Scottish Rock Garden Club Forum
General Subjects => General Forum => Topic started by: johnstephen29 on June 21, 2015, 02:20:01 PM
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The weather can't make up its mind today, the so called start of summer. One minute it's nice and sunny, the next it's blowing a gale.
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Pouring with rain on an off here in Aberdeen. On the plus side, it's not too cold though !!
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That's true maggi.
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I can't believe it's the beginning of July already, where is the year going? Absolutely red hot today, too hot to work in ; :D
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The hottest weather here in France for years...
40°C today...and they forecast it'll go on next week.
No rain for more than 3 weeks...
I have to water my plants every day.
Something a bit strange: Lapageria seems to withstand these harsh temperatures: leaves are floppy at the end of the day but recover during the night ( 31°C last night... ).
One the " good " side of this ( if there's one... ) unexpected germination of palm seeds !
JP
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What a day, started off so lovely and I had so many jobs to be done :'( Some of Aberdeen's streets were flooded today. Hope all the aphids were washed away ;D
Angie :)
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Torrential rain most of the day - large amounts of water falling from the sky and lots of thunder and lightning - which I don't like. Dry enough now for me to go out and help a lot of snails with their flying lessons and help them get out to play in the traffic. Suppose that is some good come of the day! Lots of plants collapsed under the heavy rain though. #sigh#
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Torrential rain most of the day - large amounts of water falling from the sky and lots of thunder and lightning - which I don't like. Dry enough now for me to go out and help a lot of snails with their flying lessons and help them get out to play in the traffic. Suppose that is some good come of the day! Lots of plants collapsed under the heavy rain though. #sigh#
These snails don't know how lucky they are, flying lessons for nothing. I went out as well and collected some. Never used to have snails but now they are everywhere. They must grow really quick as mine are really big. I wonder how long they live .
Angie :)
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I think the big ones can live to as much as 20 years - but usually only around ten - If I'm hunting it's much less ::) I was surprised to see more baby snails tonight than I've seen for ages.
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I heard about the flooding up in Aberdeen on the news, hope everyone is ok and not much damage was done.
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I heard about the flooding up in Aberdeen on the news, hope everyone is ok and not much damage was done.
Being at the top of the hill has its benefits sometimes. ;D
Angie :)
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I think the big ones can live to as much as 20 years - but usually only around ten - If I'm hunting it's much less ::) I was surprised to see more baby snails tonight than I've seen for ages.
Here is me thinking they must only live a year or so. I will be getting my specs on and standing on the babies tonight ::) Cant stand on the big ones.
Angie :)
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Mostly just drowned cars, John! Paper full of pix of cars in water over their window levels.
Animals at one of the rescue homes had to be moved as buildings flooded but all moved safely.
Yes, Angela, being at the top of a hill is a good thing for us too, even if I do moan when trudging up hill!
Here is me thinking they must only live a year or so. I will be getting my specs on and standing on the babies tonight ::) Cant stand on the big ones.
Angie :)
Get hob-nail boots, Angela, it's the only way! I was surprised when I looked up about their life-span - not good news a all.
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In Aberdeen we've had about a month's worth of July rain in the last couple of days - around 65mm (when the average for July is 60 to 60mm)- there have been flash floods with water swirling nearly 90cms deep in places around the city.
I enclose the weather report included yearly in the Aberdeen Group's newsletters - it is for the year 2014 - it is recorded formally by John Lupton in his garden at Westhill, a satellite town around six miles out of the city of Aberdeen. It'll give folks an idea of our climate
[attachurl=1]
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Maggi it is interesting to see the difference .
Went for a walk yesterday to Burn o vat just beside Dinnet. One minute it was hot next it was windy and raining. My jacket was off more times than I can count. Went for the short walk :) got lost. Think we never payed attention to the markers. So the walk was 10/12 miles . Thank god I had some chocolate. Cut my head on a branch, slipped into the water. Trying to fish with my great niece and a pink fishing net, can't remember what we used to call them. Think hiking isn't for me ;D saying this the scenery was lovely that's when it wasn't blowing a gale and raining.
