Storm clouds?

anniemac

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PABnoaccred
Joined
Jan 30, 2007
Location
Texas, USA
Nope, this is smoke from a fire not far from my house. Texas is on fire now and I don't know what we are going to do if we don't get some rain.
 

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All you can do is pray, and keep emergency suitcases ready if you have to evacuate. Quite a few years ago in Denver, CO. we went through an awful drought. Fires in the foothills west of Denver made so much smoke it could be smelled clear across town. We even had flames coming down the mountain sides almost into Boulder, CO. Then we started having fires out on the east plains. It was terrifying to watch. Luckily, no one got caught in it, although lots of acres and a few homes were impacted by it.

I seems like weather patterns are changing on a daily basis any more. I guess we just have to learn to deal with it, as sucky as it is!

Hang in there, Anniemac. I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers.
 
What Jod said....

I watched this on the news yesterday and the video was terrifying! This morning they said that 500 homes have been lost - I hope they manage to get it under control. Stay safe anniemac.
 
I so hope you are safe and your home is out of the fire storms path= sadly we know too well and too much how you must feel given the fire s we have had in AUstralia. Best of luck and support your local equivalent of the volunteer fire brigade- those guys really are lifesavers
 
Hope you are keeping safe anniemac! My thoughts and prayers are with you! Wish I could send you some of the rain we seem to have an overabundance of here on the east coast.
 
Thanks all. So far the fire is running parallel to where I live. Today the wind is not blowing but the smoke has begun to settle so it's pretty smoky here.

The problem is that the fires are popping up everywhere and this is essentially a rural area and all we have a volunteer fire departments. These poor guys and gals have been working for days along with the forestry service and firefighters from other states. The people are exhausted along with the limited resources that these small fire departments have.

Please keep us in your thoughts.
 
Thanks all. So far the fire is running parallel to where I live. Today the wind is not blowing but the smoke has begun to settle so it's pretty smoky here.

The problem is that the fires are popping up everywhere and this is essentially a rural area and all we have a volunteer fire departments. These poor guys and gals have been working for days along with the forestry service and firefighters from other states. The people are exhausted along with the limited resources that these small fire departments have.

Please keep us in your thoughts.


Does this not count as a national emergency given that 500 homes have been destroyed. I thought the US administration had "learned lessons" from Katrina and the poor response there from the government rescue services, especially given that their ineptness received world wide coverage.

I recall that citizens let down in New Orleans thought they were so unimportant that the government didn't care about saving their lives, and it looks like these "rural areas" may begin to think the same thing. Surely these "small town" volunteer services were only designed to cope with "small town" sized problems, with the expectation that if anything REALLY big happened the government, or at least the state, would send in the "professional" services with the better equipment and salaried and trained operatives.
 
Please keep us in your thoughts.
We certainly will.
I saw the videos on the BBC news tonight - what a nightmare. :eek:
No-one who has not experienced it can possibly imagine what it must be like to think the fire could be heading toward YOUR home.
I hope it misses you and another homes in the area. Let's all pray for rain or some other miracle to stop this disaster.

KK
 
Well, our gov., Mr. Rick Perry, decided he would come off the campaign trail to take care of business at home. As if that holds much water with me. But anyway, most of the counties effected have been declared disaster areas, for what that means.

Fire is still raging but so far is still moving away from me.
 
This is the fire closest to me. Just thought I would let ya'll know the scope of it.


Joe Terrell KLTVposted toKLTV 7
IN THE LINDEN DISPATCH OFFICE OF THE TEXAS FOREST SERVICE THEY ARE:
WORKING 12 MAJOR (100+ ACRES) FIRES…. 28,000 ACRES
LARGEST IS BEAR CREEK FIRE… ESTIMATED AT 20,000 ACRES, BASED ON SATELLITE IMAGERY.
RESOURCES FROM TX NATL GUARD, MUTUAL AID FROM FIRE DEPARTMENTS FROM TEXARKAND ON THE FIRE AS WEB.
AIR RESOURCES AND GROUND RESOURCES WORKING THERE NOW.
MARION CO SO CONDUCTING EVACUATIONS ON EAST SIDE OF THE FIRE ALONG 59. AND ON HIGHWAY 49 ON THE SOUTH SIDE.
 
I really, really wish I could send our water to you anniemac! They closed schools early today, but not early enough. Some children had to be taken back to the schools as the flooding made it impossible to get them home safely. They have evacuated many, many homes in a very short period of time. We are currently under a state of emergency and they are calling in the National Guard. As of 2 PM yesterday afternoon the Red Cross had setup 7 shelters, 3 of which had to be moved due to flooding. They are saying this will be worse flooding than in 2006, where complete houses were swept away by flood waters.

