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Oh - What an E-mail!

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This entry was posted on 10/26/2007 7:27 PM and is filed under General.

Carol Killebrew is a very active bluebirder and has served as the CBRP County Coordinator in San Diego County. She lives with her husband Warren in the mountains near Ramona. I was very worried about her because I know Ramona was ravaged by the recent wildfires. This morning I finally gathered enough courage to send her an e-mail and ask it she was ok. I wondered all day if I would hear back from her.

I sure did. About mid-afternoon I received the below e-mail from Carol advising me she suffered a close call - but her ranch is fine! Thank God!  I want to share her e-mail because it really gives you a sense of being in the middle of the disaster that surrounded her.

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"During the Cedar fire four years ago, the fire came within a half mile to the south of us, but we were fortunate not to have our house burn.  And again we have been very lucky, as the Witch Creek fire has come within a mile of us to the north, but has not threatened our house.

The car was packed and we were ready to go if need be, but fortunately the fire danger moved west without any direct threat to us.  We do have several down tree limbs from the 50 to 60 mile an hour winds Sunday night and Monday morning.  And we lost power for about 12 hours, but it came back on late Monday afternoon.
 
The municipal water was turned off to our area Tuesday morning due to the electricity going down to the pumping station in Poway/Rancho Bernardo.  Fortunately we had the presence of mind to fill a bath tub with water for washing on Sunday, just in case.  Our elderly neighbors went down to an evacuation center, so we have been taking care of their two horses in addition to our dog and cat.  And I'm so glad they left a large storage of water for the horses!
 
They opened highway 67 in to Ramona last night about 7pm, hoping to avoid a riot, as there were over 100 cars lined up with lots of very angry folks who had been parked there for several hours wanting to get back in.  The water may remain off for several more days to allow the reservoir to fill as well as to test the water for safety.  At 8 pm last night we went out to a local grocery store for food supplies and more bottled water.  Lots of police presence everywhere.  Air quality is still very bad, so we are staying inside for now."

Carol Killebrew

 
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    • 11/1/2007 12:19 PM Carol K wrote:
      Hi Mike and Fellow Bluebirders,

      Yes, it was a tough week for Southern Californians. Fortunately for many, things are starting to return to normal. Our water is back on (yeah!), and we're done with most of the clean-up. Air quality is still poor, but that should improve soon, now that the fires are almost 100% contained.

      Western Bluebirds are doing well in areas burned in the San Diego County Cedar fires of 2003, increasing significantly in those burned areas according to the San Diego Natural History Museum surveys. So the birds should also do well after the recent fires. I was very surprised to see how fast nature repaired itself after the 2003 fires. Within a year, the hillsides were green again and supported wildlife. Nature is truly resilient.

      I have also read that periodic fires (not too often) are cleansing to an area....clears out the understory and kills fungus and some over abundant insects such as bark beetle. So perhaps there is something good to come from all the destruction. Fortunately here in San Diego, the areas recently burned are not the same ones that burned 4 years ago. And although there was a lot of acreage burned, there is still a lot of backcountry untouched. So there are areas for wildlife to find refuge until the plants re-grow. The one exception might be Mt. Palomar, which has some old isolated populations for flora and fauna.

      The whole west-end of Ramona, where we live, didn't burn. So all the oak woodland is still here for the Western Bluebirds and other birds. And the Ramona grasslands are still in tact, so the migrating Mountain Bluebirds will have a wintering site here too.

      Thanks for all the emails of support, Carol
      Reply to this
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