Angie :)
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Angie, the problem at Burn o' Vat is the lack of any waymarkers whatsoever once you stray more than a couple of hundred yards from the car park/visitor centre and main paths. I took Patrick there on our way down to the Aberdeen show and, like you, we ended up on a several mile hike that lasted over 3 hours, took us in a circle at one point as well as quite close to where we needed to be but the lack of an appropriate sign meant we headed off in the wrong direction again. Neither of us are helpless when it comes to orienteering, but this tested us to the limits. An enjoyable walk with lovely scenery, habitats etc, but frustrating when both you and the dogs need feeding!
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Angie, the problem at Burn o' Vat is the lack of any waymarkers whatsoever once you stray more than a couple of hundred yards from the car park/visitor centre and main paths. I took Patrick there on our way down to the Aberdeen show and, like you, we ended up on a several mile hike that lasted over 3 hours, took us in a circle at one point as well as quite close to where we needed to be but the lack of an appropriate sign meant we headed off in the wrong direction again. Neither of us are helpless when it comes to orienteering, but this tested us to the limits. An enjoyable walk with lovely scenery, habitats etc, but frustrating when both you and the dogs need feeding!
Matt glad to hear that it was just not me, I thought also there could have been more markers but having a six year old with us means that you aren't paying too much attention, bless her she was so good, saying this she did say that she hated this place once she got a bit tired. Carried her on my shoulders for a bit and then she was ok again. I thought it would have so nice if we had made a picnic but didn't intend to walk so far. It took us over 4hrs and we stopped at the first shop in Aboyne for supplies on our way home. One thing that I can't understand is why do all those water lilies grow in that cold water and I can't get them to grow in my pond, so annoying.
Angie :)
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Ocean temperature along our Atlantic coast is at 18c. poresently. Sunfish have been spotted again with the big fin scaring the surfers. Everyone beach bound with a warm weekend predicted. It must be summer and hard to imagine the snow of last winter.....
johne
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Is this really Summer feels more like a slightly warmer March? It was raining when I got up yesterday morning and was still raining when I went to bed and is promising to do exactly the same again today with a lousy forecast for the rest of this week :(
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Rain? Just remind me, what is that? (sent from parched East Kent).
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Do you a swap for a bit Ralph?
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Tonight we'de a terrible storm, garden and greenhouses are flooded
http://france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr/nord-pas-de-calais/gros-orages-grele-et-indondations-dans-le-nord-pas-de-calais-786801.html (http://france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr/nord-pas-de-calais/gros-orages-grele-et-indondations-dans-le-nord-pas-de-calais-786801.html)
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We have been lucky to escape this. Been a good day here.
Hans J has told me about a nasty storm they had in mid-July which did quite a lot of damage. Seems we have been lucky here with our mostly wet and windy ( but not really stormy!) summer!
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Just steady rain here, but continuous all day.
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We had the storm too, Yann, but fortunately no damage. Lots of rain, thunder and lightening.
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We had one of the best summer days this year yesterday (Thursday)! Today is expected to be even better :)
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We have the hottest summer I've experienced. Two months no rain and temperatures above 33 ° C. each day . It's terrible. My poor alpine plants.
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It was the same here...until yesterday :(
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Although we had (Thames Valley) 2" rain last week, and only 1/4" this last few days, it is apparently enough (with temperature changes?) to trigger Amaryllis belladonna into growth. Interesting that the bulbs nearer the edge of the paving grow first with no sign of the bulbs just a few inches nearer the overhanging bush. Either could be moister and/or warmer than the other. The first Colchicums showing to.
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A. belladona showing here too, after Thursdays thunderstorm.
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Facing a week in the 90s (F) and still no rain. Only the astragali and eriogonums are happy. The garden is beyond parched and the usually lush field is brown and hard as rock - miserable summer.
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Any water effect must be down to me under glass but my Rhodophiala (ex Harry Hay) is erupting with apparently 9 flower shoots breaking the surface over the last 2 cool nights.
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A good chance of catching the aurora borealis tonight if you have clear skies: http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/planetary-k-index (http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/planetary-k-index)
A planetary K-index of 4 or above should give an aurora display at our (Scotland) latitude.
Here's the chart for now as the webpage automatically updates:
[attach=1]
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Any water effect must be down to me under glass but my Rhodophiala (ex Harry Hay) is erupting with apparently 9 flower shoots breaking the surface over the last 2 cool nights.
The effect of 1 days growth. That closest to the front rim of the 9" pot is growing at 4mm an hour this evening.
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The effect of 1 days growth. That closest to the front rim of the 9" pot is growing at 4mm an hour this evening.
