Hang in there, California: wild fires

[Jimbuna]

Good to hear, i hope this is it for a longer time!
Thanks to the fire fighters, can't say this often enough.

DITTO :yep:

[Gerald]

A wildfire has forced evacuation orders for 100,000 people in southern California.

The Silverado Fire broke out just before sunrise on Monday in Orange County, south of Los Angeles.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-54694971

[Aktungbby]

https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/7/73/7739fe07-2889-5338-a45a-630d8d297174/5fac3cea85d50.image.jpg?resize=1200%2C675 This was in today's local paper; shot at the start of the Glass Fire...and we're finally getting rain today... both my morning newspapers were in plastic!:yeah:An oft-cited statistic is that Napa Valley produces less than 4% of the wine in California. The point of the statistic is that the valley makes only a tiny fraction of the wine, thereby inferring a link to quality. And in many ways it’s true. Wines from the region are considered some of the rarest and best in the United States and the world. However, the statistic is misleading and undercuts the influence and importance of the region as a bellwether for the entire state and beyond.
According to the grape-acreage crop report put out every year by the California Department of Food and Agriculture, in 2019 the Napa Valley grew more than 9.5% of the wine grapes in the state.
Because many other regions grow more grapes per vine, the total production of wine from Napa does only represent about 4%, but because the price per ton of grapes is higher and these wines fetch a higher price, this small county actually represents a disproportionate percentage of the total wine-industry revenue for the entire state — 24.5% of the total wine grape sales, for example.
And because California represents 85% of America’s wine production and 90% of U.S. wine exports, this means that as goes the Napa Valley, so goes much of the entire United States wine industry.
And this is not just an isolated event. Napa and the three nearby counties — Lake, Mendocino and Sonoma — make up about 27% of the state’s total wine-grape acres but bring in more than 47% of the wine-grape revenue. And all four counties have been negatively affected by fires and smoke. In fact, nearly all wine-growing regions in California have with more than 4 million acres burned — more than 4% of the entire landmass of the state.
Now that's somethin' to wine about!

[Mr Quatro]

Watch out for landslides with the rain coming now :o

Show us your home Aktung :yep:

https://www.info.com/serp?q=real+time+satellite+view+of+my+home&sc=AAOUJInr0IXb11

[Mr Quatro]

Watch out for landslides with the rain coming now :o


Yep! Now it's flooding :yep:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ra3VMhvpT0Y

[Aktungbby]

Santa Cruz County coastline where the heavy front is coming ashore was devastated in the recent fires. ie: CZU Lightning Complex Fire zone which burned simultaneously mwith the Sonoma/Napa conflagrations. currently the evacuation map in my old real estate appraisal turf- as of today:https://i1.wp.com/santacruzlocal.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/20210127-evac-map.png?w=612&ssl=1 Red shows areas under evacuation orders as of 4:45 p.m. Jan. 27. Orange shows areas under evacuation warnings and blue, areas under advisory. Click on image for updated map.

[Aktungbby]

https://bigsurkate.blog/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/cropped-4F0FEB4A-AFEB-46A6-9255-BD1BBF68A4E6.jpeg:k_confused: HWY1 slide at Rat Creek has caused the road closure along the the precipitous Big Sur Coastline...this will be no simple repair.

[vienna]

...and, in an act of exceptional optimism, it is now reported the State has allocated the sum of USD $5 Million to make the repair...




<O>

[Aktungbby]

Californians are suffering from this years Fire season. In today's paper, the entire town of Greenville in the Sierra Nevada hills of northern CA has burned in what has been named the Dixie Fire. Burning in rugged country since July 21, the blaze has consumed 504 square miles(1305 sq. kilometres) and is the 6th largest fire in state history. 5, 000 firefighters are on hand and so far 26,500 persons are evacuated so far. No reports of deaths or injury so far. https://s.abcnews.com/images/US/dixie-fire-greenville-ap-ps-210805_1628174943848_hpEmbed_3x2_992.jpg 100 miles to the south is the River Fire near Colfax; 4 sq miles burned and 6,000 evacuated. 150 miles to the west, is the lightning-sparked McFarland Fire: 7% contained having consumed 33 sq. miles of drought stricken vegetation. Nationwide, more than 20,000 firefighters are battling 97 large active wildfires in 13 states, covering 2,919 sq. miles(7560 sq kilometres)!!?? :hmmm: https://abcnews.go.com/US/control-wildfire-destroys-town-greenville-california-dry-gusty/story?id=79290769

[Mr Quatro]

Correction Aktung the Dixie fire in California is now the third largest in the states history :o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CwqUQkiDFQ8

[Aktungbby]

A small fire started yesterday in the steep Soda Canyon area just north of Napa(5 miles from Aktung Manor) and has spread to 500+ acres with mandatory evacuations. Winds are threat Containment is a 15% presently https://s.hdnux.com/photos/01/26/00/52/22547119/3/rawImage.jpg https://imengine.prod.srp.navigacloud.com/?uuid=edcb3e4e-1228-5dc8-a9ec-3317d346cd61&type=primary&q=72&width=1024

[Aktungbby]

containment is now at 45%:yeah:

[fireftr18]

I don't have any more words to add. Prayers for you and everyone else there, and for the firefighters working.

