ROB EGENOLF
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2012-07-03 10:56 AM |
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I heard at the time of the fire (and have also heard it several times since) that if the fire had passed through Windy Gap that night, the preferred plan was to intentionally blow up entire rows of homes to create a fire break large enough to prevent the fire from reaching the heart of the City. Can anyone either substantiate or repudiate that?
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COMMENT 293751
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2012-07-03 11:30 AM |
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You can still see the burn marks on the palm trees in the Hollister-Modoc area. I believe the Philadelphia House and a couple of other businesses burned down.
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COMMENT 293752
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2012-07-03 11:32 AM |
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the was a crazy time in Santa Barbara... I remember getting of the freeway at turnpike and watching a long line of inmates from SB Jail walk down turnpike to SMHS...
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COMMENT 293754P
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2012-07-03 11:36 AM |
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ROB EGENOLF - I believe wind can carrying embers for miles. That would have been a stupid plan.
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COMMENT 293757
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2012-07-03 11:41 AM |
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I think the goal was to protect Hope Ranch at all costs...
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COMMENT 293764
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2012-07-03 12:03 PM |
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I remember that day like it was yesterday. Hard to believe it was over 20 years ago.
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COMMENT 293799P
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2012-07-03 01:07 PM |
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I lived on the beach in Hope Ranch by the back gates and remember the Sheriffs coming by to tell us to pack up and get ready to go, if the winds hadn't died it would have burned through. I don't think there was any goal to protect Hope Ranch at all costs its pretty much known if a fire gets in there with a wind behind it there is to much growth to stop it.
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ROB EGENOLF
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2012-07-03 01:33 PM |
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754P I don't disagree that it might have been a stupid plan, but with government, the stupidity of a plan alone will never prevent it from proceeding, and that rumor persists to this day.
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COMMENT 293814
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2012-07-03 01:40 PM |
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Rob, that plan was formulated by the Rand Corporation, in conjunction with the saucer people under the supervision of the reverse vampires. They were narrowly defeated by the combined efforts of the Illuminati and the Quorum of 12.
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DILLYDALLY
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2012-07-03 01:44 PM |
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@814 BEST POST EVER, seriously ever.
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MACSCIDOR
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2012-07-03 02:12 PM |
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814 _You/we need to thank the Robs of the planet for supplying the 'starting-point(s)' for your keen hilarious retort(s). (Of course, I realize that I could 'fall into' a Rob-camp at any time, if I'm not extremely careful.)
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ROB EGENOLF
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2012-07-03 02:12 PM |
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814 - How insidious Damn those reverse vampires
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COMMENT 293757
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2012-07-03 02:23 PM |
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What, you mean -814 was kidding?
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COMMENT 293838
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2012-07-03 02:27 PM |
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Fire is cleansing...& beautiful.
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COMMENT 293935
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2012-07-03 07:01 PM |
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Wow I remember that day so clearly!
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ROGER DODGER
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2012-07-04 06:26 AM |
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I remember hearing on my scanner that a large piece of cardboard on fire, from the dump was floating over the city and landed behind the Double Tree on the tracks. I figured the wind shifted causing embers from the dump to cause the Painted Cave fire. I was at 154 and Calle Real when the fire swept down right in front of us I never saw anything like that in my whole life..
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COMMENT 293976
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2012-07-04 06:32 AM |
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I was livingin NYC at the time and I remember the fire hitting the cover of Time or was it Newsweek? As always, firefighters do a tremendous job. Thank you. 434
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COMMENT 293983
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2012-07-04 07:13 AM |
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Realizing that that fire was 15 minutes away from anyone, dependent only upon the wind was very scary. Even more scary was the realization that advancing at 60 mph one cannot out-run/ drive from the fire. Fire dept officials agreed and say, "Oh yes, shelter in place." How many homes in SB are suitable for shelter in place? We were very lucky it was not more deadly.
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COMMENT 293996
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2012-07-04 08:02 AM |
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I lived through the Painted Cave Fire and lost my home and pretty much everything I owned except the two cars we fled in. With all due respect to the Fire fighters, the disaster planning and incident response was very poor, due to the speed of the fire and the inadequate advance planning including water supply access. Previous major fires like the Coyote and Sycamore Canyon fires did not move as fast as the wind blown Painted Cave fire. The dry conditions from years of drought, dried out shake shingle roofs on many homes, poor communication and the location of the fire in what is an area most like a natural wind tunnel on the south coast, were all factors. There were half a dozen fire trucks staged at Tuckers grove that never moved when here were homes burning up less than a half a mile away. We have done much better in planning for such a fire today in large part because of the Painted Cave fire experience.
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RED CREEK
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2012-07-04 10:36 AM |
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Terrible fire. A friend lost two beautiful warm blood mares as well as her home. We received a call to evacuate, living on the edge of what is now the Douglas Family Preserve, due to the high dry vegetation and wood roofs we all had (then). The wind shifted, saving many homes and possibly lives.
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COMMENT 294040
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2012-07-04 10:43 AM |
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I hate to say it, folks, but we are ripe for this to happen all over again. Fire-fighting resources--particularly air-attack resources--are more limited than ever; we are in the midst of a drought in the West. Even if our area is not as impacted, should a fire break out here and not be dealt with immediately, we would be competing with other areas for manpower and equipment. Keep clearing brush, get rid of wood shake roofs, and if aliens need to land on the premises, make sure there is no dry grass nearby.
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D8VANILLA
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2012-07-04 11:03 AM |
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I worked at the Main Post Office and several of our employees were directly impacted by that fire. ~~~~~~~~~~One letter carrier's roommate was the only fatality. One clerk lived on El Sueno lost his house, but was happy to find that some of his prized Koi Fish survived, and two clerks losts condos on Hollister & Modoc. One of those people were on vacation, but came home immediately and started searching for their cat. They went to the area and started calling for the cat, and sure-enough the cat came out of the debris in good shape.
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SPARKEY
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2012-07-04 11:51 AM |
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I was home alone on W. Camino and called my mom's pager just after it started because the electricity went out. We watched the bombers fly so close over our house that I could see that the pilot was wearing a green shirt. After the first day or two we evacuated to Cielo Store where I spent a night under a shelf. Then we evacuated to my dad's house in Goleta. It is forever ingrained in my memory.
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COMMENT 294087
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2012-07-04 01:34 PM |
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and one could only slowlllllly and barely get out Puente (from More Mesa) to Hollister because that is on the only ingress and egress...people from Hope Ranch coming into Puente with their horse trailers. It was hopeless to get out, and NOW they've built SO MANY MORE homes off Puente, and now want to build MORE...without any way to get out in the case of a disaster. Of course, once one hit Hollister, you couldn't move then, either.
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CANON4
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2012-07-04 05:16 PM |
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That was the day I walked in to the Santa Barbara American Red Cross chapter to volunteer. It was such an amazing experience that I've been working there ever since.
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