October 26, 2007

San Diego Firestorm Sadness and Relief for my Sister


As many of you became aware, Sunday, Oct. 21st, Santa Ana winds, blowing at high velocity, began whipping around small fires that started in various areas around San Diego County. The first fire, which began at 0930 in the southeast portion of the county started in a community called Portrero which is near the border with Mexico. The winds belonging to the Santa Ana, had an east to west direction and were gusting upwards to 60mph in some areas of this mountainous region.

The short of it is, what you've seen on television is what many of us have seen in real life. As for me, all is well. I live in an area near downtown and this community was never in any danger whatsoever. The long of it is, my sister, unfortunately, did not fare as well and her house became a victim of the southern "Harris" fire, that, even today, 6 days later, still continues to burn in the region.


The "Harris" fire as it was now being called, became very large, very quickly. That Sunday evening at 7pm, Anne called me and I rushed over to help. I recruited a friend w/ an empty pickup but when we got to the area, we were turned back by the authorities at road closures. We were a mere 4 miles away. At that time (8:30pm), the wind was insane - gusting to 60mph, and we saw fire lines on two separate ridges off in the distance. As I was speaking to Anne on my cell, a border patrol truck came to tell them to immediately get out. They were only able to take 14 small boxes of photos and knickknacks of my little nephew's, the 2 dogs and their one rooster. John grabbed his desktop, laptop and one small monitor. In the commotion, they remembered to grab the essential documents, but did not grab any clothing and poor Anne even forgot her purse.

Monday was spent watching the t.v. and praying the winds would somehow blow the fire by the house. Tuesday morning at 11am I got a call from Anne. A volunteer fireman that lives in the area (whose house also perished) walked up Anne's driveway and rang her and John with the news. The house was gone. All the work they had done to help fireproof the home (the home had cement shingles, a stucco exterior. They even had an interior fire sprinkler system) was all for not. John and I were finally able to go up and inspect the area and
I was able to snap off a few pictures while I was there. Before you take a look, if you would like to make a donation to the family to help them back onto their feet during this awful transition in their lives, please feel free to write a check to:

Anne Gurnee

c/o Jane Clifton
4885 Coronado Ave
San Diego, CA 92107


Jane is Anne's mother-in-law and with whom the family is residing at the moment.


While insured, the adjuster isn't able to go in until they "officially" open the area up. Also, John is now scrambling to find a new space to set up, get cranking and this also takes time. Your assitance will help stave off the many costs that are now mounting. If you'd like to make a donation that will go towards all of the fire victims in general, you can do so here:
https://secure4.salvationarmy.org/donations.nsf/donate?openform&t=US_USC*USE*USS*USW


THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

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