I am from Paradise CA (The Humbolt Fire in the pictures) There was such a huge evacuation.. lots of scared and confused people (alot of elderly) but our town and the town around us all helped out. People went out with their own trucks and horse trailors and saved horses and what ever they could from the fire's path.. some not even knowing each other. Hotels put up the people who lost houses and schools collected donated items for the families who had to start over. Now we are going through fires from a weekend lighning storm.. it seems to be never ending.. but we'll get through it. I loved these pictures, although its so sad. The firemen are so appreciated by everyone around here and we are doing all we can to make them relize that. I hope they all return home safe.

By 2010, the State of California is expected to have 52 million people. Having hovered at 35+ million for a few decades, California's residents now should think very seriously about the large-scale effects are linked to the fire disaster now upon us. Lighting and a boy playing with matches could both have contributed, but tinder-like conditions allowed the fires to get huge, hot, and fast-moving. We are already short of water for human purposes; L.A.'s many pools open to the [desert] sun don't help. Sprawled housing, commercial districts, and excessive roads - too wide, too many, and too few of genuine limited access -- cause woodlands to be broken into small areas that grow too much underbrush, get too dry when we use water unwisely, and are too easily interspersed with human activity that causes or aggravates fires.

I have nothing to offer but deep compassion for those whose homes and years of irreplaceable keepsakes and other material connections are lost forever. But deeper within me is the concern I feel for my two grandsons from Montana, who are fighting the fires in California and Arizona, along with their brave and fearless firefighters who lay their lives on the line regularly wherever they are needed.

All of this smoke is starting to get depressing, living in Northern California. I'm just waiting for the day when one of these fires finally catches up to my own small town and burns it away just like in these pictures.....

God Bless our Firemen and women.... they work long hours and breathe this smoke the whole time.... it is tough job and they do it with all they got! A big THANKS to all those who are out there protecting those who need it .... keep them safe and free from harm.....

Get out of town! I'm taking my family out of the valley, somewhere near the coast. Somewhere that's not burning. The valley is aweful, today, thurs, was the worst I've seen it so far. This is unhealthy.

At the beginning of the page you state that all of the Northern California fires are now under control and 90% contained. Never was the case. Most of the fires are still burning out of control and have no fighters in attendance due to their remote areas and not enough firefighters to cover them. The fixed-wing aircraft are grounded because of low visibility. More thunderstorms are predicted for the weekend so more fires will be started. I am concerned for my own home as I live in a heavily wooded community.

Who cares what the molten metal is? These people lost their homes and probably more.....making them homeless and all you care about is what the stupid melted metal is. Christ you people are heartless.

I have fought fires in California.... it usually is aluminum.

Is it possible that all these increasing natural disasters are God's last attempt to get our attention...that He is allowing these things to happen to divert us from our little worlds and get us to look up? Seems that we as humans are always sliding back into our comfort zones and living to please ourselves...California especially. We may have gone too far and broken God's heart one time too many. Maybe we'd better consider ALL the possibilities and have the humility to be open to Him..."If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves, and pray and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear them, and will forgive them, and heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:21

Hopeful, how dare you bring religon into this. I'm not religous but in my word this would be the work of the devil and not the god you worship. people like you make my stomach turn.

hopeful and ernie are you two related?

I recently passed several convoys of firefighters on my way back home to Paradise, I was stunned at how young most of these men are, and very good looking. I hope people realize and understand that these young and brave men are putting their lives on the line everyday fighting these battles. I cannot imagine what they have to endure however I do have a huge amount of respect for their courage and dedication. It is a good feeling to know that there are still real men left in the young community. All of my heart felt thoughts and prayers go out to them and their wonderful families. To our Firemen - Thank you and may God Bless you all!!!!!

I don't know what it is like to have my home burned down, but I can't imagen what they all are going through. I prey for those that lost anyone or anything. I always believed that everything happens for a reason. Stay strong. And those of you who are talking about whether it was medel or lead. WHO CARES!!!! Peoples house have just burned down and you are debating over what was melted. Come on.
I thought the pictures were perfect and show a lot of detail.

It's late Friday afternoon, and the fires in Shasta, Trinity, and Butte counties are not out. Some are not even 0 % contained. The smoke is incredible, anyone with asthma or any other type of lung problem is in trouble. They are telling us to not use a swamp cooler (an air cooling system in which the air is pulled through wet straw pads and forced into your home), but many houses here are cooled only in this manner. The temperature right now in Redding is 101 - and it is 7:02 P.M. Pacific time.
Thank God for the fire fighters. My family and I are praying for you every minute.

