Tuesday, October 23, 2007

The Damage So Far



We've been driving around the area nearly all day taking pictures and trying to figure out where the burning is and is not. About 4,400 acres in the RSF Fire District have been hit, according to the FD's website. This is what we've figured out so far by area:

- Cielo/Crosby/Del Dios: Most of these areas looked unharmed. There were burnt patches of ground all around and on both side of Del Dios Highway, but we could not see any burned houses from Del Dios looking in either direction. Just lots of homes sitting near swaths of black ground. It's still smoking in patches — and there are likely burned homes here that just weren't visible from Del Dios Highway — but overall most homes seem to have been preserved. The wind has also died down considerably. Some firefighters we asked at the Cielo station had no information about the fate of structures in the area.

- Fairbanks Ranch: seems pretty calm at this time. We do not think many homes were hit.

- RSF Covenant: The eastern areas were hit fairly hard. Many houses along the east side of Zumaque were completely destroyed. The picture above is of 16755 Zumaque. Looking east from the burned out homes on Zumaque, the burn area (across the river) was jaw-dropping — though it looks like many homes survived. Just that eastern edge of the Covenant that got hit pretty bad.

- Everything west of these areas, including west of RSF village, the western portion of Fairbanks Ranch, Carmel Valley and Del Mar are untouched by the fires.

It's been hard to get total structure fire counts from the authorities, but we should hear soon.

Are people being let back in to RSF? We believe the official answer is no, but there's some traffic. If you got back in — or even if not — share your story with us at ian@sdranchcoastnews.com or (858) 756-1451.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Does anyone have knowledge of any damage/destruction of RSF properties on La Valle Plateada? According to the Google maps posted, the "burn zone" east of the village seems to have retreated slightly southwest since a.m. hours earlier this morning. Thanks.

Terie said...

I'm not seeing a lot about The Bridges. What's the word about that area? Thanks.

crosby said...

Does anyone have any information on 16759 Zumaque? the house next door is pictured (16755), but our house is not mentioned anywhere...either saved, burned or damaged. Thanks.

Unknown said...

Does anyone have any information about Las Cuestas, the street next to Zumaque?

JKCDN said...

I have heard the Cielo Hillside Marketplace is gone. Does anyone know about this. It is located at the bottom of Cielo and is across the street from the Crosby.