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Author Topic: Thousand oaks fire  (Read 2601 times)

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irockhound

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Thousand oaks fire
« on: November 09, 2018, 05:03:45 PM »

Hi everyone, it's been a rough couple days here in Thousand Oaks first we had the shooting at the bar and then the fire came through yesterday and today we had a mandatory evacuation at 3 a.m. this morning however the winds kept the hot the fire from the house and we've been able to return to the house even though they haven't taken the evacuation off we are doing well we have everything packed up just in case we need to bug out however we think we're safe now the only thing we lost was last night was our motorhome,it was burned since it was in the direct line of the fire as it crossed the freeway while we had it at a RV repair shop. other than that doing well and praying for those who lost so much
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Kaljaia

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Re: Thousand oaks fire
« Reply #1 on: November 09, 2018, 08:04:43 PM »

Glad you are ok!
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- Erika

I rock hunt in the Antelope/Ashwood area of the John Day river basin in Oregon.

hummingbirdstones

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Re: Thousand oaks fire
« Reply #2 on: November 09, 2018, 08:37:01 PM »

Glad to hear you are safe and prepared just in case.  Sorry about your RV, but thank G_d it wasn't anything worse than that.

You folks have had a time the last few days.  Prayers for you all.
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Robin

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Re: Thousand oaks fire
« Reply #3 on: November 09, 2018, 08:46:35 PM »

Tragic week.
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peruano

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Re: Thousand oaks fire
« Reply #4 on: November 10, 2018, 04:50:55 AM »

That has to be a devastating experience, even when you escape most of the things that are important.  We should all stop and think what it is that is important and share our good will with those that are having the greatest challenges.  Stay safe.
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Combining a love of bikes (pedal and otherwise) with hiking, hounding, lapidary, and the great outdoors

Rosemaryr

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Re: Thousand oaks fire
« Reply #5 on: November 10, 2018, 08:20:01 AM »

Stay safe.  As another Californian, I know just how quickly these can shift, especially with the Santa Ana winds blowing.  Our prayers are with both Southern CA and Northern. 
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socalagatehound

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Re: Thousand oaks fire
« Reply #6 on: November 10, 2018, 03:35:34 PM »

Hey Steve, stay safe. Loved ones are what's important. Things can be replaced. Be in touch after things calm down.

Craig
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gemfeller

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Re: Thousand oaks fire
« Reply #7 on: November 10, 2018, 07:55:31 PM »

Hi Steve, glad you posted. I've been really worried about your situation and am very glad all is (mostly) OK with you and your family.  We just got internet/TV/phones back after nearly 48 hours of blackout (Spectrum lost a fiber-optic cable in the fire) so I can finally find out how things are elsewhere. 

We were packed and ready to evacuate Thursday night but we probably couldn't have gotten far due to the traffic jam after the 101 closure.  It spilled over into Camarillo as people tried to find alternate routes resulting in near total gridlock.  The fire got to the edge of town but our greenbelt and favorable (for us!) winds prevented sparks from setting new fires here.  Close call.  It was unnerving to watch the flames marching down the hillside near us.  I stayed up nearly all of Thursday night on "fire watch."  Sorry for all the tragic damage elsewhere and the souls lost in the Borderline massacre.
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rockherder

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Re: Thousand oaks fire
« Reply #8 on: November 10, 2018, 09:44:14 PM »

We lost our home in Oct last year to the fire. 
Here is a list of things I wish I would have known...

Fire recovery to do list

Start with the small list:

1. Get a PO Box

2. Longer term rental search - include insurance on it so they pay directly for rental. Find a nice place that you like, don't settle. You should be able to get a "Like Property" so insurance should cover a nice place for you to live while you work through all this. You might be living here for 2 years, so choose wisely.

3. Find a place to buy some sturdy boots and gloves. Get some shovels.

4. Start working on the personal property list (this is not fun at all, be prepared to cry we sure did). Write down the moment you remember – keep list on phone or pad of paper with you at all times.

5. Save receipts. Loss of use insurance will cover incidentals too – hairbrush, phone chargers, etc.

6. As you buy things, tell the store owner your situation. Most stores will give you some level of discount as their way of helping you.

7. Let people do things for you. Do you have a friend that you can send to the store to buy you some basic clothes or comfort foods? Let them do it – they want to help and you don’t need to spend time doing these errands. (The ‘fun’ of shopping is gone…it quickly becomes a chore because you don’t want a new shirt, you want the one that you always liked to wear but now it’s gone and you are sad/mad.)


The Big List:

1. Register at the shelters, with Red Cross and any other agency there, california FEMA, etc.
a. Most of the aid coming in will use these lists as a point of contact and will help to ensure that you don't get left out of anything.
b. This will be especially important should FEMA be activated, which in my opinion is very likely with the amount of devastation experienced.

2. Call Homeowners/Rental insurance to trigger "Loss of Use"
. This typically will allow you to be in a "Like" property for x number of years and sometimes has a dollar limit attached and sometimes not, this is dependent on your policy.
a. This coverage should also give you some immediate access to funds for essentials, clothes, toothbrushes, food, etc.
b. This will also get the ball rolling for the insurance claim on your home and rebuilding/personal property Dollars.

3. Get a PO Box and forward all mail to the Box.
. Use this PO Box as the mailing address on all forms you begin to fill out.

4. Start Searching for a Long term rental.
. Coordinate with your insurance company so that payments can be made directly from them using your “Loss of Use” money.
a. Plan on renting 1-2 years, but do not necessarily sign a lease for a full two years as circumstances can change.

