Southern California Fires?

[disneegrl4eva]

Been watching the news and checking OC Register. We have not seen anything regarding fires in Irvine. Can you help me out with a link please? Thanks!


There's no saying what next Wednesday will be like, of course, but....

If you were to do that drive right now, the 5 freeway north of Los Angeles is completely closed. This is your main thoroughfare to Disneyland. So atm, the only route that we know of which would give you access to the Disneyland area is along the Coast.... adding quite a bit of time to your drive.

- Dreams

actually thats not true....they can take the 5S till they get to 210E pasadena fwy and from there to the 57S...I know they were both closed off earlier but they are open now...however, 57 will be back to back traffic all day and into the night....

We booked through Costco, thankfully it's with the Disney Co., and they are willing to work with us. We have to call first thing in the AM to tell them if we are coming or not and if not, they will not charge us any fee just move our dates. THANK GOD. We are praying the winds change and blow out the smoke. Good luck to those going on the hunt tonight. Please report back how the weather is.

try calling the places you booked your rooms from. I can almost be they will refund you because of this.

yeah I remember last year when they had the SD fires and Anaheim got the ash and smoke bad then too and alot of the hotels were refunding and not charging to cancel..

Good to know. Thanks for the update. We are having a hard time deciding what to do. DH is off right now so we can go and he may not be able to go if we have to rescheduel...and our tickets must be used within 30 days. Yikes. Do you think this is the beggining of the worst or the tail of it. If this is the beggining, I am really scared as to what the weather holds for DL in the next few days/ weeks.

Tracer this really sux for you but Im going to be honest here...I dont think they have seen the worst of this yet...I, as well as everyone on these boards understand you sadness and frustration at the whole thing but hon its better to be safe than sick or worse ...I personally think you should reschedule and go when your DH can go again

 

[lulubelle]

I was there this morning and the air quality was so poor that we left. The sky was orange and ash was falling everywhere. DD & I had lunch at Mimi's and then braved the drive home. O-M-G!!!I tried to take the 57N, it was closed at Lambert, so got off at Yorba Linda Blvd, crawled to Bastenchury, saw flames to the right, turned left to Harbor. Sat crawling on Harbor trying to get to the 60 for 2 hours. Gave up at Imperial Hwy and turned around. Took Harbor to the 5 south, to Ortega Hwy (which also crawled), to 74 east to 215 north and finally home. It took me almost FIVE HOURS!!! - just to clarify, my drive is usually 70-80 minutes. I am so grateful I am not in a fire zone, but man, being in my car with no food and only a sip or so of water for over 4 hours was really stressful. I feel very sorry for those families who planned and paid for this trip to DL and endure these conditions. Really, the air was very difficult to breathe.

 

[Diznut84]

I hope it is ok by next week wednesday, i was planning a one day trip driving from santa monica. Can someone provide me a link to the back story to this fire. what happened to cause such havoc?

Fires roar through Southern California whenever the Santa Ana winds blow. These winds are very hot and dry, and combined with the fact that Southern California gets such little rain between May and November, cause BIG fire dangers. When this happens, Red Flag warnings are posted. Red Flag warnings indicate an unusually high fire danger. They currently are in effect through at least 4pm tomorrow.

The current fires are indeed very bad and are being covered here in LA 24/7 by all local networks. As I write, one of the worst fires is in the Yorba Linda area and is very close to Disneyland. Conditions have worsened substantially (read: the winds have picked up) over the past hour. We typically go to Disneyland weekly, and were planning to go tomorrow, but are unlikely to go tomorrow due to these devastating fires.

For those planning future vacations, it appears that a major cool front will come in on Thursday. I would expect the fires to be well under control before then, though. It just depends on when the winds die down...

 

[Joe Carioca]

Conditions have worsened substantially (read: the winds have picked up) over the past hour....

For those planning future vacations, it appears that a major cool front will come in on Thursday. I would expect the fires to be well under control before then, though. It just depends on when the winds die down...

Thank you for your assessment Diznut, I appreciate the information. I didn't know that the control of a wildfire could shift favorable or unfavorable in a matter of a couple hours. I'm headed out Tuesday for a week and when I heard I thought that was it, it was going to be ashy and smoky for a long time, but your info gives me a little hope to cling to. Any more lessons about the cycle of the a fire like this would be appreciated, it's so horrible to see the devastation but you can't help but be curious about the nature of this beast.

 

[Albort]

1 mile N of Disney at 1:30.




dca simba lot @ 1:35

 

[darrendman]

its already getting worse. I tried to stay indoors with all my windows sealed today. I went out with some friends to have a few drinks, and just walking to my car, I could already feel it in my lungs. And I still feel it sitting back at home.

good luck to all who are going to attempt going, wear a mask of some sort. stay in doors as much as possible, and drink lots of water.

