there and clean my daughter's blood from Altobelli's carpets myself. Tragic and enraging.
MHN said...
"... It was a throwaway line..."
Understood, MHN -I wasn't sure.
MHN said...
"...the point of which was that it seems nothing is ever legally clear-cut in the States."
I am afraid it has been getting that way in the UK too since the ever-expanding quantity of EU legislation!! Hopefully, we will never be as litigious as the US.
MHN said...
"Col Tate had the right idea: screw legal wrangling - I'll go up there and clean my daughter's blood from Altobelli's carpets myself. Tragic and enraging."
I agree 100% with this. However, I can't understand why Col Tate didn't enlist the services of professional crime scene cleaners. With the crime level in LA, there must have been that type of service available.
True, equinox. Strange thought, but maybe he felt protective. Maybe as a father you don't necessarily want to hire a faceless company to clean your beloved daughter's blood away. Maybe, along with the agony of burying her, that's the last way you get to take care of what is her physical presence in the world.
Ah, Mr. H., but the real tragic story of the fireproofing at the WTC is not how it ended, but how it got there in the first place.
STARSHIP: I'm going to let you ponder our TWO theories. I say the towers wre designed with "minimal" vertical strength and thus collapsed and you say the steel was coated with "fireproofing" that "failed." and thus collapased.
Either way, OR both ways, the ISSUE of "incompetance" or corruption" arises.
AT least those two issues eliminate in "governemnt" involvement ?
Several of Robert's marbles are up for sale on ebay.
Fortunately Robert has such highly developed marbles he can lose a few without any degradation in performance. It's like selling a kidney.
Sybil Fawlty: If I find out the money on that horse was yours, you know what I'll do, Basil.
Basil Fawlty: You'll have to sew 'em back on first.
MATT: IF your head HURTS, remember - that's why GOD created "asprin."
MICHAEL: Thanks, I needed that !
BUT does it NOT seem like EVERYTIME someone strikes a nerve CLOSE to the heart of the matter - the "crazy" issue arises.
It's kind'a like everyone thinks the "English" lost the revolutionary WAR and refuse to investigate further. ENGLAND ended up "buying" America !
For God's sake, Queeny "just" bought a million dollar condo in Chicago.
Nothing has changed since Columbus sailed the Ocean. AND it's the same fuck'in ocean. Even Charles Manson KNOWS that. Manson was a "dumb" ass smuck born in a barn. BUT when you compare HIS brain to that of a "common" man's - HE smells like a "mastermind."
The "common" man in America THINKS the "bank" foreclosed on HIS home and "threw" him out on the street. BUT the "bank" did NOT hold the "paper" (loan) on his house - Fannie Mae OR Freddie Mac did, and because the US (Obama) bailed Fannie and Freddie OUT and took OVER their operations - ultimately "the Black Messiah" THREW home owners OUT - NOT unlike the White Messiah THREW the money-changers OUT of their "religious" HOME.
BUT if you THINK you may never be able to "get-it" - bid on one of MY marbles. That's WHY God invented eBay.
OR borrow muncho $$$$ from the government to learn how to become a good little slave to the MASTER "establishment."
BUT if you THINK you may never be able to "get-it" - bid on one of MY marbles. That's WHY God invented eBay.
By some distance, the best comment ever made in the TLB blogosphere.
Holy shit! It looks to me that Mr. H and I are both correct!
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