Man loses Ferrari and Porsche in SoCal wildfires
Though the title of this post might lead you to believe that we're mourning the loss of some guy's Ferrari Challenge Stradale and Porsche GT3 RS, we're actually celebrating the fact that he, his family and many like them are alive today despite their worldly possessions being devoured by fire. Of course, we're talking about the wildfires that have been raging across Southern California, which so far have burned 490,000 acres of land and created thousands of homeless people this week. Thankfully the fires are coming under control and Qualcomm Stadium, which sheltered some 10,000 people as an evacuation center at the peak of the wild fires, will be closing today.
The sight of a Porsche GT3 RS torched by Mother Nature isn't news by itself, but the incredible amount of compassion displayed on this Ferrarichat.com forum thread for the owner and his family is. These are true prancing horse fans, and we were amazed that few if any mentioned the Challenge Stradale, which reportedly melted, when expressing their concern and happiness that the owner and his family are alright. Ferraris and Porsches can be replaced, after all.
To learn which automakers have pledged support for wildfire relief and how much, visit our earlier post that we've been updating throughout the day. If you're interested in donating time or money to the effort, visit the American Red Cross.
[Source: Ferrarichat.com via egmcartech]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
500 6:09PM (10/26/2007)
My sympathy to all of those affected.
And a correction to "Porsche GT3 RS torched by Mother Nature." According to Fox News, arson has been confirmed in at least some of the wildfires. A Guatamalan national has been detained and is the principal suspect, not "Mother Nature."
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Solo Racer 6:31PM (10/26/2007)
I doubt there's one suspect for more than a dozen fires over an area of several hundred square miles.
JD 6:43PM (10/26/2007)
Yeah, well, Fox is also saying that the fires "could be al qaeda." Anyways, if I recall correctly, 2 of the 3 major San Diego fires do seem to be naturally started, with the third confirmed arson. It's a shame to see all of those lives so abruptly and massively changed for the worse. At least it seems most are ok, though. It's good to see companies such as Toyota and Ford (Yeah, I know there are others too) contributing to the recovery efforts of these horrible events.
Yubastard 6:47PM (10/26/2007)
LOL @ zamafir amrrrkans, lol!
I thank god it was only his cars... I hope good fortune for everyone
Zane 6:24PM (10/26/2007)
These were his cars:
http://img529.imageshack.us/img529/4357/gt3rsfcspj4.jpg
He seems to be a real car enthusiast. If I were him, I'd be crying all day. Hope the insurance folks don't mess with him.
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Jim in Tampa 6:43PM (10/26/2007)
The first time I evacuated my home because of hurricane, I realized that I owned a lot of expensive and valuable stuff. And that was all it was. Just stuff. All I cared about was the safety of my family and pets. Everything else could be replaced.
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Spear 6:59PM (10/26/2007)
what the hell....
was he out of the country or town when the fire happened?
those cars would be the first thing that i would save, especially seeing how fast they can run from the flames :)
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tritonofg 8:00PM (10/26/2007)
Spear, A good number of people in San Diego had less than five minutes to:
1. Get up (evacs started at 4am)
2. Get some clothes on
3. Get their children
4. Get their important documents and pictures
5. GTFO
The reverse 911 calls were a big help but some never got them due to down phones lines. I personally know people who ran out of their burning houses with only the clothes on their backs and nothing else.
Maestro1 1:02AM (10/27/2007)
@ tritonofq
That does sound terrible, and I feel bad for those affected and what they had to go through.
However, with all the media coverage i'm sure he must have known to an extent that the fires were encroaching on his area. I live in a hurricane-prone area (Florida) and when there's news of a tropical depression in the Atlantic people generally make at least some minimal preparation and geta few things together just in case. Wouldn't it have been the same here?
I wonder what he did save, and what car he did evacuate in and save (assuming he left in one of his own cars).
Either way if he owns those cars he's rich enough, so he should be able to recover - the insurance will hopefully bail him out. I feel even more sorry for those who aren't that wealthy and have lost everything also.
2004m3driver 7:00PM (10/26/2007)
goddamn that must hurt, but he probably has insurance up the wazooo.