Magical, isn't it ?!! The joys of bulb growing.
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Magical, isn't it ?!! The joys of bulb growing.
and 4 days on
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Great potful - aren't they elegant?
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Beautiful. 8)
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It's all the Jet Stream's doing! This has been the worst Summer, and there have been some pretty bad ones, since we moved to Devon 29 years ago. June was mostly nice but since then it's gone down hill at a pace. Yesterday was mostly dry, apart from a couple of short, but heavy, showers until the heavens opened around tea-time. The last four days have been unfailingly wet, the soil in the garden has a porridge-like consistency and any plant more than a few inches high is beaten into a sodden defeat. I really do, sometimes, feel like ripping the place apart, laying gravel over it, and go and do something else with my time. The thing is that it doesn't look as though it's going to get any better.
http://www.netweather.tv/index.cgi?action=jetstream;sess= (http://www.netweather.tv/index.cgi?action=jetstream;sess=)
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Hot and dry here, David. 30°C yesterday.
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Brian - What a lovely pan of Rhodophiala. Is this Harry's free-flowering R. spledens or bifida? I've never been able to flower it.
As for weather it is abysmal here, temps are in the low 20's but the humidity is the worst I've seen it. Usually this last for 3-5 days but we're headed for our 3rd week of this. We've had to shut all the windows and doors as the everything would be sopping wet. Just when you think it can't get any worse dense fog rolls in off the Atlantic in the evening. Motion has slowed to a near stand-still. I nearly fell delirious from the heat of a boiled potato at the dinner table last night. ;) The ocean temps is at 20c and our favourite nearby by beach had water temp at 23c yesterday. I pulled weeds 2 weeks ago and they sit in a pile growing away.
Friends are having a memorial today for parents, they were able to cut branches of two Rhododendron auriculatum and Magnolia grandiflora '24 Below' in full flower for the tables. Those surely break a local record for late auriculatums.
Have a look at the humidex readings:
Yes it snowed in Calgary Saturday.
johnw
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Hi David the last few days have been lovely and warm here in East Lincolnshire, today started out great, I managed to get the hedge trimmed which I hate doing and also loath the hedge except if we didn't have it the garden would get blown to bits, then the heavens opened and it hammered it down.
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Brian - What a lovely pan of Rhodophiala. Is this Harry's free-flowering R. spledens or bifida? I've never been able to flower it.
johnw
That is what is available here as Rhodophiala ex Harry Hay. I also have R. bifida and R. pratense. From memory the first 2 are so similar I don't think I could tell them apart the last time they were in flower together, and the last not very little different. As their flowering time gets triggered differently depending on my treatment I don't always get them together to compare. I think they all flowered in the past just as easily. I will know over the next month or so. This year I have kept them dryer than I did in the past so need to get back into a routine.
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Looks like you will have a drop of moisture today Ralph ;D Torrential stuff from late last night to further add to my porridge (soil) but just beginning to pass over now. with the next lot pending later today and tomorrow.
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Correct! 1/3 of an inch so far, and very welcome too.
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Looks like you will have a drop of moisture today Ralph ;D Torrential stuff from late last night to further add to my porridge (soil) but just beginning to pass over now. with the next lot pending later today and tomorrow.
David, I wish you could send some of it here. We're still waiting for rain. Ground is hard as a rock and everything is brown. Eriogonums and astragali are loving it but many plants have disappeared (temporarily, I hope). It's been so long since we had rain we are getting concerned about the well.
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[attachimg=1]
Well it finally arrived - an out-of -control fire scenario here in our part of California.
This is not a cloudy sky. This is smoke from the Butte Fire. It grew in size by 10x just last night. Entire communities with thousands of people are being evacuated. The TV shows a line of cars packed on the highway - folks fleeing the fire.
This fire is still some distance from us, however the situation is alarming as a new fire has now erupted to our north. Firefighters are already spread thin even with reinforcements coming from as far away as Australia. Temperatures are running about 38 C in the area of the fire with 10% humidity. If the fire becomes as large as the Rim or King Fire it will reach us. The situation is completely out-of-control so anything could happen.
At times the sky is as black as the "Ace of Spades" with ash raining down on us. This is now our second day of dense smoke and ash. We are lucky - many are losing their homes. Last year part of the town of Weed, California burned due to a forest fire. This situation could burn whole towns. We will pray that somehow this situation comes under control before more harm is done.