# 23
You really hit the nail on the head with your overview of the global situation we are in. While we all admire and pray for the brave firepeople, and commiserate with those who suffered such terrible losses, and some of us even quibble about the melting points of metals, most do not seem to see the big picture of overpopulation, diminishing resources, the destruction of wild creatures and habitat, (oh- they really don't count to many people) the overly consuming lifestyles, etc. Our mother earth cannot take much more of this, but a lot of people still don't get it.

Thank you Tara for what you said to Ernie. I coul NOT believe that someone could say something like that. I agree with you whole heartidlly. I feel so horrible for everyone who has lost their homes and lots of memories in these fires. We are up close to Nevada City and the fires are very scary. My prayers are with the homeowners and the fire fighters.

I was raised in Chico, Ca. a few miles south of Paradise. My son was born in Paradise and my sister and daughter live in Butte county as well as. I have been trying to track the news about the fires in Butte county, the national news pays little attention to anything north of the Bay area. I find it amazing that the best pictoral coverage I have been able to find is from the Boston Globe. Thank you for showing anyone interrested what is REALLY going on in the northern third of the state.

For publication--Dear editor, - I’ve been seeing in the Northern California fire news that CalFire, the California Department of Forestry, is using only one supertanker airplane which is the DC-10 that carries 12,000 gallons of firefighting liquid to drop on the fires in California when at the same time we have a Boeing 747 super water tanker airplane owned by Evergreen Company in Oregon, that can drop over 20,000 gallons of water or retardant on wildfires, and it’s not being used. There’s also news that the Russians have 5 or 6 supertankers that could be used but are not being called in either. What’s wrong with CalFire and the U.S. Forest Service? Why don’t they use these supertankers and get these wildfires over with? We should all call the Governor in Sacramento and demand all the supertankers be used immediately to save California and our country because if we don‘t this kind of wildfire incompetent mess is going to show up in Southern California and the rest of the country also as it does every year. Visit jbs.org and type in 'wildfire' in the search box to see how our forests and fire safety have been compromised . Call Governor Schwarzenegger at 1- 916-445-2841 in Sacramento, California and demand all the supertankers be used.

Please get yourself a copy of the most recent NG mag, those of you that do not subscribe to it, and those that do, please read the article they published about wildfires in the western U.S.

If anything, after taking in the commentary, you will be faced with that much more of a bleak outlook for this place... as in, the flora evolved to burn, the firefighters now know this as fact, and the safety of that mansion in the hills you just built is speculative, at best.

No doubt we've seen some spectacular fire storms here, but if we keep pushing out and around the well established urban (and some sub-urban) centers of population, the tragedy to unfold will exponentially present itself fire season to fire season (and yes, that is a term we find ourselves using often out West).

As to why I commited to delivering this diatribe? Because I was looking for references to the convoys of fire trucks I witnessed plodding south in tandem through California's Central Valley (I-5) on the 15th of June, 2008, no doubt heading back South after a valient fight against another predictable fire storm, only to find myself wondering a couple days later, as Nature dealt her hand and started some 800? fires, (and smoked out Reno, Sparks, Tahoe and much of Central Cali in the process )

If all those poor saps had to turn around and convoy back up to Northern California to fight yet more fires...

and it's not even July yet...

Sorry. SHIT HAPPENS (don't blame me)

Take it from a 40 year foundry man it's aluminum, Nice pic

As a long time resident of Mendocino County who now lives in New Mexico, and with family in Paradise who were evacuated for days during this time, my thoughts and prayers go out to each of the residents who have been impacted by the fires. Thanks so much to the brave men and women who fight these fires on behalf of these communities.

We need laws in California to stop firework and more tech for combat fast fire like that !!!!!!! Thanks to this brave man and women who fight these fires!!!!

I was there and got out of Paradise on the last road open at 9 PM. 2 vehicles, 4 adults, one 6 year grandaughter, 2 dogs and 2 cats arrived in our other home in Oregon at 7 AM the next morning. We have been keeping our eye on the local newspaper (on the Internet). Latest information is the Humboldt fire is now stopped about 10 miles north. From our escape route, I looked like Hell on Earth was a short distance from us.

The ignorant editorial of Thomas Southerland can only be the rantings of a totaly uniformed person with some personal agenda. California has defied the reccommendations of the National Forest Service for years and fires and damages and death have been the payback for lack of common sense. Send in the goats and whatever other resources are necessary to clear the underbrush, do real forest management which includes cutting and burning for preparation for these natural events. Quit protecting sucker fish by draining the water resources from far Northern California and use the resource as it was met to be used. Quit throwing out your garbage and recycle it. The companies you fight against are recycling everything and the public nearly nothing. You think using the water is at fault? The fact is that the air quality is killing untold hundreds over time because you allow open burning. The water you use to fight these fires is spilling back into your water sources, now with chemicals and other pollutants. Get your head out of a hole, work with the professional shown in these pictures, pray for their safety and hope they do not have to decide to protect you with you radical and ill thought out statements. Do something positive and stick the negetive in the hole you have left.

how did thefires get here

Devastating, us that have not been affected as to a personal loss should thank our heavenly Father and pray for those that have been, for comfort and guidance to face the days they have ahead of them and to again find a home and peace.

