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AC Mel 
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Joined: 23 Jan 2010
Location: N.Ca.
Points: 1099
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 Topic: BEEN TO THE CENTER OF HELL AND LIVED TO TALK ABOUT
Posted: 04 Nov 2017 at 11:18pm |
Ok..going to try to start a post and add to it. The house burned down but we saved the AC BBQ...I shouldn't have to explain how indestructible this old AC stuff is...we'll be moving a 5th wheel trailer here to live in sometime mid Dec. ...New house construction should start next summer. The scary part is that the US ARMY CORP OF ENG. is in charge of cleaning this up first...if they mess with me to long...they'll be looking at the business end of an HD21B dozer with a 14' blade that will have it buried over the bank in 30 minutes with a topping of hay for the cows and presto!!! it's gone.
Here's the link to the original AC BBQ story
http://www.allischalmers.com/forum/how-to-build-an-allis-chalmers-barbque-pit-fire-ri_topic41061.html
Lots of pictures to add as I can.
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Ferdinand
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Joined: 31 Mar 2016
Location: North Carolina
Points: 1951
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Posted: 04 Nov 2017 at 11:35pm |
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Mel, you and the Mrs. are made of some uncommon stuff. Your house burned down and both of you are smiling. *salute*
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Because narrow is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leads unto life, and few there be that find it.
Mathew 7:14
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JC-WI
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Joined: 11 Sep 2009
Location: wisconsin
Points: 33621
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Posted: 04 Nov 2017 at 11:45pm |
 Ferdinand wrote:
Mel, you and the Mrs. are made of some uncommon stuff. Your house burned down and both of you are smiling. *salute* |
X2 to the 11th power
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He who says there is no evil has already deceived himself
The truth is the truth, sugar coated or not. Trawler II says, "Remember that."
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JohnCO
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Joined: 11 Sep 2009
Location: Niwot Colo
Points: 8992
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Posted: 05 Nov 2017 at 1:18am |
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You guys are tough!
Just curious, did you have enough warning to get valuables out of the house, etc.
Edited by JohnCO - 05 Nov 2017 at 1:20am
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"If at first you don't succeed, get a bigger hammer"
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DMiller
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Joined: 14 Sep 2009
Location: Hermann, Mo
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Posted: 05 Nov 2017 at 3:54am |
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Is good to know and see you and the wife are alright, house can be replaced. COE needs a little 'encouragement', may set the 41 close by and they get the message!!
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jerbob
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Joined: 07 Aug 2017
Location: Michigan
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Posted: 05 Nov 2017 at 8:09am |
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Wow Mel. You and Mrs are some kind of Amazing!
Sorry for your losses Mel but your family being safe is the best news.
I'd say stay strong but I believe you know no other way.
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Dozer
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Joined: 16 Aug 2011
Location: SW New York
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Posted: 05 Nov 2017 at 9:00am |
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Happy you are safe sorry about the house. We lost our house to a fire. Very strange next day knowing all our possessions were gone. Local newspaper wrote how the fire department saved my HD5G that was close to the house. Our fire was rather spectacular because the safety valve on a 100# propane cylinder let go and took the paint off one side of our car. The fire fighters didn't want to get close to to the house because of the guns and ammo inside.
Our insurance adjuster found the house foundation was destroyed by the fire. We were told that if the foundation were salvageable the value of the foundation would be deductible from the payout amount.
Why is the US ARMY CORP OF ENG. involved in the cleanup???
Good Luck
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Tracy Martin TN
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Joined: 11 Sep 2009
Location: Gallatin,TN
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Posted: 05 Nov 2017 at 9:10am |
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Mel, sorry for the loss of your house and possessions. Fires are no fun. Keep smiling and forge ahead! God Bless!
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No greater gift than healthy grandkids!
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Sugarmaker
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Joined: 12 Jul 2013
Location: Albion PA
Points: 8167
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Posted: 05 Nov 2017 at 10:46am |
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Mel and family,
Cant imagine what your going through! Glad you are here to tell about it. I guess you give the wife a hug, shed a tear and get on with life. I agree that you could have the area cleared in a hour or so with you equipment. Is your shop close by? Was it damaged too? Hoping your new house gets there quick!
Regards,
Chris
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D17 1958 (NFE), WD45 1954 (NFE), WD 1952 (NFE), WD 1950 (WFE), Allis F-40 forklift, Allis CA, Allis D14, Ford Jubilee, Many IH Cub Cadets, 32 Ford Dump, 65 Comet.