 

[CalvaryMike]

Thank you for your assessment Diznut, I appreciate the information. I didn't know that the control of a wildfire could shift favorable or unfavorable in a matter of a couple hours. I'm headed out Tuesday for a week and when I heard I thought that was it, it was going to be ashy and smoky for a long time, but your info gives me a little hope to cling to. Any more lessons about the cycle of the a fire like this would be appreciated, it's so horrible to see the devastation but you can't help but be curious about the nature of this beast.

When the wind shifts back to normal, it'll push the smoke east (away from DL). Even if the fires are still burning, DL will be fine. The winds are suppose to change directions starting tonight. They are also suppose to diminish by then too. An ocean breeze will push all the smoke towaards the Inland Empire.

 

[CalvaryMike]

actually thats not true....they can take the 5S till they get to 210E pasadena fwy and from there to the 57S...I know they were both closed off earlier but they are open now...however, 57 will be back to back traffic all day and into the night....

I'm not sure where you're getting your info, but they just opened the 57 freeway (4:30 a.m.). We've been physically checking all night. We're going to try to see if we can get to DS's house right now. They were evacuated yesterday afternoon.

 

[GHII]

You have got to be kidding me! I living in southern Arizona and we've been planning a trip to DLR for 2 1/2 months, I am planning, no wait, I AM proposing to my girlfriend on this trip. I cannot postpone it, there are 4 of us going and we all took days off to go. We are heading up there this friday in the morning (11/21) and I pray to God that this clears up, a trip this special cannot be ruined like this!


We will wear masks if needed, this trip is HAPPENING BABY! well, on the bright side, the lines actually might be shorter unlike what the person up there said because a lot of people might cancel their trips.

 

[hulagirl]

Let's not forget that people are actually losing their homes in the midst of this horror. I understand that you have planned a very special vacation but my sister fled from her home last night and doesn't know if it will be standing this morning. SO many people have already lost their homes, others are waiting to see if theirs is alright. Firefighters and police officers are in harm's way. It's a terrible time for alot of people.

 

[drakethib]

Let's not forget that people are actually losing their homes in the midst of this horror. I understand that you have planned a very special vacation but my sister fled from her home last night and doesn't know if it will be standing this morning. SO many people have already lost their homes, others are waiting to see if theirs is alright. Firefighters and police officers are in harm's way. It's a terrible time for alot of people.

Well said

 

[jazellesmom]

Can anyone in the area give us an update or pictures from today (Sunday)?

 

[tracer]

DH and I have called 3 times this morning. All cast members said the skys are much better than yesterday and there isn't smoke directly above the park as of now. The winds are beggining to pick up though. They said the smell of smoke is in the air and light ashes are still falling. I would stay away if you can. We were able to rescheduel our trip for Dec 7-10. Stay safe everyone.

 

[DizMe]

I have a trip coming up on Friday, but my thoughts are on the people facing this horrendous situation and less on how it impacts me personally. We went through something similar this summer--all roads to our home were closed, smoke and ash everywhere, animals and people evacuated--so I understand how awful it can be.

Thinking about all of you facing this and wishing everyone well

 

[pouncingpluto]

Does anyone know what's going on with the fire north of LA? My brother and his family were evacuated from Granada Hills yesterday, and I haven't talked to them since mid-afternoon yesterday. I don't know if they ended up able to return home.

 

[CalvaryMike]

It appears DS's home in Yorba Linda is going to be fine. We still can't access DS's home in Brea and where not sure of the status of the home.

The 57 S is closed again. This is bad new for DS's home in Brea.

The winds have definitely died down at this point. The air is better. For those coming out to DL, I think by Tuesday everything will be fine. As soon as we get an ocean breeze, the winds will push all the smoke away from DL.

I'm really scared now for my cousin. They were evacuated last night and we can't get ahold of them. We're not sure where they are. My DB is checking all the evac centers.

 

[msteddom]

Well, there's some good news for your family! The air is much less smoky in my area today, but I haven't been outside yet to see the ash. Please keep us updated!

Melissa

 

[mariezp]

Some of our group got up to go to church this morning and stopped by Cappistrano Beach. They said the traffic was not bad and the skies were much clearer. I am dragging this morning but just checked outside our room at the Desert Inn across the street from Disneyland. The sky has some blue back this morning and is nothing like yesterday. We will be heading to the park shortly and check back this afternoon with a report. Looks like a beautiful day from here right now.

 

[mr.bungle]

Just saw on the news that Diamond Bar is on fire now. this is really bad! i'll never get used to all the fires every year.

 

[darrendman]

yeah it's more clear. but its still worse then yesterday. I have ash all over my backyard, and it reeks of smoke outside. I just couldn't imagine going on Screamin, and coughing the rest of the day from it.