Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

I wish you all well from the safety of my home office in England.

I was bought up sharp by this photograph in The Times today. Total devastation on one side of the street, normality on the other, a mere five steps away.

Tim

Details of the damage & pics seem to be worse each day. The devastation is staggering and on a scale rarely seen. Of course all involved have our best wishes & hopes. Although I am at the other end of the State, I am really only a few hours drive away if there is anything that I can do. I also have space available to park/store cars if that is of any use to anyone in need.

Of course special hopes & prayers to 1owner69Elan for his situation. Also a thanks to him for starting this post & describing the evacuation & planning considerations needed in an emergency time like that. That narrative has also initiated a discussion at home that helped clarify the special considerations involved with classic/vintage/collector cars like the Elan that we are privileged to have in our care.
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In the midst of his own difficulties with being evacuated, and his home VERY close to the fires, Naury (1owner69Elan) exemplified generosity by offering to help move our cars. Naury's situation is more threatening than is ours at this time, though that could change with high winds shifting to the west today and tomorrow.

Richard (1963 S1) very kindly offered storage and help transporting out of the danger area.

I want to thank Naury and Richard for those kind offers, and those of you who have offered your concerns.

Yes, these are only material goods and our lives are paramount, but the loss of a significant portion of our county and city are very tough to handle, and the fires are still almost uncontained and spreading. Roughly 1/5 of the city is under mandatory evacuation, with voluntary evacuation bringing the total up to almost 1/2 of Santa Rosa, with 175,000 residents. The huge Atlas fire is consuming large areas of Napa county and causing evacuation of entire small towns, and there is a large fire in Mendocino county. It's surreal.

I'll be asking my friend for the use of his barn and trailer today or tomorrow, depending on wind conditions. If we aren't threatened, I'll be helping out at our local evacuation center.

Thank you again - I know there are disasters happening all over the world and we aren't unique, but I appreciate your support and concern.

Greg

http://vintageracingpodcast.com

Further on this thread, I have a 7 x 18 enclosed aluminum trailer that is capable of transporting or temporarily storing a complete car, body, chassis or valuable parts. I have tiedowns in the floor and cargo straps. I have a 1/2 ton pick up that can tow the trailer as well.

Please contact me if you have a need. The trailer is in a storage lot about an hour from my home.

StressCraxx;

Thank you very, very much for your kind offer. We've been studying the latest active fire front maps, wind speed and direction predictions, and fire reports, and believe any fire that makes it over Taylor Mtn. will now pass below us. If things change, we have prepared to move our cars to a friend's barn.

Thank you again - that is very generous.

I hope anyone else on our list who is affected is safe, and your homes survive. Be well.

Greg

Greg,

I'm glad to help if I can. I've lived in California both north and south for most of my life. This isn't our first rodeo and won't be the last.

I do have space in my side yard to store a car, but it's not covered.

It's just what you do for your friends and neighbors.

Regards,
Dan Wise

Thank you very much, Dan. We seem to be OK now, but fires keep spreading and more folks being evacuated.
Best to you,
Greg

Some localized good news this morning as the Atlas fire which threatened us has been stabilized.

But other areas still threatened.

Turns out that unbeknownst to us that our insurance company had proactively posted a private contractor water tanker to protect our house augmenting the governmental efforts. Very reassuring but we had no idea !

They told me the fire got within a mile. We were very lucky.

Tentative plan is to relocate back tomorrow. Drive back into the area and safely put the Elan back in its garage.

The first responders, both local and literally from all over the States and internationally, have been heroic. The support has been fantastic and the community is extremely grateful.

But it is going to be a long recovery for the whole area. Tremendous loss and dislocation, still ongoing. Several years process and a long haul ahead.