SAN DIEGO, CA -- 11 p.m. Tuesday October 23rd.

Greetings from California!
   

San Diego is a ghost town. More than 500,000 people have been evacuated; it seems like the entire city has shut down. I heard on the news all hotels are completely booked and people are being forced to head out of town to find a room. There are several shelters set up though, including Qualcomm stadium, home of the San Diego Chargers. More than 12,000 people are camping out there. The firefighters are doing an amazing job, trying to save what they can.

I ventured out this afternoon and found the streets pretty empty. It's hard to believe there could be a day without any bumper to bumper traffic! I took a few pictures to show you how desolate it is here. About 80% of the stores were closed at a local mall. Makeshift signs were posted in windows. I also noticed a lot of people wearing masks. The ashes and other particles are making the air quality very poor.
   

The firefighters are making progress, but until the Santa Ana winds die down, it will be tough to get the upper hand. Calmer conditions are expected Wednesday, so hopefully I'll have some good news to report.
Stacey Skrysak

7 p.m.  Tuesday October 23rd

Greetings from California,

I'm on vacation in San Diego and let me tell you, it's a sight I've never seen before. I grew up in San Diego and I've never seen wildfires like this. I flew in last night and I got a birds eye view. It was so surreal. Looking out both sides of the plane, I saw miles and miles of an orange glow. The region is so dry and the fires are burning out of control. Luckily, as of now, my family is out of harms way. We're about 5 miles south of an evacuated area. I grew up in North San Diego and one of the major fires is spreading rapidly. It's called the Witch fire. When I checked yesterday morning, there were 12,000 acres burned. By this morning, there were over 160,000 acres burned The area I grew up in is under a mandatory evacuation. We've been camped out on the couch today, watching hours of local news It's heartbreaking to see homes...and people's memories destroyed in a matter of minutes. There's an eerie feeling in San Diego. There's a thick haze and ashes flying everywhere. I went to pick up the paper and found a layer of soot.It's time to venture out of my house. I'll keep you posted on the latest developments here in San Diego.