I hard friend who wrapped his 06viper when it first came out around a pole. Insurance gave him all his money back.
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Reality Check 7:13PM (10/26/2007)
I am very sorry for the loss of life but untill these people learn how to live in the forest we shoudn't be asked to make donations to bail them out. The people of New Orleans were treated like second class Americans compared to the treatment these people are getting. And yes you can build homes that don't burn.
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tritonofg 7:59PM (10/26/2007)
Reality Check,
These houses were not out in the effin boonies...try not to prepetuate the stereotype of an ignorant American and look at a map... they are/were suburbs in N. San Diego.
Maybe I am giving you too much credit by assuming you can read a map?
RealityCheck 8:22PM (10/26/2007)
tritonofg,
Try again most of all of the homes are to close to non cleared trees, have wood shingles and don't belong where they are built. Your comment about "they are/were suburbs in N. San Diego" means nothing because a home built near flamable material will burn, so take a course in map reading and go collect some more insurance proceeds.
jstand6 8:52PM (10/26/2007)
"...but untill these people learn how to live in the forest..."
Forest? The community of Rancho Bernardo, where the most devasting damage occurred, is a densely packed urban environment built on top of naturally dry grasslands/desert. Take a look at this picture of Rancho Bernardo with the 10-lane interstate running through it. You call that forest? And the fire jumped that freeway!
http://www.rbplanningboard.com/media/i2i15x500.jpg
"The people of New Orleans were treated like second class Americans compared to the treatment these people are getting."
You can blame that on the local governments. The New Orleans and Louisiana governments had five days of advance warning that Katrina may hit them, and 60 hours advance warning that Katrina will hit them. They didn't order an evacuation until 20 hours prior to Katrina's landfall, and that probably wouldn't have happened if President Bush didn't practically beg the mayor to evacuate the city. In some cases here, especially in Rancho Bernardo, the local government only had an hour, in many cases less than that, and they still managed to evacuate the communities. The only people that treated the population of New Orleans like second class citizens were their own local government.
"And yes you can build homes that don't burn."
Out of what? Brick and stone that crumble in earthquakes? Most of these houses that burned were clad in stucco with clay tile roofs. But 30-foot walls of flame moving at staggering speed (in some cases greater than 60 mph) are pretty hard to withstand. Southern California has some of the most strict building standards in the world, specifically because of earthquakes and wildfires. Both of those disasters are an unfortunate part of life here, but every place in the world has its own natural disasters, and you just learn to evolve around them.
Over 500 square miles have burned (and still growing) just in San Diego County, with just a handful of deaths. Those deaths were highly unfortunate, but I think it shows that the 2.9 million residents in the county, and their local governments, know how to live in this environment.
why not the LS2/LS7? 2:23AM (10/27/2007)
Densely packed?
Where are you from?
That's burbs. It's not densely packed. It's densely packed when you have multi-story apartments, not acres and acres of single-family ranch houses.
I agree that we don't have to repeat the errors of Katrina just to keep people in Louisiana from feeling like second-class citizens.
I have no idea how you credit Bush with the evacuation of New Orleans.
The biggest reason for the problem was people just didn't leave New Orleans. They were told to, but they didn't. After years of being told "here it comes, get out of here" and coming back to homes looted and no hurricane damage, many citizens decided to stick around and protect their houses, figuring this one would miss too. They were wrong.
Den 7:21PM (10/26/2007)
Forget the expensive cars. Just run for your life. Wildfires don't care how much money that people have. People prints money everyday and life comes only once.
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Spear 7:30PM (10/26/2007)
well i wonder what the guy was thinking when he read the news that the fire was coming towards his house...
"should i save my 2 priceless cars by driving them out of here, or should i save myself by taking a taxi? naa, screw the cars!!"
500 9:31PM (10/26/2007)
I'll bet they got away in a car. I wonder which car he decided to save...
DKB_SATX 1:55PM (10/27/2007)
500: Probably the SUV that could hold his family and some clothes and valuables.
Mystery Man 9:22PM (10/26/2007)
Those cars were my friend's neighbor's!!!! The fire burned into my friends yard and even got his barbecue. Amazingly, his house was alright!
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