[nikimcbee]

containment is now at 45%:yeah:


Stay safe Mister! Do you have an evac plan ready?

[Aktungbby]

/\true that! 2017's mess: It came down to cat food/kitty litter, wife's jewelry, hygiene products,wedding photos, passports and clean skivies for three days of pending evacuation if the winds shifted...all in the
best two cars parked in the driveway as the power is out to the garage door, (which killed 4 people trapped in their garages!) Long garden hoses 'X' across the roof for spritzing any wind-bourne hot ash showers. At 67 I've got too much damn crap anyhow!

Always! grab the underwear drawer, BP and statin meds, catfood, cat, wife's jewlery, my service Beretta, favorite watch, wedding photos, chequebook with passport & vaccination card, clamber into the Subaru and bugout ....to the end of the block; :yeah: then turn back, pick up wife :oops: and turn off the gas meter with $5 meter-wrench which sits atop the meter and has been used in two previous earthquakes to turn off the neighbors' meters. At age 71, all the excess crap and house can go up in smoke...and I can move to Reno!:yep::timeout::03:EDIT:evacs are lifted and the fire is 45% contained...:yeah:

[Ostfriese]

then turn back, pick up wife :oops:


I laughed way too hard about this :D

[Aktungbby]

/\keeping one's humor in earthquake/fire ravaged California is essential. Notably, on the the first 2AM quake (2000)that destroyed my chimney, epicentered 5.2 Richterwise just 500 yards from my home, depressed the ladies in my my neighborhood considerably....the second 3AM quake(2014 6.0 Richterwise) which really wracked downtown Napa(killing 1) but only rattled my house merely elicited: "I just want a cup of coffee" from my neighbor German-born hausfrau, as I promptly wheeled out the Webber BBQ to start caffeinated brewing in the driveway-the electricity also being out. Cleanup can always wait untill I've had a cuppa joe! :timeout:The ongoing Napa fire, now dubbed the Old Fire, is up to 570 acres and is 65% contained. One firefighter was sent to the hospital from an undisclosed injury. Since January, there have been 5 fires all over California: Colorado Fire-687 acres; Airport Fire-4136 acres; Jim Fire-551 acres; Quail Fire-135 acres; and the River Fire-595 acres...and the season is young...:ping::ping::ping: EDIT: in addition to the $40K chimney, during the 2018 remodel of my house,(2 baths, kitchen, roof, patios/driveway) it was discovered that the rear stucco had also suffered in the 2000 'quake; and added another $8K to the pricey project!:Kaleun_Mad:https://www.subsim.com/radioroom/picture.php?albumid=815&pictureid=12568

[Ostfriese]

The sheer size of wildfires in the US and in Australia never cease to baffle me. The largest forest fire in my home country was the Lüneburg Heath fire in 1975, and it destroyed "only" about 30 square miles of forest (albeit in an area fare more densely populated than the US and Australia).


Still, I wish you all the best. Stay safe.

[Aktungbby]

The Old Fire is now at 85% containment ie "mop up" phase. PGE electric lines are being investigated as possible cause. We're blessed: it's been steadily drizzling since last night solidly wetting the county...putting a serious damper on the fire, now a minor thing; & good for the drought ...and I don't have to mow the lawn!:yeah:

[Aktungbby]

The latest fire in CA is well underway. Dubbed the McKinney Fire, in northernmost Siskiyu County at the Oregan border, it has consumed 88 square miles and over 200 homes killing 4 people-2 found in their vehicle while attempting to flee. The entire unincorprated hamlet of Klamath River was destroyed by the raging inferno. Bulldozers in exceedingly rugged terrain have managed to contain the the blaze by 10%. Monsoon clouds and minor showers are having a damper effect; brief but heavy showers from thunder storms help but are tapering off. Lightning strikes in bone dry drought condition are believed to have started the conflagration. The Oak Fire, started 7/22 in Mariposa County near Yosemite National Forest is still ongoing, having consumed 193 homes and 20,000 acres. No fatalities; evacuations; lifted and containment is 81%. Fortunately, this blaze with shifty mtn. winds causing misery in rugged terrain , has moved the blaze northward; into the previous burn-scars from 2019's Briceburg fire and 2018's Ferguson fire, which provides a reduced fuel effect... Monsoon precipitation or reduced fuel-It's all to the good for overworked fire crews. God bless 'em:Kaleun_Salute:

[Aktungbby]

