sanmateoclimber

For what it's worth, here in San Mateo the skies cleared up yesterday just as abruptly as they'd gone to hell the day before, and the AQI has been quite favorable so far today. I think we'll probably see a lot of variation from place to place and a lot of volatility from day to day depending on wind movements etc. I hope you get fairer skies soon.

So very sorry to read this. Best of luck and let me know if there's anything a random bikeforums dude across the bay can do to help you out.

Pavol Stromcek

Oh man, I'm so sorry to hear this - this sounds horrifying. I hope you're safe and OK!

Pavol Stromcek

Air quality in my part of Oakland this morning has been technically safe (for "healthy people") according to Purple Air, hovering in the 120s and 130s, but the smoke smell is still very strong and things are still looking quite hazy, so I won't be riding any time soon (not to mention, some of the numbers up on Skyline are still over 150). An article in the SF Chronicle says it's probably going to be like this at least into next week.

But air quality issues obviously pale dramatically to the people whose homes and lives are devastated by these fires. That lightning couldn't have come at a worse time, either.

DiabloScott

Thursday: Conditions going bad quickly.
Mt Diablo air quality is in the red zone.
Friends in Santa Cruz area have bugged out.
In-laws in Sonoma are packed and ready.

cthenn

Diablo is closed anyway. This might be another prolonged closure for all. Weather is supposed to hot up again next week, and with fires all over the Bay, there would not be much assistance available if someone were to start a fire on the mountain.

2cam16

AQ this morning (and even now) is still 64 here so was able to ride this morning,
Just got an alert that UC Santa Cruz needs to evac.

DiabloScott

I was referring to the Greater Diablo Recreational Area.
(I just invented that phrase so I get to define what it means - anywhere within riding distance of The Mountain)
Of course everyone (bikers, hikers, and drivers) should stay out of the Park during fire threat. And yeah, no end in sight.

Cyclist0108

It is technically a warning, but they clearly want everyone out before the Christmas rush. I grabbed a few things from my lab this morning, but I also have stuff in my office like wedding photos and some bikes that I got out of my house before it was incinerated. So I am hoping big concrete buildings will be ok.

There were spot-fires at Twin Gates earlier today. I don't know the current status of that, but this is inexorable. I will be surprised if it doesn't burn into Santa Cruz tonight or tomorrow. I heard it went into Boulder Creek and they are evacuating Scotts Valley, so UCSC told everyone to head south (presumably to avoid a potential traffic jam mass casualty event on the 17).

Cyclist0108

Now it is the real thing.

sean.hwy

oh no. hope you did not lose anything that was too irreplaceable.

Sorry for you and your family.

Cyclist0108

I got some critical stuff out, but I keep thinking of things like a photo of me and my dad when I was 5 with Ernie Banks. I wish I had grabbed that.

2cam16

OMG, I'm so sorry to hear! This is really bad. Stay safe.

sean.hwy

You where under dire circumstances. I am glad you are safe.

What is the next step for you? Is the insurance taking care of everything for you? Or do you have to do everything and submit for reimbursement?

Cyclist0108

I have no clue. There is a (tiny) chance that the house is still there. No way to get in. AAA contacted me already, so I just need to call them back. I actually got the car packed a day or so before it was clear we would have to leave, and I got out once the ash raining down was thick and it was obvious what was going to happen.

genejockey 

That is rough. Glad you got out safely. Stay safe.

Cyclist0108

I know it is a cliché but I thought this kind of thing only happens to other people.

jimincalif

As a SoCal native for all my 62 years, I sympathize, we always live with the danger, but for most of us it is something that only happens to others. Where I live in OC is not a very risky area, but the Santiago fire got within about 1/2 mile of my house, and I was stuck on the east coast for business at the time. Very scary and I remember feeling very helpless. My daughter has friends who bought a house in Paradise just a few months before losing it in the fire.

I will keep a good thought for you and all others impacted by these fires. Good luck.

genejockey 

Yeah. But that's true of so many things. It only happens to other people, till it happens to you. I think denial is a big part of how we all stay sane.

Cyclist0108

https://www.sfchronicle.com/californ...e-15504781.php

It was a great place to live and ride.

Alba Road is the one that the Praxis crankset is named after. It is a quite difficult climb. It says 50 houses on that road alone are gone, and I would be surprised if that isn't most or all of them.

diphthong

hoping your house and others will be safe/spared. having lived in more than i should have "fire zones" in socal over my lifetime, i get it.
the weather-driven and capricious nature of the conflagrations are impossible to rationalize. down in san diego county, it's been relatively
quiet but, as we all know, it's only a matter of time. when wind-driven embers can spark up another blaze a half mile away, there's no amount of
clearance and defensible space that can discount/protect the vast majority of residences.

Cyclist0108

The house is at the tip of the red arrow. This will take a miracle. Actually, several.

genejockey 

The last week, the Peninsula has been pretty lucky, as far as air quality goes.. Sometimes the smoke would build up a bit, but as soon as 2 PM hit, it would start blowing out.

Looks like that luck ran out.

2cam16

Yeah, when I woke up we were still ok. An hour or two later, orange. another hour later,red. Now back to orange.

Barry2 

The AQI sites were driving me made with their delayed results.
I found this one is much better www.purpleair.com

Barry

genejockey 

This is so different from November 2018. Then, it was just Red all the time everywhere with occasional dips into purple. Now? In the course of a single day you can go from green to purple and back to green.

I've been getting rides in when it's no worse than 75 the whole route I'm planning to ride, like today for example.

Just remember to use the LRAPA conversion, or the numbers will have you hiding under the bed.