It's nice to ask the heavenly father (or mother) to save us when we refuse to save ourselves. If we build in fire zones, we burn out in fire zones. Some years ago the countryside east of San Diego burned to the ground. The next year there was a proposition to add more firefighters and firefighting equipment, but the people in the fire zones voted it down. Within the past year, that zone burned again. Global warming is a reality; water shortages are a reality. Evergreen trees are torches waiting to happen. California is a fire zone. The plant life here thrives in a burnover. People and their homes do not. I love the beauty of these fire-bedeviled zones, but I wouldn't want to live there. Give me a close fire hydrant any day of the week.

Down with SUVs (just as soon as we stop needing them for air filters - taking public transit right now is a nightmare without a breath mask)! Send in the goats! And keep sending in the goats until you get it right. There's no way we can afford enough fire fighters, and they shouldn't keep having to face these horrifying conditions if we can avoid it. Goats, people, goats. They eat. What's eaten cannot burn.

GREAT pictures. Sorry for those, like Cindi Sterling in the 6th picture, who lost their homes. I'm 84 today, but it seems just like yesterday when I see these pictures. When I was 27 and needed money to buy an engagement ring for my wife I fought fires one summer near San Bernardino. In one of the brush fires we fought, one of our groups of six got caught and trapped and burned to death. So, my heart goes out to the fire fighters. It's a tough life!!

These pictures are just marvelous! And, hard to believe that they are featured by the Boston Globe, 3,000 miles away from the fires.

My best to those who have lost your homes, and to the fire fighters who are risking their lives help save other homes. Bill M

Great photos. My hats off the those that took these picture. My son is a graduate of Brooks Inst of Phtoghraphy so I know great photos.
Not one person has mentioned the Sierra Club and their lobbing against cutting dead and dying trees from the forest.
My hats off the the fire fighters be they city or rural.

Our higher conciousness is talking VERY loudly to us right now ....many of us are trying very hard to save this planet but have a battle with the powers who supposidly represent us. Those whom we have elected try so hard to keep us hidden from what is really going on......whilst we suffer, they supposidly succeed....only in this life will they do that...those of us who DO believe,can make a difference, and will reep from it in the long run....
I am thinking of those involved right now in fighting these flames and their families whom they say goodbye to every time they go on duty......just to say there are many of us out here that are with you right now in this time of fear and that we pray that you are given the strength and courage to see it through. we are all being placed in a time of worry but it is NOW we should sit up and think about 'WHAT IS GOING ON?' and how can we change ?

What great pictures!!!and so horrible for the ones that lost everything.
The firefighters are to be commened. Mary

We need laws in California to stop firework and more tech for combat fast fire like that !!!!!!! Thanks to this brave man and women who fight these fires!!!! Posted by louise June 29, 08 05:55 PM
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I am not seeing, and realize nobody has the time or ability in this inferno to investigate, but we know that illegal aliens camp in these forests, hide in them, and even grow pot. Would it really be naive to wonder if some illegal alien, or drug lab, or the likes of terrorism be it mid east or mexican or drug cartels could be involved? Perhaps it could be a vendetta for the work being done to repatriate illegals? Let's get the illegals, the drug cartels, and the basic foreign and expat criminals out of our country before we bother citizens about sparklers!

Louise/American Patriot, Did y'all fall down and hit your heads or something? Fireworks? Mexicans? Drug cartels? Terrorists? It was lightening. Might need to take your Xanax. Natural disasters happen all the time. Anywhere in this world, the most beautiful places you'd choose to live have some type of risk, & it always has been that way. Hurricanes, tornadoes,volcanoes, floods, etc. No need to blame anyone. What really matters is how we as human beings treat each other when a disaster happens. & how we act to prevent the preventable in the future. Looks to me like the fine folks in California are doing a pretty good job of taking care of each other, & it amazes me how tough those firefighters are. Fires are really sad...it is so gutwrenching to see the photos. I love California.

Just about every picture shows exotic dry grasses carpeting the ground. These non-native plants help promote fires.

its aluminum there was a truck that burned up on our property and it melted just like that. who ever took those pics great job. keep up the good work.