They have been working at the bottom of the hill I live on since about 3 yesterday afternoon to remove debris which had caused water to wash away the road. About a 30 foot wide section of road is under about 3 feet of water.
Link to some pictures of where I live...
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Looks like this could be down to a delivery issue.

From the UK Met office (our state weather service).


The remains of Hurricane Katia are expected to come across the UK on Monday bringing a spell of very windy weather. There remains a fair amount of uncertainty about its track and intensity, and warning areas may be extended or upgraded to amber in subsequent issues, but the best estimate currently is that northern and western parts of the UK are most at risk from very strong winds. The public should be aware of the risk of disruption to transport and of the possibility of damage to trees and structures.

If this delivery had been made to the correct place, those fires would be put out by several inches of rainfall.
 

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This looks like a disaster of epic proportions:

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A monstrous fire burning southeast of Austin has destroyed 1,386 homes, more than any other blaze in Texas history, county officials said on Thursday
 
stay safe and just remember there is no possession worth staying for or going back for .....just you and your family priority number 1
 
stay safe and just remember there is no possession worth staying for or going back for .....just you and your family priority number 1

It seems all past records have been broken this summer, which is the hottest and driest ever recorded. The article suggests that Tropical storm Nate might grant some relief, but looking at the charts for the region, this is looking unlikely. It is rain without strong wind that is needed, so it could take a while for this to occur. The north east of the US seems to be under water, and the UK has had summer in April, and more or less Autumn (Fall) from June onwards, with some distinctly "tropical" weather on the way for Monday.

So far, La Nina is getting the blame for much of this, and the likelihood of a 4th severe UK winter on the trot has recently been mentioned (by those with an interest in selling us stuff to cope with one:rolleyes:).

Even the sun has been blamed; it seems some observers think the sunspot cycle has frozen because signs of the next maximum that were expected to appear have not been observed - if so, it would be a very convenient thing for the fossil fuel companies, as well as a "told you so" for the climate change sceptics.
 
Floods in one place and droughts in another...wouldn't it be great if someone could figure out how to control the weather? Or at least move it to where it would do some good.

EDIT: How strange, I just left casinomeister and went to read my news page and see this article:
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Well, we are still on fire in Texas. The big fire near me and the one in Bastrop are still not contained but are not raging as bad.

I don't know how to post a link from Youtube but there is an awesome video of the skimmer planes getting water from Lake O'Pines, about 3 miles around the highway from where I live. It is amazing.

I don't remember the last time it rained but the last time it did we only got about 6 drops, not even enough to settle the dust. And then you have the parts of the US that are underwater. It's just crazy weather.

Had an eye opening moment today as I was watching the electric company going to set new power lines. Not only does a natural disaster, fire, flood etc. effect the people/land as far as destroying property but then you have to think about the other things that are destroyed. Power lines, water meters, etc. all have to be replaced. Most of the rural homes around here still have water wells with pumps that will have to be replaced. Livestock fences are gone along with alot of livestock that could not be moved ahead of the fires. It's overwhelming when you sit and think about it.

As Oprah would say, I am having an AHA! moment.

And to all the firefighters, rescue units, volunteers, thank you so very much.
 
As bad as it all is for so many, I am glad you have not gone up in flames, Annie!! There are horrible pics all over the web and it is heart rending to see the damage these fires have been doing. And when you are in the middle of the situation, you really do not think of the "extended" damage of power lines, etc. It is all terrible.

Please stay safe and know we are all thinking of you and your fellow Texans.
 
Yep, still here and unscathed as of yet. Whole world smells like a barbeque pit. Not too bad during the day but nights are horrible. Went to my grandson's football game last night about 40 miles from the fire and it was so smokey by the time his game started that it burned your eyes.

Do not like wildfires!
 
Last year (or the year before?) there were some fires in BC, the smoke drifted here and it was really hard to breathe - they were warning people with any kind of lung problems to not go outside, and for healthy people not to go running or exercising outside - basically if you HAD to go outside, to try not to breathe. ;)
 
i know annie. you and i live faily close to each other. im in the houston area and so far we are ok. however my brother and his wife live in montgomery county and the fires are right on the edge of their properites. they live in a condo. right now my brother in on vacation in costa rica . im hoping all is well with their little home. we do need rain so desperatley. texas has a frontal system sitting right on top and its been that way for months now. i hear this drought could last till some time next year. we have a golf course in our back yard and our neighbors are afraid some one will throw out a cigarette butt and fires will happen. people have already been warned not to bar-b-q. at the public parks. fines will be written our soon for poeple not abiding by rules. but thats a good thing.
 

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