Everyone have a good night.  I'll have some stuff for you in the morning.
 

If you have pictures that you would like to share, please send them to me and I'll try to find somewhere to share them.

I'm also looking for some individuals to donate some time and help me write articles on the clean up effort. If you are serious in wanting to spend time doing this, contact me. 
 

Burned- Burnt mill road, north of Mojave River Road- 1 small cabin burned - south, all ok

Weather in Crestline- Heavy Fog, Light drizzle,  36° F

Current Stats

Acre's- 91,281
Containment- 93%
Cost- $28,900,000
Deaths- 6
Injuries- 6
Buildings Damaged- 35
Homes Destroyed- 993
Business Destroyed- 10
Personnel- 2,998

Growth potential of the fire is very low

The Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman visited the Command Post today.
 

Last Monday, The fires were very active and burning everywhere it seems.  Evacuations had been going on for a while already.  My dad, who's always been a great example of service to others had begun his job of keeping people informed of the fires.  He kept hundreds of friends and family informed by phone.  The problem, I wanted to talk to him and the phone was busy all day long!  So I thought, why don't we set up a system where instead of him having to repeat himself to everyone he knows, he informs one person and that person distributes it.  I thought it was a brilliant innovative idea until I realized that that concept dated back to the stone age.  But, back on point, later that evening I decided to start a webpage to get that information out to family and friends.  Thus I registered the name FIREupdate.com.

I never imagined that one decision would effect so many people.  Here are some stats for the last week:

Server Hits- 5,568,790
Server changes to handle the load- 4
Emails Received and returned- 2,118
Emails Received Yet to be Returned- 183
Minutes used on my cell phone- 2,218
Interviews with Newspapers- 6
Interviews with Magazines- 2
Interviews with Radio Stations- 4
Anonymous pizzas delivered to me- 1 (I still have no idea how they knew where I was)
Times I thought I should get into the Media business- 2
Times I kicked myself for thinking that- 2
Emails I received saying that I stink at being a reporter- 15
Times I thought I should get into the Web design business- 3
Emails I received from someone who thought I was the fire chief- 3
Friends I didn't know I had- 22,312  (unique visitors to the site)
Sleep- Sleep?  What's that?

Thank you everyone for a really good week!

 

Remember, we evacuated the entire mountain with absolutely no accidents or injuries.  Let's try to do the same thing in going back.  Drive Safely.
 

Expect the power to be out.  Although in Some areas of Crestline and VOE I have reports that power is on.  Job's Peak area has no power.  Again expect power to be off.  It is very foggy and cold.  You may want to wait until it is daylight. 

Those of you who find your home still standing when you get there, think of the others who aren't so lucky.  I am going to have some fundraising information up on the site later tonight.  Let's make a difference.
 

Mandatory Evacuations- Cedar Glen, East of 173, North of Hook Creek Road is still closed.

Voluntary Evacuations- Waterman Canyon, Lake Gregory, Crestline, Valley of Enchantment, Cedar Pines Park, Crest Forest, Lake Arrowhead, Running Springs, Green Valley Lake, Arrowbear, Twin Peaks, Rim Forest, Blue Jay and surrounding areas.  Passes needed in these areas.

Open to the public- Big Bear Lake, Big Bear City, Fawnskin, Moonridge, Woodlands, Angelus Oaks, Forest Falls.

Ranger Al standing with Malt Shop owners Bob and Peggy Magurean, their daughter Tammy Ramsey and grandchildren David and Patrick.  The malt shop will be open later this week.

This includes:  Lake Arrowhead, Running Springs, Twin peaks, Rim Forest, Blue Jay and surrounding areas.

You need to still have a pass.  Get it from any evacuations center.

Highways 18 and 330 down to the San Bernardino area are still closed.

It is very cold.  Actively snowing in some areas and very foggy in others.
 

Contacting the LA TIMES to thank them would be appreciated.  At this time of day, we wont be able to get too much done before dark but we will try, we have a ton of addresses to check. 

Another note- This is only for today.  He will not be able to get trough again.  Any other members of the press who want to hang out with Ranger Al for the day tomorrow can contact me.  He will give you the story of his life if you get him through the road blocks.

The owners of the ever so famous malt shop in Cedar Glen say they will be ready to open as early as Thursday.
 

I'm getting an unusually large amount of email today.  I might not be able to get back to everyone but I will try.  Don't think I'm rude if I just answer with a quick yes or no or another brief answer.  I'll chit chat with you all another time.  Well......  I don't know about you all.  Over 25,000 unique visitors so far.  That would be quite a feat!

Putting a brief summary in the subject line of your email would help me organize a bit too.
 

Ranger Al has teamed up with Geoffrey Mohan of the Los Angeles Times and is attempting to get into burn areas.  We will keep you informed.
 

Teachers should contact their administrative staff leader.  Contact numbers on the school website at http://www.rimsd.k12.ca.us/

All staff meeting for teachers, counselors, and other staff at Rim High November 12-14 at 8am.

District Administration Staff met today and will meet again on Wed and Friday this week planning the openings including new bus routes for burn areas.  Watch here for more info.

SAT's will be rescheduled.  More information coming.

Elections will still be held on Tuesday.  Some of the Evacuation centers will be set up as voting areas.  Other areas will be posted here soon. School Board, Park and Recreation, Crest forest Fire District and Community college district items are some of the items on the ballet.
 

Remember, you need to get a mountain area pass from a local evacuation center in order to enter the mountain area.  Highway 18 is closed, you must go up Highway 138 to get to the Crestline Area.

Mandatory Evacuations- Lake Arrowhead, Running Springs, Green Valley Lake, Arrowbear, Twin Peaks, Rim Forest, Blue Jay and surrounding areas.

Voluntary Evacuations- Waterman Canyon, Lake Gregory and Parts of Crestline, (West of 189 at North Road extending along Highway 189 to Highway 18 at Lake Gregory Dr.) Valley of Enchantment, Cedar Pines Park and the Crest Forest Area.   Passes needed in these areas.

Expected to be lowered to Voluntary soon-  Twin Peaks, Rim Forest & Blue Jay

Open to the public- Big Bear Lake, Big Bear City, Fawnskin, Moonridge, Woodlands, Angelus Oaks, Forest Falls.
 

Edison Reports that they still have 24,000 customers in the Crestline/Lake Arrowhead area still without electricity.  They have Damage Assessment teams driving around checking the whole network for downed poles or trees that would cause hazardous conditions.  They figure it will take at least another couple days to start the process of returning power to everyone.  They also say that it could be well over a week before power is restored to the whole network.

Bear Valley Electric in Big Bear had no fire related problems.  Everyone should have power.
 

Current Stats

Acre's- 91,281
Containment- 83%
Cost- $24,800,000
Deaths- 4
Buildings Damages
Homes Destroyed- 976
Business Destroyed- 10
Personnel- 4133

Homes was changed from 850 to 976 not because of newly burned homes but rather a re-assessment of the homes that were previously burned.  This according to Bernie Pineda, Fire Information Officer from the Joint Information Center.