To all you firefighters, hotshot...whatever names you are all called, to the people staging the scene for the all the firefighters and keep the show rolling...THANK YOU FOR DOING THIS KIND OF WORK.

Barbara

I was raised in Northern California and don't ever remembering fires like these growing up. All of our thoughts and prayers are with the families who have lost everything and for all the people of California.

THANKS TO ALL THE FIREFIGHTERS THAT HAVE AND STILL ARE BATTLING THESE FIRES.

MAY GOD KEEP ALL THE FIREFIGHTERS AND ALL THE PEOPLE OF CALIFORNIA SAVE.

God? What does Him have to do with this? To whom wants to hear...Please note that the main fierce lightning storm hit just 3 days after the first two gay couple marriages in California. Check what was reported on MSNBC News Services in June 23: "This is an unprecedented lightning storm in California, that it lasted as long as it did, 5,000 to 6,000 lightning strikes," Walters said. "We didn't get real lucky with this lighting storm," Walters said. "It wasn't predicted — which often happens with these storms that come in off the Pacific, there's no history of the weather as it approaches the shore — and so we got hammered." Bible - Joel -Chptr 2=fire on hills sign of judgment. He controls mother nature: Psalm 77: 17-18; 78:48; 147:15-18; 148:8; 107:25; 135:7; Job37:9-13. Read Bible/pray e/day.
147:15-18;148:8;Job37:6;

Why would God delay by three days his punishment of gay marriage Mario G? Is he lazy or just not quite as efficient as he used to be? Remember that he built the world in six days, so three days to respond to gay marriage seems just plain incompetent. If you are willing to think that God might not have been involved here I think you'd be better off browsing some of the multitude of literature detailing the science of global climate change and how it creates erratic and unpredictable weather patterns.

I live in Mendocino Co. and most of the fires are only about 40% contained. Thanks to our governer of California he has ordered more fire fighters from the national guard to help fight the fires. The air here is very smokey and its hard to breath, I am not one who has any type of lung disorder. My heart goes out to those that do and it also goes out to the many people who lost there homes and for those in danger of still losing theres. The pictures on this site are very clear. As someone said above that they have been following the news on the fires and hadn't seen any pictures like these and here Boston Globe has photos but Calif. did not. Or maybe we just haven't found them yet on the internet.

My son, Kyle, is a firefighter from the Naches, WA district National Forest Service and is on the fire in the Humboldt County area. He is doing what he enjoys and helping others. For this, we are thankful and extremely proud of him. The firefighters he has met are extemely special people and their bonds of friendship and trust will remain with them forever. We pray and trust in their safety and the safety of all those touched by these fire.

These are great pictures and show so much of the devastation of fire. My husband was a Fire Chief in Humboldt for fifteen years he is gone now but these pictures just reminded me how proud I was of him and his crew. Fire fighters are brave, courageous and our heroes and we are blessed that they risk their lives to save us and our homes. To any firefighter that reads this Thank You! And thank you whoever you are for posting these awesome pictures.

the way to not lose anything is to not have anything more than you can carry. Attachment to possessions is illogical and often fatal; both for those staying behind to foolishly defend STUFF, and firefighters called to defend COLLECTIONS OF STUFF in places that permanent homes should never be built. You ignore nature, you pay the price. i live in fire, landslide and tsunami country in Oregon I have Midwestern relatives who have been flooded out and rebuilt TWICE in the same location and i have no problem calling them stupid to their face. Jack it up next time! Pray for common sense and actually work on developing it while you're waiting for "God" to answer.

a lot of the editorials here show that most do not really understan the problem.
the forest servce of both the feds and state for years had a no burn policy. this allowed thebrush to get large enough that if it burned it woud ignite the large trees.
The cure is to have the CDF clear under brush and if needed use goats.
People build houses in not so good locations and do not clear brush, do not have a pool and pump to use in the defence of their property. People buid for bueaty with litle thought to fire proofing their homes,
Fires to a great xtent are a fact of nature, With alitlle common sense we can make thngs safer. 4 or 5 years ago Calfornia had the chance to buy several super scoop air craft from canada bur turned them down.... maybe that was not the most economical thing to do.

I find the word "Fury" stated in post 6 to be quite apropos. The Fury that is visibly seen here is a representation of the outstretched hand of our Loving Father. For we have stubbornly turned away from Him as a people, particularly with the new decision in Calif. regarding sodomy and lesbianism. Look at the facts in June; A wise man will find that records and statistics do show that many such decisions in our nation in the years past have brought the same type of response from our Lord and God, Jesus Christ. For him who has ears to hear and eyes to see.