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Hope the situation improves quickly, Robert.
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Robert, we all hope you are spared. Thank goodness we do not experience such terrifying events here. Keep us all posted on developments so that we know you are safe.
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Goodness, Robert. Here's us complaining about what a "bad" summer we've had, when you have real concerns. Hoping that this fire can be brought under control and you are spared any damage. The important thing is to ensure that you both stay safe.
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Keep safe Robert.
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I will keep everyone posted as to how this all progresses. I did not hear any sirens during the night, a good sign. But then the local Cal-Fire station could be empty. The firefighting forces are spread very thin right now.
I care give my elderly parents, so my main concern is getting them to safety if this becomes necessary. The weather is to be cooler today, however the winds are to pick up. The Butte Fire is still a distance from us, however the new fire to our north is a concern as we could become surrounded by fire. The situation is very unpredictable and out-of-control. Many have already lost their homes and many more have been displaced.
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The latest update on the fires:
It is still very smoky. There has been significant progress on the containment of the fire to our north. The Butte Fire is still out-of-control, however it is moving mostly off to the south away from us.
It is still a very critical situation for our neighbors to the south. There are still mandatory evacuation orders for many of the towns in the area. State Highway 26 is closed due to the fire. 15 structures have been destroyed and another 6,400 are threatened.
Right now the winds are calm, however visibility is very limited due to the heavy smoke. This limits the ability of air tankers to drop fire retardant. We will hope for good news by evening.
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A terrifying state of affairs, Robert. You are all in our thoughts for a safe outcome.
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The current update on the Butte Fire:
There is a mixture of both good and bad news.
First the good news: The Butte Fire grew by only 15,000 acres in the last 24 hours to 65,000 acres. It is still a large and out-of-control fire, with only 15% containment. The largest fire in California history was the Rim Fire 2 years ago. It burned 256,423 acres. The King Fire last year here in El Dorado County burned 97,717 acres.
This is where we get to the bad news: The Butte Fire is burning through a much more densely populated area. Already the fire has burned through parts of the town of San Andreas, California. 86 homes (the ones that have been confirmed, there are still more yet to be officially conformed) have been destroyed and many other structure destroyed. There are still mandatory evacuation orders for many communities in this area. The smoke is dense and black make air drops of water or fire retardant impossible. We are at the mercy of nature and the weather. The winds have remained calm most of the day, and there is even the chance of rain in the forecast. Gusty winds could change everything. Last years King Fire seemed stoppable until the winds pushed it for miles across the Placer County line.
For us, we appear to be very safe now.
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I suppose it gives you mixed feelings to be safe yourself but knowing other people (you may even know some of them in person) have to flee.
San Andreas seems to get a little rain Monday and Tuesday: http://www.yr.no/place/United_States/California/San_Andreas/long.html (http://www.yr.no/place/United_States/California/San_Andreas/long.html)
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Robert,
Will be thinking of you and your family,
best,
fermi
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Thank you everyone! :)
Yes, it appear that we will be safe. The smoke and ash has been terrible, especially for the elderly.
Trond, it is correct we may get some sprinkles. The cooler temperatures and higher humidity will help the fire fighters.
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Can't imagine what it must be like to live in places like parts of California and Australia where such fires can come from nowhere. The closest description I have read is from John Muir writing about the redwoods and the way whole trees just lit up like candles - the trees are adapted to it but not houses. Are the scale of these fires natural Robert? Presumably they are highly exascerbated by the drought but an area of over 200 000 acres is hard to take in. Very good to know that the situation has calmed down for you.
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Tim,
Yes, at least there is an on going debate on how to manage the forest. Personally, I do not believe there is much of anything natural about the current fire suppression policies. Getting back to a more natural situation is not easy. Decades of fire suppression has created a huge build up of fuels in the forest. For me, a big question is how reduce the fuel load in the forest without burning everything down. Maybe a good starting point is how we manage to forest that have already burned. Even in areas of the Rim Fire burn, the fire did not burn everything completely and actually thinned and renewed the ecosystem. I saw this personally when I visited the area 2 years ago. Other areas burned so hot that even the dormant seeds died and the roots of trees burned far into the ground. Those areas were a lifeless moonscape. Maybe I need to return to the Rim Fire burn this coming spring to see how the ecosystem may have changed in the various parts of the burn area.
