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This is what Bill Buchroeder saw driving west on Lockwood Valley Road toward Highway 33 on Friday, Dec. 8, just after noon. Highway 33 is a route to Ojai, but has been closed now due to fire danger. The Thomas fire was moving toward Ojai yesterday. Though this looks close, the fire is still two mountain ranges away.Image 2 of 2
Bill Buchroeder of the Pine Mountain community took this photo of what those in Lockwood Valley were seeing over the mountains on Friday, Dec. 8, 2017 of smoke from the Thomas Fire being moved by high winds toward Ojai.
FRAZIER PARK, CA (December 9, 2017 at 3:27 a.m.)— Power has stayed on in all sectors of the Mountain Communities so far. While wind-driven fires are raging in Ventura, Los Angeles and San Diego Counties, this region has stayed calm December 7 and 8. But this is a good time to prepare a go-pak for your family.
These wind-driven fires are moving with amazing swiftness. Families often have 15 minutes or less to depart.You might be away from your residence for a prolonged period of time. Start by signing up for ReadyKern, to receive an alert immediately in the case of a threat in your area. Sign up for ReadyKern Alerts here.
Then prepare a go-pak. A note from Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department this week said: If evacuations become necessary, residents are reminded to be prepared. Please prepare a bag that contains
•Your identification;
•Your medications;
•Important documents you might need (birth certificates, marriage certificates, health and property insurance documents, etc.);
•Your cell phone charger;
•Any emergency supplies you need (such as reserve batteries, flashlights, blankets, plus water and food) in the car;
•A change of clothes and toiletries.
Here is a more specific set of tools that may be very helpful for getting your family prepared, just in case it is necessary to leave quickly. As we have learned from observing these amazing fire events, it can happen anywhere, at any time.
FRAZIER PARK, CA (December 7, 2017 at 8:57 a.m.)—Red Flag Fire Warnings have been raised for this region. Due to the extreme fire danger in this region, and the rising Santa Ana winds, Southern California Edison has sent out robocalls saying that power may be shut off in some vulnerable areas. Frazier Park and Lebec are considered such vulnerable areas, as may be other Mountain Community villages.
The California Public Utilities Commission has been investigating the possibility that high voltage line sparking during high wind events may have been a cause of some of the fires in Sonoma and Napa counties. Closing off power transmission during high wind gusting is seen as a preventive, protective measure.
To our readers: Please call The Mountain Enterprise office at 661.245.3794 if the power goes out in your area so we can confirm immediately that this measure has been put into action. We will also confer with SoCalEdison to seek more information about what will trigger this decision. Please check back to this page. We will list each area that goes out, if any do.
This is part of the December 8, 2017 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.
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