The donkey who wrote about the people of California obviously is the uninformed. These fires were not from what we in California (northern) are not doing or doing. We did not start these fires. Lightening storms started them with gusts of wind up to 70mph. Maybe you should get your head out of the hole you dug. California has been in a drought for several years. We would love some of the water that is flooding the East and the Midwest. We have 100 feet of clearing around our homes, drought tollerant vegetation for fire control. We recycle on a regular basis. What do you do for the environment? I recall that the floods in the East and Midwest have been happening for centuries. Why do you not dam your rivers and make lakes to hold your flood waters? In drought situations you would have a little more water for your crops.

We have been watching a bomber that holds 7000 gallons of water scoop water out of Shasta Lake (dam). This is truely amazing to see. The firefighters are finally getting the fires contained since they have both ground and air attack. Much of the land that is on fire is inaccessible by ground crews. We went several days that we could not see the sun which was shining britely because of smoke. Our air quality was almost off the scale.

Post #83 is meant as an answer to post #60 JP. You do not know about what you are speaking about. We do have enough water to fight these fires and thanks to the firefighters from all over the country and Canada we are finally seeing the smoke clear.

Hope all of you who had fireworks enjoyed them in a safe way. All fireworks in our area was cancelled for the health of all. We still have fires rageing in Shasta county.

and if needed use goats.

This is THE BEST IDEA in all of Califorinia
It's time we depend on the natural course of nature to keep a balance
in the forest areas.

I live in a CA Sr. mobile park near I80 in the Foothills - We had a real scare a few weeks ago- I
The fire on the freeway edge came very close to our homes. We were told to evacuate but then the plane/bombadeers came and put it out with the orange stuff.

In the next few days - I am personally going to find out what if any public
law prevents the use of goats on our freeways-- back yards and deep forest because goats would keep the high grass to a minimum.
If a goat saved one life it is worth it right???
God help all the firefighters - our true heroes!!

For the update on the Mendocino County fires you can go to this link and get the updates.
http://www.kozt.com/

it is a local radio station in our area that has been keeping us posted about the fires in our area. All of these fires were started from a lightning storm the moved through Mendocino Co on June 27th 2008.

CALL IN THE SIX RUSSIAN SUPERTANKERS AND THE BOEING 747 SUPERTANKER IN OREGON THAT ARE NOT BEING USED. THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN CALLED IN ON DAY ONE. WE OWE IT TO THE FIREFIGHTERS AND EVERYONE ELSE TO BRING IN THE 7 SUPERTANKERS THEY'RE NOT USING, BEFORE MORE PEOPLE ARE HURT-OR WORSE!-Call the Governor at: 1-916-445-2841 (see: waterbomber.org -or: evergreen supertanker -on internet. I might add also that the main strategy followed by the California and U.S. fire agencies seems to be to tell people to trim their bushes and pray for rain (in other words, blame the victims-which seems to be what government is good at). We'd better abolish these predatory agencies and let people contract their own fire protection. Of course if we did that, there wouldn't be any out of control wildfires because they would be put out immediatly by private operators and Supertankers whose paychecks depend on results instead of time-serving bureautic stagnation as we've had for decades. Further, in commenting on the runaway wildfires in northern California I wish to observe again that Supertankers are THE answer to wildfires if used in the BEGINNING of the fires, instead of waiting until the deadly fire spreads to monumental proportions (as the fire services usually do) as it has now. If the 6 Russian Supertankers and Boeing- 747 up in Oregon were called in now the fires could possibly still be put out. But I expect the fire officials to dither around for months, as usual, and never bring in the Supertankers that can do the job. We should call the Governor at 1-916-445-2841 and demand these 7 more Supertankers now, and a future investigation of the top fire officials. -Ed Nemechek, Adelanto. Ca.-.-760-246-8059. (ednemechek@verizon.net).

I do fell for everyone out there but once we push into mother nature so far....she eventually cleans up.Tragic for sure but a reality living in such beauty.

# 89. I live in Oroville, Ca. and I love it here. It's a very nice town with lots of nice places going up to the Lake Oroville. We try to keep our place fire safe , but alot of our neighbors don't. I know when I lived south of town we got notices to knock the weeds down and we did. So how come everyone doesn't. We really appreciate all what our firefighters are doing to save all these homes and trees and people. Seeing the deer makes me happy to see that it survived and hopefully alot the others did too. God Bless everyone of you who are trying to get these fires out. Thank you Boston Globe for the great pictures.

Nero fiddled while Rome burned. Read the book "Six Degrees."

I really hope and pray that this fire would stop "killing," California!

who the hell is the AUTHOR TO this article'

Thank you for sharing your photos, My heart goes out to all those in California whom are dealing with this natural disaster. God Bless all of you. Your in my thoughts and prayers.

