Calif. Wildfires Destroy 655 Homes

1 Dead, Dozens Hurt; 10,000 Of 265,000 Evacuees At Qualcomm Stadium

(CBS/AP)  In San Diego County, where at least four fires burned, more than 200,000 reverse 911 calls - calls from county officials to residents - alerted residents to evacuations, said County Supervisor Roberts.

About 10,000 of them ended up at Qualcomm Stadium, home to the NFL's Chargers, where thousands of people huddled in eerie silence during the day Monday, staring at muted TV news reports of the wildfires. A lone concession stand served coffee and doughnuts.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger arrived later Monday to a more festive evening atmosphere, with live music and mountains of catered food. The crowd hooted and hollered as he passed through, and Schwarzenegger later declared that the people of this makeshift city "are very happy."

The governor said the federal government had pledged "everything we need."

"They have responded much more quickly than what we've heard in the past," he said.

Asked how the disaster would unfold in coming days, the governor said, "No one knows. We are relying very much on the weather."

The Federal Emergency Management Agency is sending cots, blankets and other supplies, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said in a telephone interview.

The sprawling Del Mar Fairgrounds on the coast was also turned into an evacuation center, along with high schools and senior centers. Marine officials at Camp Pendleton opened their base to residents.

At least one of the fires, in Orange County, is believed to have been set. And a blaze threatening the homes of the rich and famous in Malibu might have been caused by downed power lines, authorities said.

Mel Gibson, Kelsey Grammer and Victoria Principal are among the celebrities forced to flee over the weekend, according to their publicists.

Another blaze was started by a car fire. Flying embers started new fires at every turn. One of the San Diego fires is burning so fast that authorities do not yet have an accurate count of how many homes have been destroyed.

"It was nuclear winter. It was like Armageddon. It looked like the end of the world," Mitch Mendler, a San Diego firefighter, said as he and his crew stopped at a shopping center parking lot to refill their water truck from a hydrant near a restaurant. Asked how many homes had burned, he said, "I lost count."

Tom Sollie, 49, ignored evacuation orders in Rancho Bernardo to help his neighbors spray roofs on his street with water. His home was untouched, but he watched a neighbor's house reduced to nothing but the remnants of a brick chimney. "The house went up like a Roman candle," Sollie said.

He added: "If we weren't here, the whole neighborhood would go up. There just aren't enough fire trucks around."

[stopthewarrr]

***** Stop The War & Corporate Corruption *****

Why Don''t You Know Ron Paul??????

The corporate media will not give Ron Paul any Exposure. Because, NBC is owned by GE. GE is one of the world''s largest war-makers. They make things that go boom. They make $Billions on war. A Ron Paul administration would be bad for business. CNN is owned by AOL. Majority share holder is Saudi Royal Talal who is also partners with GHWBush in The Carlyle Group. Another major warmaker. And on and on. You get the picture. This is why they are doing a Media Blackout on him. Because they don''''t WANT YOU TO KNOW THE TRUTH!

Who is Ron Paul?
http://www.ronpaul2008.com/about

Ron Paul WON The GOP Debate On Sunday!
Again No EXPOSURE!

***************************
RON PAUL IS THE ONLY POLITICAN REPUBLICAN OR
DEMOCRAT THAT WILL STOP THE WAR! NO ONE ELSE
WILL, PERIOD! WAKE UP AMERICA! VOTE RON PAUL 2008
TAKE CARE OF AMERICA AND OUR PEOPLE FIRST!
***************************

[tnt1954]

should it be illegal to believe in God? punishable
by death? for the atheist scientist--tell me
the origin of space itself?

[gkc99]

"On the October 22 edition of his nationally syndicated radio program, host Glenn Beck stated, %u201CI think there is a handful of people who hate America. Unfortunately for them, a lot of them are losing their homes in a forest fire today.%u201D Beck continued"



The joke''s on Beck. Those San Diego and Orange county suburbs are Repugniscum country.

Maybe it''s God''s punishment of California Reaganite Conservatives for mocking Al Gore''s statements about climate change!

[taotxzen]

What a jerk.

On the October 22 edition of his nationally syndicated radio program, host Glenn Beck stated, %u201CI think there is a handful of people who hate America. Unfortunately for them, a lot of them are losing their homes in a forest fire today.%u201D Beck continued: %u201CThere are a few people that hate America. But I don%u2019t think the Democrats are those. I think there are those posing as Democrats that are like that.%u201D Beck%u2019s comment came as forest fires ravaged parts of Southern California, leaving one person dead, four firefighters wounded, and forcing about 1,500 people from their homes, according to The New York Times.