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AC Mel
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Joined: 23 Jan 2010
Location: N.Ca.
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Posted: 05 Nov 2017 at 10:03pm |
Thanks guys for your support...John,my wife went to the gun safes first...got most of the important stuff...she also took the house plans and said good buy to the house. I actually cut out to get on the fire dozer and went to one of the daughters houses that I knew could use help. (we saved it).
Chris....our shop is a mile a way from our houses...all of that survived..we lost a hay baler....30 tons of hay and a few misc. things..brother Dave was there and used one of the water trucks to suppress most of that. All of our cows and calves were down there and made it ok..fences took a big hit mostly from burned trees falling on fences.
So today I took the excavator up to move a few things around...not supposed to do this...cause the army corp. is in charge of demolition here. Didn't have the conversation with them about "you don't know who I think I am" or whatever.
So I thought we might open the gun safes with the excavator and see just how well they did.
   So the excavator made the doors come open and there still is some stuff to sift through.
 Also recovered the "welcome"sign...or ''go away" as it reads here....the dutch oven will still be ok for the AC BBQ
 I'm not supposed to be doing this with the excavator...but I moved some of the metal roofing so we could dig around a little bit... (hoping somebody might confront me about this...cause I would like to tell them what I think) I will prevail in that conversation.
 So tomorrow we will be signing the ROE "right of entry" for the Army Corp. to come and clean up this mess....it's very controversial here and not very popular...so we'll see...keep you posted
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Mikez
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Posted: 05 Nov 2017 at 10:54pm |
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Wow sorry to hear what you did loose, glad you and family are ok.
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shameless dude
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Posted: 06 Nov 2017 at 12:11am |
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i'm really glad ya'll is o-k. I can't imagine having to go thru that!
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Mactractor
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Posted: 06 Nov 2017 at 3:07am |
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Very sorry for your loss Mel. Dont know why the hell they want the army to take over clean up unless folk request help.
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Bob D. (La)
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Posted: 06 Nov 2017 at 4:52am |
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Sure hope all turns out well for you today Mel. I can't see why the coe could complain about your opening and going through your gun safes. Don't know what their plans are for cleanup, but I would sure be there to prevent them from trying to haul off, or bury things you have identified as keep. May God be with you and the Mrs. as you continue through this disaster. God Bless.
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When you find yourself in a hole,PUT DOWN THE SHOVEL!!!
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dustydoo
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Joined: 22 Jan 2014
Location: erie pa
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Posted: 06 Nov 2017 at 5:26am |
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Sorry to see all your loss ! I am glad to see you made it out of He77 unscathed . Good luck with the Corp. Givem He77 Best wishes <3
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ACcrazy
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Joined: 30 May 2012
Location: Eureka, Califor
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Posted: 06 Nov 2017 at 7:03am |
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Again, sorry for your losses Mel but the most important things of all survived--you and your family.
Yeah, there's something not right about bringing in the army to do clean up. Something fishy there.....
A lot of theories on how and why these fires started.......
Praying for you all for the days ahead.
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darrel in ND
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Posted: 06 Nov 2017 at 9:46am |
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So sorry for your loss, Mel. Glad you and your family are OK. I do sincerely hope that clean up can go without it turning into a battle that you don't need piled onto your devastation. Darrel
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shameless dude
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Posted: 06 Nov 2017 at 11:42am |
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were them 2 safes...sposed to be fire safes?
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DMiller
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Posted: 06 Nov 2017 at 1:09pm |
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Most Gun safes are not designed to survive a full house fire. They can stand a few hundred degrees for less than an hour but direct fire of a thousand degrees only a few minutes and the contents stand no chance.
Want a fire proof safe, buy a vault, concrete and insulation lined, will last until the house caves in on them then the contents will still be salvageable.
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michale34
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Posted: 06 Nov 2017 at 4:07pm |
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If you read up on gun safes and most safes they say there rated at 1400-1500 degees for 20-30 minnets . Im sure that fire lasted for hours even after the house was gone and smoldered
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steve(ill)
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Posted: 06 Nov 2017 at 4:44pm |
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Mel... I don't understand the situation... Was the HOUSE fire caused by a forest fire in the state and this is why the CORPS is involved ? Or are there different "rules" in California than other states for house fires .. Never heard of the CORPS being involved.
Edited by steve(ill) - 06 Nov 2017 at 4:44pm
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Like them all, but love the "B"s.