Thanks for sharing your photos. They are great. I live in Nebraska. My son was sent out there on June 22 with The Mid Plains Interagency Fire Crew. He loves his job and feels that he is helping others by his work. I am very proud of him and the other fire fighters that have to deal with the terrible fire. May GOD protect all of the firefighters and the people who live in these areas. Our prayers are with all of them. I pray that the fires are put out soon. GOD BLESS THE FIREFIGHTERS!!

This definetly has thee finger prints of Haliburton and Bush all over it. Bush must have had Cheney move his diobolical whether machine from the gulf. Cant wait for Obama. Hell use the machine for good instead of EVIL.

A pesar de la catastrofe que implican, estas fotos son maravillosas.

Thank you so much to the firefighters who have worked so very hard on this crisis. These pictures are awesome, thank you so much for posting these. I live in Sacramento, and though we're 90 miles from the fire, the smoke is so thick here today that a number of individuals have had asthma attacks. Its hard to go outside without holding your breath, and we've began to actually smell the smoke "inside" of our homes now.

Oregon has hundreds of crews the Oregon doesn't want to help California There is a bout 20 crews in Salem, Oregon just waiting to get call to go help.

What's going to happen when California runs out of water?
What's going to happen when California doesn't stop asphalting over
fertile farmland? What's California going to do about mass transit.
Why is California building more freeways, especially in San Onofre?
Who's going to start putting solar panels on their house instead of
building a backyard pool? What about heating your home with solar heated water?
Who's going to make their High School children ride the "Bus" instead of driving a car? Californians should stop pontificating about Alaska and do something about their own state. It's a mess and no one seems interested or motivated enough to
really look at what trouble you're in. PS.... you can't have our water and forget about the oil.....it's ours!!!!!!

Fires caused by lightning happens every year. We who live in the forest choose to live here and sometimes we pay a terrible price for the choice as do people who choose to live in other dangerous locations around the world.

We do what we can to control the fires, but call on outsiders to come alongside to help. Thank you everyone who fought the fires. We appreciate the help when we can't help ourselves.

Please pray for the firemen and women and for those who have lost everything.
Thank you.

I live here in northern California,I have seen it burn before but never like this.
The only thing I ask is that God takes care of those who put their life on the line for us here..God Bless You All...sandy

I CAN'T IMAGINE THE FEELINGS THESE PEOPLE ARE EXPERIENCING.. MAY YOU ALL FIND THE STRENGTH TO RE-BUILD AND MOVE PAST THIS..I AM NOT A PESSIMISTIC PERSON BUT I CAN'T HELP FEELING WE ARE BEING TESTED BY A HIGHER POWER AND THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING OF A LONG AND PAINFUL SERIES OF TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS. YOU ARE ALL IN MY PRAYERS

Post 99. You ask what Ca. will do with no water etc. They will do what every one in Ca. is doing, moving away.Ryder Trucks and U-Haul is currently paying people to drive thier trucks back into the state from Az. and Nev. because trucks are leaving in droves . Forget the gang bangers,rangefires and earthquakes and illegals, It just costs too much to live there. When my kid got a $104.00 ticket for riding his BIKE with out a helmet and my electric jumped to $328.00 a month for a 3 bedroom house that was it for me. It costs bodyparts to own a car there and dog catchers count the dog turds in your back yard and writes tickets for that. San Bernardino county is 22.000 square miles of desert and you cant ride a dirt bike because of turtles!!!!!!! You can have it.Give it back to Mexico.

I live in Paradise and the Humboldt fire burned right up to my back door. The job the firefighters did was nothing short of phenomenal. Less than a week later lightning storms touched off the Butte fire complex, a series of fires still burning all over Butte County. 10,000 people have been evacuated in the last 3 days. The air quality management has listed the air quality in our town as hazardous for almost 2 weeks. We are down....but not out. We're keeping our heads up, wearing our masks, doing what we need to do. In response to earlier comments about getting the tankers in here it's a two sided coin. In order to use the tankers we need the wind to come up to blow the smoke out so the tankers can see. That would also help our air quality. But if the wind comes up the fire shoots right up the canyon walls and destroys a lot of homes before the tankers and firefighters can get them out. Thanks to the winds we lost 50 houses the day before yesterday, one was owned by a good friend of mine. This really has been a tough summer but life goes on!

Thanks for the pictures of Paradise. I am from the bay area, living in Missouri now. In the late 50"s my best friend moved to Paradise, with her family. I was very fortunate, to spend 2 summers with them. One of the most beautiful places on earth. I feel such sadness for these people who have had to flee these fires. Also for the people in the Santa Cruz area. So sad to see such beautiful country burned, and sad to think of the homes destroyed. God Bless California, and the people who are having to deal with these fires. Such emotional pictures show the whole story.