5. Itemized List of belongings - (This is very hard but very necessary for your claim)
. I would organize by room and list everything that was there with a replacement cost. (you will cry a lot doing this and that is ok)
a. Replacement Cost should be what it would cost to replace not on sale from pottery barn, it should not be the price you paid for it with that 50% off coupon.
b. Make sure you list everything, even if it is above and beyond your policy limit. This is very important because everything above and beyond the policy limit is considered a Loss and can be claimed as such on your taxes - See #9

6. Call all of your utilities and either freeze or cancel service.
. Electric, Gas, TV, Land Line phone
a. Newspaper delivery, either cancel or update to PO Box.

7. Call the rest of your insurance points as needed.
. Car insurance
a. Any specialty insurance for unique items

8. Permits - An unfortunate necessity.
. Debris Removal - as things wind down it will be necessary to remove the debris, this requires a permit usually. (This should be covered by your insurance, we had to force the issue but ask repeatedly.)
a. Erosion Control - If you are on any kind of hill or have sloped property you will need to put some sort of erosion control measures in place, again this will need some sort of permit.
b. Temporary Power Pole/Trailer on site Permit - Getting this earlier on can prove helpful in both the rebuilding process.

9. Taxes
. You will be able to claim the monetary loss of the value of all your items minus what you receive from your insurance company. I’m unfamiliar with the exact laws, but I believe that we were able to carry our losses back 2-5 years and received most of the money that we had paid in taxes back in a nice large check.

10. Network with others. You will learn so much from others as you go through the rebuilding process. We all have our strengths so share yours and use others. The amount of time that you will spend on the rebuild, insurance, recovery process is staggering so you need to use all your resources.

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-Doug in El Dorado Hills, CA

irockhound

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Re: Thousand oaks fire
« Reply #9 on: November 11, 2018, 12:48:54 AM »

Fantastic insights list Doug and one I think all people should make note of, hope you never need it and save it in case you do.  I guess one thing to add but it might have been in there and I missed it is take a video throughout your house on a regular basis.  Amazing what you will forget you had when trying to get insurance to cover it.  Especially helps because it will also be documentation that you did own it.  PS save it some place besides your home like a cloud storage or safety deposit box or even a relatives house.

We got service back today also.  Adjuster is calling us about the rv on Tuesday.  My wife found a photo from a news video showing the RV shop burning, our coach is the one closest to the building.  If they hadn't parked it that close to the building it would have been fine.  The building burned down completely.
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kent

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Re: Thousand oaks fire
« Reply #10 on: November 11, 2018, 08:46:58 AM »

Doug,

Thank you for taking the time to share your experiences with such a terible event. I'm planning to print out your comments.

We evacuated last year during the Napa fire but where fortunate to be able to return to our home. Steve's take on a video is a good one that can make all the difference in helping the memory banks.
 
When we were packing up to evacuate I went out to my shop and just could not figure out what of all the tools and supplies I had accumulated in 45 plus years of tool collecting to take. So...I chose not to disturb my sancuary and take a video of my shop with a running commentary of what I was filming. Luckily it was not needed this time.

Cheers,

Kent
 
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hummingbirdstones

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Re: Thousand oaks fire
« Reply #11 on: November 11, 2018, 10:51:35 AM »

Doug,

Thank you for putting that list together for the rest of us from your own experience.  There is a lot on that list that I would not have thought of prior to a disaster.  Living where wildfires can and do happen, I am saving your list just in case.

Steve, thanks for the tip on the video.  That's an awesome idea and I'm going to start doing that.  Praying that the fires stay away from you and Rick and the rest of the folks in the fire areas. 
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Robin

Greg Hiller

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Re: Thousand oaks fire
« Reply #12 on: November 14, 2018, 10:26:25 AM »

Steve,

Very glad to hear you are okay.  Fire was actually one of the reasons we bugged out of the SF bay area years ago.  We'd been through the Loma Prieta quake in '89, then watched the Oakland Hills burn from the top of our apartment in north Oakland in '91.  I always tell people that we figured the plague of locusts was next!  Such a beautiful area of the country to live in, but lots of natural disasters out there to deal with.  Stay safe!
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irockhound

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Re: Thousand oaks fire
« Reply #13 on: November 14, 2018, 08:11:54 PM »

Things are slowly returning to a more "normal" pace.  Only a couple flare ups today and they were knocked down right away and never a threat to local homes and neighborhoods.  I have to say that the air tankers and ground crews were heros here.  The air crews were flying non stop and on one of the passes the DC10 came over the houses at about 300ft and made his drop of Phoscheck at about 100ft off the deck on the other side of the freeway.  I'll post a pic from the burst I caught of him making the run.  Today was an endless line of fire trucks down the freeway and I'll tell you they were from ALL over the western US.  So many cities and counties in other states sent their crews here to help.  It really warms your heart and words cannot express the thanks you wish you could give each and every one.
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hummingbirdstones

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Re: Thousand oaks fire
« Reply #14 on: November 15, 2018, 05:44:58 AM »

That's great news, Steve.  Firefighters are heroes.  My dad was a firefighter and I distinctly remember several fires he fought when I was a kid that were extremely dangerous.  One was a grocery store in the middle of winter in Chicago.  I remember seeing the pictures in the newspaper of my dad and his crew, all of them with icicles hanging from them because it was so cold the water was freezing all over them on contact.

The Hotshots here are amazing, as I'm sure they are everywhere else.  The Granite Mountain Hotshots who lost their lives in the Yarnell fire were a tragedy I pray never happens again anywhere and every time there are huge wildfires, that's immediately what comes into my mind.
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Robin
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