[Sonart]

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Quote by: Decider What is the situation in my old hometown of Oceanside? I heard that the Marines in nearby Camp Pendleton have evacuated. Is that area under threat now?

To my knowledge, no, Oceanside is safely out of the way. The only reference to Camp Pendleton Marines I've heard has been their valiant efforts to help evacuate the folks in the Fallbrook area. Since most of the major freeways east and south have been closed, Marines were helping folks navigate through backroads to the northwest, through camp Pendleton itself, and from there to Oceanside.

Quote by: Decider I'm also very concerned about some friends in Rancho Bernardo. They lived on the crest of a beautiful, but heavily overgrown, ravine. Did that entire community burn, or just pockets?

I know for a fact that Rancho Bernardo was evacuated early on, and from this map, it doesn't look particularly good. As in a direct hit. As far as what burned or didn't, I suspect that developments that bordered open land or looked out over canyons were probably hit pretty hard. Those areas surrounded by other development were probably less or unaffected. We're still talking about hundreds of homes, though.

Quote by: Decider What about the towns of Vista and San Marcos?

I'm pretty sure San Marcos, and certainly Vista, were well north of the large Guajitos and Coronado Hills fires.

Quote by: Decider I also heard news that the Santa Ana winds have died down a bit. Is that true?

Last I heard, indeed the Santa Ana winds have died down, although the firefighters were seeing that as a good news/bad news situation. While the hot, dry southwesterly Santa Ana wind whipped the fire into a massive fury, the firefighters knew exactly where it was headed. Now, winds are still blowing, but they can change direction in an instant, which puts the fire crews in greater danger.

Quote by: Decider I'll take an earthquake over a brush fire any day. They are truly awesome and scary things to behold.

LOL... yeah, most earthquakes are kinda fun. Rollin' around. These fires suck, and even if we're not near them, the air downwind is just filled with ash and smoke. My lungs feel like they did when I was a kid, back in the bad 'ol days when really bad LA smog used to drift south.

Quote by: rmnunez Firemen from Mexico rushed to offer assistance, but had to turn back when the raging fires swept towards Tijuana.

Yeah, the second largest of the fires, the Harris fire, is right on the border, crossing Hwy 94 at Tecate, and, like the others, is moving west and south.

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