Natural intensity! I feel for all those who lost their possessions, memories...and the things that are most precious to us, especially our homes. Thinning a forest would certainly have to do with the maintaining of homes like these with foliage density. We feel for your loss.

This is an awesome and emotional set of photos. Thank you all who put their lives at risk to protect the rest of us.

We love the Firefighters--thank you for all that you do and be safe.

they are very bad fires

My Dad Lives in Salinas and he told me that it has just been really bad that there is smoke and ashes everywhere and I really like that this web site has amazing photographs and it really shows us how bad this fire I am so proud of our firefighters and I hope everything goes well

i am really appreciative of what these pple do.. so i just want to say thank you to all the people that are fighting fires EVERYWHERE!!!

For years on his radio show (Saturday/Sunday nights 10 PM-1AM (810 AM on the dial) ... Bill Wattenberg has been talking about how ... one day there would be forest fires ... like we're having now ... because the Sierra Club and other misguided folks have been totally wrong in their approach to managing our forests ... insisting that the dead trees and heavy underbrush must remain "natural" ... all of which has fueled the fires caused by lightening strikes (not caused by God ... what kind of mean spirited god do you believe in?) Question ... how did the Sierra Club get so powerful and their reasoning take such a wrong turn?

My heart &:prayers go out to all the firefighters and people who have lost their homes in these fires. My son is one who helps fight these fires and tries to save the structures in these fires. I pray for him every day and all the others out there saving your homes and our fores friends homes. God Bless you all.

Ernie, Hope and Granny are so self-righteous it turns my stomach! First-of-all, these people are suffering and you know nothing about them. You assume they are affluent, you assume they are not religous and you assume they don't live "green." Shame on you for even thinking these thoughts when these people need our support as fellow Americans. I wouldn't want to live next door to any of you three "Americans" or Christians. Yes, California is sometimes too progressive but at the same time, more laws and inovations have come from California than any other state. And, many Californians used to be your neighbor, Granny!
I live in Northern California and have inhaled the smoke, my eyes are burning, and I haven't seen a yellow sun or a blue sky in weeks now. We endure as it's small when compared to losing a home. Whether it's a mansion, or a shack, it's all they had. Full of their lives' memories. It's no one's business what their bank account looks like! It's no one's business whether their home had solar panels or not. Solar panels don't stop raging fires. The Californians that live in these wilderness areas probably live more "green" than any (pick any midwest city).
Our duty as Americans is to ask how we can help! And then pray you're never in their shoes.

I live in Paradise Calif.and yes it is a very scary situation out here,but we have come togeather as one in our BEAUTIFUL town.It is amazing to see how helpful everyone has been.Some very close friends of ours lost everything,they have received so much help and support from the entire community.The local realtors have donated staging furniture,and many have even given them use of houses that have been on the market, with the owners permission of course.People just seem to want to help in any way they can.Someone donated 200 pounds of tri-tip and a local restraunt cooked it and served it to a lot of the firefighters,and thats just a few of the things being done to help our people.Everywhere you drive in town you see signs thanking firefighters and emergency personnel for saving our town.I would not live anywhere else because we truly have the most beautiful town and people.Thankyou GOD for all the good people of our town.

Incredible pictures. I don't like Ernie's comment that thankfully the houses that burned are people who can afford to buy another one without the insurance money. How do you know that's true? Even if it is...There are still the items that are never replaceable like pictures, memories, your family's stuff, etc. I can't imagine the pain that these people are going through. I commend the firefighters who are putting their lives on the line to fight these fires.

Ausome pictures and I really enjoy them! Yes because I have been there and felt the heat.
The firefighters on the ground deserve the utmost respect people That "thing" /fire devours everything in its path and has NO concern whether you own anything or nothing he will take that also.
that metal "flowing" on the ground comes from the gearbox. I have seen a Toyota landcruiser burning like that in a plantation once.

