+1, celler.

People are so quick to criticize others based on the scantest information. Same thing happened after Katrina regarding those still in NOLA, and yet, if you took the time to find out why people stayed (or couldn't leave), then you suddenly realize that you might've done exactly the same thing if you were in their shoes.

Katrina also really rammed home the point to me that when you're watching some crisis unfolding on TV in realtime, much of the information you get later turns out to be wrong, too. Very wrong. But everyone keeps repeating the same incorrect info over and over because it sounds dramatic, and you hear it repeated until everyone takes it for gospel truth. I would not be surprised if this "so many people refused to leave" thing in San Diego county turns out to be a gross exagerration.

There is no law or any guarantee that grants you personal protection from any one or anything including yourself. Also Law enforcement and rescue personnel are not required by law to place themselves in harms way for any one or any reason, although they do so on a daily basis. They do so out of compassion and a very defined sense of DUTY and HONOR. Not because they are afraid of getting in trouble.

Friends of mine got out of one of the effected areas early this am. He, his wife and 3 kids were ready to go 20 minutes after they got the evac. order. They went through a similar situation a few years back and learned some important lessons. Now all five family members have go bags and it payed off today.

Today, because they were already equipped, they had time to gather family data and keepsakes ie: documents, pictures, jewelry in case they return to a burned out shell of a house.

This was in stark contrast all their neighbours who were rushing around like fools, trying to stuff all kinds of junk into their vehicles...

"People sometimes chose to not evacuate when the evacuation may be more hazardous than bugging-in."

This particular thread is about people refusing to evacuation in front of a pending firestorm. Unless you've got a really good hole in the ground, there ARE no worse hazards.

A lot of these people CAN evacuate, but they would rather stand on the roof with their hose, obviously not noticing that the heat is drying the roof just as fast as they wet it down. Or they stand around, wondering if they REALLY need to evacuate, and the flames are in the trees upwind of their house.

When you've got fires like this, there is NOTHING you can do but leave the area. It doesn't matter if you think God will protect you, or the wind may shift, or whatever pea-brained idea you've got is, but THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO, so get out of the gd'd way!

I'm with the Darwin idea. Some people are too stupid to live, so let them make their own decisions, but if they change their mind and call to be saved, well, it's just too bad. They made the wrong decision when they had a decision to make.

Sue

"...if they change their mind and call to be saved, well, it's just too bad. They made the wrong decision when they had a decision to make...."

Much as I hate to do it ( :)), I've gotta agree with you (again). By being stupid they are endangering the firefighters, and the property of many others. They do not have the right to do that, in my opinion...

Maybe they could evacuate everyone to the Staples Center and not let them leave...

Personally, I think the evacuation orders should read, “If you choose to leave, Godspeed to you. If you choose to stay, you will be helping us carry hoses. Thank you in advance.”

Sing it, sister!

As supremely annoying as it is to deal with, Darwinism for humans invovles helping out the slowest, dumbest, ugliest member of the clan/city/civilization because that might be the guy who accidentally bangs two rocks together and cuts himself on the resulting edge, or who's kid invents the polio vaccine. We're a species which passes most of the important information by language and less by genetics. We no longer benefit from these people dying in a fire so the "Fire=Bad" gene wins over the "Home=Good" gene. So I say, find some way to punish them if their actions endangered firefighters or destroyed property. But as satisfying as it would be for those people to burn to death or suffocate in the smoke, unfortunately we're really not benefited as humans by allowing that to happen.

kc2ixe, it's just a shame that your idea is "novel"!...when it should be the norm!

Grant, you're right about those personnel being required by law to render assistance and, as someone else already said, most of them would do it willingly, with or without a legal requirement. But this isn't about whether or not they should help (although I agree with kc2ixe), it's about whether or not they should even be placed into the position to have to help! Like most said, those that stay (peabrains that they are), place not only rescuers in danger, but others as well!

The best idea yet? Who was it that said.....get out and we'll handle it. Stay and you now work for us.