Popular Post JohnSwenson Posted July 19, 2017 Popular Post Share Posted July 19, 2017 There is a massive wildfire in the area where Alex lives. The town near him has been completely evacuated and all the highways are shut down. Alex is still at home, but is without power, internet and cell communication. There is still landline working so I can still occasionally get through. He and his family are fine, but the air is filled with thick smoke. With most of the roads closed it will be difficult to get out if they have to leave. They have 2 dogs. 4 cats and 2 horses, if they have to evacuate it is not going to be easy. I was just talking with him a few minutes ago and he seemed hopeful that the fire will bypass them. Don't expect any replies from Alex for a few days. I'll keep you all updated as I get information. John S. austinpop, scan80269, christopher3393 and 9 others 12 Link to comment
Popular Post JohnSwenson Posted July 19, 2017 Author Popular Post Share Posted July 19, 2017 We don't even know where he is right now. He used the last of the charge on his phone to get out an email to a few of us. Right now about the only thing we can do is pray for rain in the area. We will keep you all informed if we hear anything new. John S. mikicasellas, sockpit, Guidof and 7 others 10 Link to comment
Popular Post JohnSwenson Posted July 21, 2017 Author Popular Post Share Posted July 21, 2017 I just heard from Alex, the fire got closer, but he and family are still at home. He says it is raining ash from the sky. He did not take the tortuous trip to Merced today, he stayed home to be ready to evacuate if need be. There are a huge number of firefighters working to prevent the fire from getting any closer to homes so he feels there is a good chance they will be able to stay home. John S. scan80269, agladstone and tapatrick 3 Link to comment
Popular Post JohnSwenson Posted July 21, 2017 Author Popular Post Share Posted July 21, 2017 1 hour ago, lmitche said: Any word from Alex today? I have not heard from Alex today, but reports are that the fire is now burning away from town and they might be letting some of those that were evacuated back to their homes. So it looks like the danger to Alex and family is decreasing. John S. mourip, Guidof and Jud 3 Link to comment
Popular Post JohnSwenson Posted July 21, 2017 Author Popular Post Share Posted July 21, 2017 The evacuation of Mariposa town proper has been lifted and the road from Alex's house to town has been opened. But the road from town to Merced (where he has 8 large cartons of parts waiting at FedeX) is still closed. He is thinking of driving to Merced to get the parts, it's still much longer than the direct road (which is closed) but at least he doesn't have to use the dirt road around the mountain. Alex was saying that it is going to be a madhouse at the grocery store in town as people are replacing food that spoiled due to several days of no power. Getting more food to the store is going to be fun, they have to bring the trucks in through the one open road. The gas stations in town actually stayed open to support all the firefighting vehicles for the last several days. John S. watercourse, Cornan, Solstice380 and 1 other 4 Link to comment
Popular Post JohnSwenson Posted July 21, 2017 Author Popular Post Share Posted July 21, 2017 I just talked with Alex, he did make the trip to Merced and is picking up the parts right now, then he is going to the grocery store to buy some food. John S. tapatrick, hicr49 and DuckToller 3 Link to comment
Popular Post JohnSwenson Posted July 22, 2017 Author Popular Post Share Posted July 22, 2017 I talked to Alex late last night, as he was grocery shopping in Merced they opened the main road to Mariposa so he didn't need to take the round about route home. He is home now and they have plenty of food. Alex and I are back talking about the upcoming projects for the next year or so. I'm going to have my new lab all set up in a couple weeks so I can start working on all of this in earnest. John S. Jeremy Anderson, tapatrick, scan80269 and 13 others 16 Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now