Actually feel sorry that I am so far away and not beiing able to also be there and give some help. Keep up the good work and keep fighting it
Regards from south africa

post #99 What will you do if you run out of water.
Water to fight the fires are readily available in CA More than you can cope with. They must just get it into the planes. Use seawater!
We have done it in Cape Town on the table mountain fires and yes there are a impact of the saltwater on the vegetation but it would be minimal because you only dose an area once or twice and there would not really be a buildup of salt.
There are research done on it here in South Africa and that is available through the IAWF. The big issue however is the wildland urban interface. That area where houses, towns and the wildland meets. There are basic things you as a homeowner can and must do to protect your property against fire.Failure to adhere will result in a high possibility of losing your home to fire.
Ask your local fire dept to advise you and then take the risk if you really wants to live in the bush. Greetings from South Africa

My brother is out in Northern CA/Butte County working the fires. Fortunately, I am able to talk to him via text messaging almost everyday for a short time when he is taking a much needed break I am sure. He has told me about what he is doing about the fires and how it's improved in the last few days. He has even been on the National news last week, but only one can imagine what they are all going thru out there but thanks to your pictures which are great the way and the news, I am able to see what he is doing and how he is making the effort. He has only been a career firefighter for a short time now after being in the military. I can tell you and he very well knows this, I have so much more more respect fore these men and women who are very much our heroes, putting their lives on the line each and everyday just to try to save land, homes and most importantly lives. My hat goes off to him and his fellow firefighters..be safe out there.

MENDOCINO COUNTY FIRES ARE 100% CONTAINED AS OF JULY 16 2008 is what I heard on our local radio station from Cal Fires report.

Fantastic Photo's, our very dear Friend is the lady, Cindi Sterling who is Praying over her home, where she and her husband built it from the ground up. They will have to Rebuild on the same location or move, but so sorry to see these Pic's. But thanks anyway

I think that the fires are clearly taking over in the north california region. I think that it is great to have a website to let people know how it takes affect on how people live after such a disaster.

My son was sent to California about 2 weeks ago to help fight fires. He is a member of the Black Hat fire crew from Rapid City SD. His name is Cory Roberts and I am very pround of him and all the firefighters. They put their lives on the line everyday to save lifes and homes. These guys are the best of the best and they deserve to be praised. My thoughts and prays go out to all the firefighters and their families, and also to my son Cory God Bless each and every one of you and keep up the good work. I am very proud of you son ( Cory) .You and your coworkers stay safe and remember NEVER FORGET THE FALLEN they gave their lives doing what they loved . They should be honored and remember always God Bless you son I love you Mom

my grandson from michigan is fighting fires.I am very proud of this young man and his friend Sonny. They are only 20 years old.

We live in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and my son along with 2 other men from our area volunteered to fight fires in California. My son turned 20 years old on his way to California, and one of the other young men with him just graduated from high school in May. I am so proud of my son and these other men for their show of courage. He is doing something that he truly loves. I pray that he makes it home safely.

Looking at these pictures takes my breath away. I can only imagine the sorrow and devastation these people feel at losing their homes.

I commend all the men and women who are putting their lives on the line to try and get these fires under control. Thank you!

interesting..

At the end of July, the inept California governor and the inept US President got together to evaluate the wild fires disaster; Well, they came out with a solution to this national tragedy. The two leaders offered a $50,000 dollar reward to any person who reports the California fire arsonists. PLEASE, this year, let's vote for some intelligent candidates.

I would buy that MELTED CHROME if the owner reads this and still has the artifact.

pezrealian@hotmail.com

Seriously.

hey every one im going to a midle school and i act adult then u

Oh,,, please dont mix GOD in all of this. It is only our acions that have created all of the disasters we are going throuhg. And please it does not have anything to do with sexual preferences. Instead of pointing at people use that time to do something to help the people in need. There is no time to be judging others now.
In all for all that people going through hard times please dont give up and thank all the brave firefighters. Love and kisses!!!

these where the best pictures i have ever seen.

When will humans in California (and elsewhere) get it? Mother Nature is trying to tell humanity something, but we're not listening. Though it's a beautiful landscape where many want to move in to, the state of California has too many people living in ecologically sensitive areas prone to the disasters of wildfires, especially now that perpetual drought seems to be the fate of southern California as the globe warms. There are too many people in the world, transforming the natural ecology of the planet--through rampant deforestation, pollution, development of human habitats in areas that should remain wild, destruction of biodiveristy, etc.--into a burned out, overexploited landscape. This is what Mother Nature is trying to tell us. Stubborn, childish, selfish, stupid, exploitive beings that we are--when will we listen and understand? For those living in places where they shouldn't and whose homes are now burned, it is too late. Wake up, folks! It's later than you think!

Actually mother nature nor god is saying anything at all.....We have our selves to blame here. Forests burn all the time it's part of their ecological cycle. Just like how rivers flood their banks it's all a natural process. Humans have a perception that they can make something permanent when in fact nature is dynamic and always changing. Bottom line is, if you don't want your houses to burn, don't live in areas that are prone to wild fires, this happens every year and yet people still don't learn. Same thing goes for areas that are prone to flooding. People think they can tame nature by extinguishing wild fires or raising river banks. This only aggrevates the situation.

California is the place where most people would like to live. Me too. After seeing these pictures you have to think twice before moving to California.