[famulla-2009]

The ball is in your coat again.
Sir
Sad but I wonder why America in forefront runner in the IT, weatherman%u2019s went ahead far in the weather manic to get the latest on the storms and did nothing in time. Is this because the poor stay there?
This is the second time after Tsunami storm and we are still pondering not about our boundaries but the boundaries of Iraq , Iran and planting the anti nuke in the EU and defy many in the same process. Why we cannot clean our own floors first beats me
I thank you
Firozali A.Mulla MBA PhD
P.O.Box 6044
Dar-Es-Salaam
Tanzania
East Africa

[mainemade]

Who says "Hell on Earth", doesn''t exist? Here is proof!

[rmsdm4]

why is this news. It happens every year. And guess what it will happen next year. There are 4 certains in life. Death, taxes, cali will burn in the fall, and new orleans floods when it rains.

[socaleruline]

this comment is for the guy who said cali should burn! How could anyone say something like that. we are all americans and we should help each other out no matter what state we live in. Do you know how it feels to be told to be ready to evacuate at anytime? To pack up and leave where you live and not know if your going to be able to come back. Its one of the worst feelings ever! These are people lives we are talking about its not a joke man. I also want to thank all the firefighters for working around the clock. I also pray the wind dies and this all ends and the person who is responsible is found.

[sparks224]

"If Al Gore is to be believed....."
Posted by nottellin1

That crazy Al Gore, boy what a nut job.
It sure is a good thing the Supreme Court stepped in and prevented him from becoming president, huh.

[nottellin1]

Thats right, everyone should move to another state. So Cal is a pretty scary place these days. There will be even more landslides in about 5 months because there will be no plants to hold up the hillsides. If Al Gore is to be believed, the houses in Malibu that don''t burn, the beachfront ones will be flooded. If you''ve been thinking about relocating, now is a good time. LA is due for an earthquake too.

[kennergirl]

It''s rained almost 10 inches of rain today..bring me a hose and a pump and I''ll put out that fire!

I guess everyone will be saying not to rebuild because the risk of fire etc etc. I suppose we all are going to go live where? Idaho? Utah maybe?

[sonotso]

'' ... maybe edible algae and mushroom knick knack artwork could store and possibly even lever or multiply water molecules and microbes ... maybe since we can turn acorns into atomic stars, we can turn acorns into atomic stomachs and forego all the consumption anyways ... ''


'' ... of course you have options, you have the option to invest all your money and votes in baby raping warfare ... ''

[danlies]

This make the case for Bluebird R.V.s and concrete dome houses.

[alittlebird]

What''s the big deal about evacuation? Try moving 260k people while surrounded by fire. Evacuation sights are being evacuated. Since 03 we''ve tried to be responsible (outlawing wood roofs, making fire buffer clearings, and clearing brush) but the winds are merciless.

This is an act of terrorism by nature and no one else.

[stezzer]

I hope Oliva Newton-John''s house is okay. I rather like her.

[l8c6]

Blackwater needs a fire fighting division. Such a private endeavor could continue collecting taxes from all americans and even take dips into social security. The efficiency and cost savings would be more precise. More surgical and strategic delivery to the americans who should get premier service could be attained. The ones who have more shares in america. The ones who pay most of the taxes and make jobs for all the losers who work with their hands in the streets.

[l8c6]

It''''s all Bush''''s fault.

LOL

Posted by MCVett

Illusive covert right wingers would want all to believe it''s all about Bush. For at least the past 30 years an illusive right wing movement has placed mascots for the republican party in the most executive office of our government, the presidency. Other politicians who have gained access via the other party have been caustically assaulted with litigation. Millions of taxpayer dollars were spent by the right wing on white water, impeachment over a BJ etc., largely to no avail. This from the movement that complains about activist judges and frivolous lawsuits.

The labels, the "liberal elite" Ha, the right wing conservative controlling arrogant elite is the problem.

[sparks224]

"We need to ship all foreigners back where the hell they came from."
Posted by Elichez1

Right On Dude!
I want to send all those Native Americans back to where they came from!
And they can take ther casino''s with them too!

[wwyoud]

CBS, please stick to the news and stop dragging religious references to satan into your stories; it''s unprofessional. One would think you''re hoping to get rights to the Left Behind series...

[mh4cbs1]

Disaster? This is nothing. In not all that many years from now global warming will leave the Sierra Nevada''s without any snowpack. You can then kiss California agriculture goodbye, along with easy access to drinking water.