I do the best I can to keep an open mind as to various out comes.
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The latest update on our Northern California fires.
The good news is that the Butte Fire has not grown much and we are safe.
Sadly a terrible tragedy is unfolding. A new fire on the other side of the Sacramento Valley is ravaging communities. The "Valley Fire" in Lake and Napa counties has grown from about 50 acres to 50,000 acres in 30 hours or so. Sadly, a large but still partly unknown part of the town of Middletown, California has been completely leveled by the fire. 100's of homes are already known to have been completely burned to the ground in the central part of town. In addition, apartments, businesses, and many other structures have been lost. The firefighters battled not only the flames but the lack of reinforcements, windy conditions, and the lack and loss of water as the fire hydrants went dry as they battled the flames in downtown Middletown.
This fire has 0% containment, and is about as out-of-control as a fire can get. Many are still at risk of losing their homes. This fire is moving so quickly that many have only minutes (in some cases seconds) to evacuate as trees explode into flames next to their homes.
We have to pray that another fire of this nature does not erupt in the next few days. Firefighting resources are spread to the limit. I am not sure how much more can be endured. I am a native Californian (60 years) and have never seen anything like this in Northern California.
Tonight will be another night of dense smoke and ash. This is nothing compared to the loses of others - for some everything except their lives.
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We have seen some footage of the fire in Middletown on TV here - just a horrendous inferno. Amazing to me that people are managing to escape at all - and what heroes the firefighters are.
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Blowing very hard here today and heavy rain due later. Remnants of tropical storm Henri so they say, so JohnW probably had the worst of it.
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Blowing very hard here today and heavy rain due later. Remnants of tropical storm Henri so they say, so JohnW probably had the worst of it.
Passed south of here David, whether or not all the showery weather was from Henri I can't say but we're back in the steam bath weather again. It barely grazed St. John's on the way to you. Hope you needed the rain, friend in Charminster says she didn't!
john
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I didn't either John, quite the reverse!
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We have seen some footage of the fire in Middletown on TV here - just a horrendous inferno. Amazing to me that people are managing to escape at all - and what heroes the firefighters are.
Maggi,
I am glad that folks can "see" what is going on here. It is somewhat hard to believe unless you see it. Well over 400 homes have already been destroyed by the Valley Fire. The Butte Fire is not far from the farm. When they get it out I will go check on the situation first hand. Right now everyone except the firefighters needs to stay away.
The Valley Fire is now at 50,000 acres, with 0% containment. They are having more difficulties with the wind in that area. Here the winds are still calm, however this is the 5th day of dense smoke. The good news is that we could get some rain today and more rain on Wednesday. We will pray that this pans out.
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Here in my part of Lincolnshire a thunderstorm has sitting over us for the last hour or so, lots of thunder and lightning and the rain is hammering it down. If that wasn't bad enough the twins are complaining that they can't have the TV on :D. This doesn't compare to what Robert and his neighbours are going through over in California, stay safe mate.
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Very good news here. It is raining!
The count has now started - One elderly person could not escape the fire and burned to death, 4 or so folks are missing, and between the 2 fires well over 500 homes have been destroyed. 1,300 people have no place to live and are staying in tents. Needless to say the homes that did not burn have no electricity. Now there is also the danger of burnt trees falling, many of them quite tall.
If all goes right the worst of the fire damage is over.
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Hi Robert. Glad to hear that the situation should now be improving. I've just seen some footage of the fires from a couple of days ago and it is truly terrifying. So sad to hear of those who have lost their homes and those who are lost, but it's testament to the hard work of the emergency services that most people were kept safe. Property can be rebuilt/replaced, lives cannot. Stay safe.
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For folk who are concerned (I have friends in N.California) this is a useful webpage, which helps to understand the situation: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=zp8nK_5H0MFQ.kzTmU5XK-qJQ (https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=zp8nK_5H0MFQ.kzTmU5XK-qJQ)
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Hi Matt,
We are getting a bit of rain and the smoke has cleared. Wednesday more rain is forecast. 15 October is the average date for the beginning of our rainy season, so getting rain now is very early. Given the situation here, the rain and much cooler temperatures are welcome. It looks like we might be back to 32 C temperatures in about a week, but by then the fires might be out or at least well under control. I am hoping this is the end of the fire season for this year.