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steve(ill)
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Posted: 06 Nov 2017 at 4:49pm |
OK, typed in ROE in north Calif and got this....... ------------------------ The wildfires in Northern California burned through buildings, trees, washing machines, refrigerators, beds and TVs — leaving a giant hazardous mess in their wake. Cleaning up the mess is a massive project that could take months to complete and cost taxpayers upward of $180 million. And it is complicated by the potentially conflicting interests of the homeowners, insurers and government agencies involved. To handle this unprecedented cleanup project, the state turned to the federal government for help. The debris removal program for Lake, Mendocino, Sonoma and Napa counties is being run by the Army Corps of Engineers and managed by ECC, a contractor. Costs not covered by insurance will be paid for by FEMA. County leaders are anxious to maximize the resources offered by the federal government and get the cleanup underway as quickly as possible, not just because it’s the first step to recovery, but also because they are facing an environmental and public health crisis. Much of the debris left behind by the wildfires is toxic, and there are fears that heavy rains could spread the debris and pollute the groundwater.
Edited by steve(ill) - 06 Nov 2017 at 4:53pm
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Like them all, but love the "B"s.
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AC Mel
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Posted: 06 Nov 2017 at 8:03pm |
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Dave's right...these safes were not anything special..other than nice safes. The one that belonged to the son in law was supposed to be a better rating... so we wanted to compare them to see if there was a difference..not noticeable. Did have a master key for both of them though...AKA a Caterpillar 312 excavator with a thumb...had to be careful not to dump stuff out. Les got most of the guns and important stuff out the fire night...left misc jewelry...gold nuggets mined from my father etc. It started raining yesterday..so I loaded it and brought it down to a warehouse to sift thru. So yes there not very fire proof....especially if there close to the center of hell fire.
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HD6GTOM
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Posted: 06 Nov 2017 at 8:32pm |
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Mel as the Brits say--keep a stiff upper lip. Good luck to you and yours. Keeping our fingers crossed for you all.
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michale34
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Posted: 07 Nov 2017 at 8:07am |
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Back after ww2 a lot of arsnel worker got the wooden crates and built houses out of them . They called them shell houses. They used stucco or asbestos siding on the outside. they were built in rows outside the arsnel fence. about 15 years ago most of the houses were rent houses or just left to the elements .A woods fire burned all of those old houses and the us army cleaned all those up . No one was allowed in the area until the mess was cleaned up. After the clean up and the arsnel burned off all it nurve rockets and gas . the land prices doubled
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AC Mel
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Posted: 07 Nov 2017 at 9:37am |
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I see Steve was able to find the answer he ask for. We are today turning in an ROE for 2 different parcels. We held off until now ....not at all happy with what it looked like. David and I attended a meeting with the local county officials to see what other qualifications we would need to go with our A general engineering contractors license...mostly for the thought of cleaning our own property...not worth the effort at this stage. Between FEMA the CORP the STATE and the County...we've decided to take our chances...and yes the CORP can't seem to keep track of there water any where in the US...bet they don't do much better in the fire business
Unofficially the fires started buy downed power lines from trees blown down buy record winds that have never been seen here before.....I know...I know...global warming...get over it.
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Tad Wicks
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Posted: 11 Nov 2017 at 12:33pm |
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Hi Mel,So sorry for your loss, you are obviously made of the same stuff that made this country so great. I sure don't want to be negative at this trying time but dealing with government entities, now that will undoubtedly be the double whammy, be prepared for that, it will defy any explanation. I can speak from experience on this after condemnation of my property by the California Department of Water Resources so that Santa Barbara could water their lawns and golf courses. Ironically, there is very little difference between a wild fire and the government both will do what they please and you can't stop them Tad
Edited by Tad Wicks - 11 Nov 2017 at 12:38pm
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Lazyts
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Posted: 11 Nov 2017 at 1:22pm |
Our thoughts and prayers with you and your family... and may you have the patience required... at least you still have the antique tractors for stress relief. When the going gets tough, etc, my hat's off to you and yours, hang in there 
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JohnCO
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Posted: 24 Nov 2017 at 1:21am |
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Mel, How's it going? Haven't seen an update, you aren't in jail are you?
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"If at first you don't succeed, get a bigger hammer"
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DMiller
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Posted: 24 Nov 2017 at 9:43am |
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Know you lost the house, just hoping you and the family had a Happy and thankful Thanksgiving.
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