Ugh, that sounds horrible. Stay safe!

Four String Fender for The Delstroyers & The Woodhavens

The videos are horrific.

The Kahuna Kings

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Kahuna-Kings/459752090818447

https://thekahunakings.bandcamp.com/releases

Really glad to hear you home is intact. I grew up out there and, long before "smog-alerts", these things became a fact of life & also put a nasty choking mass into the air you breathe as well.

Truly glad you & yours are ok. On a lighter note, grabbing the Jag during an evac... there's a vintage Fender ad in there somewhere.

Wes
SoCal ex-pat with a snow shovel

DISCLAIMER: The above is opinion/suggestion only & should not be used for mission planning/navigation, tweaking of instruments, beverage selection, or wardrobe choices.

Here it is.

Ah, California. I've had three opportunities to move there and declined three times. Keeping my thoughts on the politics and the way natural forces work out there private so as not to rattle anyone's cage, all I can say is that CA seems increasingly to be getting to be a nice place to say you are from. -as in formerly "lived" (so to speak.)
One of those fires at my back door would be enough for me to say "enough".

Meanwhile.. today, it's snowing in Texas and Louisiana.
PC-Safe enough opinion?
J Mo'

I've lived here my entire life Johnny, except for the first 6 months. We have always had some fires, just like the Southeast always had hurricanes, the Midwest had tornadoes, and everyplace has floods but these latest fires have been bigger, faster and more destructive than anything we've ever seen. From experience I know that within a few weeks the hillsides will start turning green, the skies will clear of smoke and it will be beautiful again. Richard Henry Dana, in Two Years Before The Mast, said his favorite spot on the west coast for natural beauty was Buenaventura. It looks like fruit crate label art around here. No place is without risk. If you like spectacular beauty, temperate weather, no bugs, and especially surf music, you should be in California.

This spring there was a wildfire not too far from here and we were told to be prepared to evacuate. I have ten instruments right now, eight of which would range from difficult to impossible to replace. Several are no longer in production, one is from a defunct company, one was custom built by Warwick, etc, etc. I figured I’d load up the pickup with my cat, my guitars, a few changes of clothes and a handful of keepsakes. Fortunately it never came to that.

My best wishes to all afflicted by these fires, now and the ones earlier this year.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.

Johnny, it isn't for everyone but I'm pretty sure that Eastern weather has causes more deaths than our fires and earthquakes, which are unpredictable but occur less often. I couldn't take your winters which are a sure thing every year, I've seen the road accidents and broken bones from falls. Besides, I get cold real easy. Coyotes, mountain lions are not a real problem but I did have a scorpion on my bedroom curtains last summer. Scary but not more dangerous than a wasp sting. I sure didn't mean to imply you have to be in California to like or play surf music well, that would be stupid. Most of my favorites are not even from here. It sure doesn't hurt to have a sunny beach and sparkling waves to round it out is all I meant. I'll take boring temperate weather too, I'm pretty boring myself.

Stormtiger,
NYC winters have their cold days.. but a real below 0 cold spell rarely lasts a week or two at the outside. There are colder places in the US. We get hurricane warnings and usually can see what's coming our way at least a week+ beforehand when the folks down south get whacked first. The worst hurricane fallout (that includes Irene and Sandy) I've ever experienced was a day or two without electricity. I've never needed flood insurance; I live on a bluff away from streams, rivers and main roads.
But those napalm CA wild fires move a helluva lot quicker. Get much in the way of warnings about earthquakes? (Hint: the answer is "NO")

I am glad you and your lady's parents have survived intact.

Ponder this:
You have guitars and musical gear you've collected all you life. Some of it is rare, a one-off, maybe even a unique piece or custom order. The fast moving inferno forces you to evacuate IMMEDIATELY as per Johnny Law. The minute you lay eyes on the ruble that was once your home, you realize all that gear is GONE. Yeah, Mr. insurance company can give you money but you can't pick or strum money. I guarantee you you'll pay more to replace whatever you can replace and it still won't be the same. You can tell your future issue about your lost gear at Thanksgiving, but it would have been better to pass it on to them.

Having the above hanging over my head at a certain time of year - maybe every year isn't worth any dopey temperate climate - my opinion, of course.

Fascinating - the conditions we adjust to living under?
J Mo'

Down here in San Diego, we're just holding our breath right now. (Technically I live about 20 minutes NE of downtown San Diego.)

With all of the vegetation that grew in abundance as a result of the El Niño Winter, the rural areas are a virtual powder keg, waiting to catch fire. To make matters worse, we're expecting a dry winter. Not good. We have had a couple small fires down here, thankfully they were put out quickly. Sooner or later, we won't be so lucky.

I've lived in North Carolina (hurricanes) and Michigan (tornadoes). No matter where you go, there's always something to contend with.

-Cheers, Clark-

-Less Paul, more Reverb-