The McKinney Fire is now 95% contained, having destroyed 98 square miles, 30, 000 game-fish from ash runoff, the hamlet of Klamath River and four victims, all in their 70's; identified thru dental records. One in particular was Kathleen Shoopman who for decades had served faithfully in fire watchtowers, devoted giving advance warning against such hazards. :Kaleun_Salute: An article in today's paper points up an issue in post 200 of this thread. California's inmate training program, at $180,000 per trainee, is still failing to provide the manpower for fighting the the infernos. Their criminal record curtails their employment prospects!!? As a result, the US Forest Service is short 1200 smoke-eaters, 500 of them in California and the Dept of the Interior is short 450, 150 of them in California. Early release due to prison Covid epidemic threat is also a factor in this manpower shortage. Legislators are working on bills to expunge records of trainees to ease their post-incarceraton employment issues-we need these guys on the front line choppin' trees, cuttin' brush and setting backfires to combat the flames. This season has 1670 inmates in fire camps; down 40% from 2019. The Correction Dept. was budgeted for 152 crews but fielded just 51, each with 15-18 firefighters. :hmmm:

[Aktungbby]

The current extreme heat wave which hit 114F. yesterday, and set the all-time record for Santa Rosa since 1913: (115F.) where my daughter resides w/o AC:k_confused:; has created the grave situation of "flash drying" of both dead and live fuels which only increases the already extreme fire hazard throughout the state. Lightning strikes are expected in Siskiyou and northern rugged counties which have trigger'd several large fatal conflagrations. Rolling power shut downs throughout the state due to record setting AC demand on PG&E's decayed transmission lines are ocurrring...

[fireftr18]

The current extreme heat wave which hit 114F. yesterday, and set the all-time record for Santa Rosa since 1913: (115F.) where my daughter resides w/o AC:k_confused:; has created the grave situation of "flash drying" of both dead and live fuels which only increases the already extreme fire hazard throughout the state. Lightning strikes are expected in Siskiyou and northern rugged counties which have trigger'd several large fatal conflagrations. Rolling power shut downs throughout the state due to record setting AC demand on PG&E's decayed transmission lines are ocurrring...

Prayers for you buddy. I can't imagine that hot, dry air with that much vegetation. Here in Kentucky, we feel like it's dry if the humidity gets down to about 50%.

[Aktungbby]

...with smoke from big fires in northern CA forests; and smoke emanating from Washington state and now blowing south into the Bay area. If that's not enough, Hurricane Hillary, now downgraded to a tropical storm, has inundated LA., Palm Springs, turning northerly thriough the middle of the state along the I-5 and Hwy 99 axis. Las Vegas is expected to be affected in turn! This is the first tropical storm to hit CA since 1939! Just the major flooding on TV, particularly in customarily bone-dry desert areas is looking bad. Reaching the inlaws by phone is impossible. Torrential deluges being insufficient, the city of Ohai, 50 miles inland from the port of Santa Barbara, suffered a 5.1 quake around 2PM-no deaths reported....:ping::ping::ping:

[Jeff-Groves]

https://www.subsim.com/radioroom/picture.php?albumid=1069&pictureid=13278

[ET2SN]

...with smoke from big fires in northern CA forests; and smoke emanating from Washington state and now blowing south into the Bay area. If that's not enough, Hurricane Hillary, now downgraded to a tropical storm, has inundated LA., Palm Springs, turning northerly thriough the middle of the state along the I-5 and Hwy 99 axis. Las Vegas is expected to be affected in turn! This is the first tropical storm to hit CA since 1939! Just the major flooding on TV, particularly in customarily bone-dry desert areas is looking bad. Reaching the inlaws by phone is impossible. Torrential deluges being insufficient, the city of Ohai, 50 miles inland from the port of Santa Barbara, suffered a 5.1 quake around 2PM-no deaths reported....:ping::ping::ping:

At least the smoke is keeping the locusts from invading. :yeah:

[Platapus]

All that rain all of a sudden will result in a lot of mud/landslides.


When I lived in CA we were more concerned with mudslides than earthquakes.

[Aktungbby]

When I lived in CA we were more concerned with mudslides than earthquakes. Nah! FEMA, having requested my appraisal files for the massive 1979 7.2 Loma Prieta quake and the Santa Cruz/Love Creek massive slide(bodies never recovered) disasters;(for the house fotos); massive Napa fires(within 8,000 ft.) and two quakes since here in Napa: 2000's 5.2(epicentered 500 yards away destroying my chimney & chinaware!:wah:) & 2014's 4.1, seriously wrecking downtown bldgs. but sparing me!...:yeah: all of which compelled me to keep up the license-req'd E&O insurance on my files 5 years beyond my 13 year's career retirement date in case of lawsuits...it's fires 1st; quakes 2nd; and mudslides 3rd;...no IMHO 'bout it!:o

[Onkel Neal]

I watched some footage of the LA fires, man, this is devastating. :cry: I hope no one here is affected.

https://youtu.be/BLwUFLFlOyc?si=BbYnONwsTjrpLrr2

[Skybird]

Copied over from the US thread.
-----------------
"Impressive" fires at the Palisades area in L.A., now described as the most destructive fires in the history of California. I feel sympathy with the people who have lost their homes, rich and poor. Such things simply are nothing that should ever happen to anyone. But they do.

[Skybird]

I watched some footage of the LA fires, man, this is devastating. :cry: I hope no one here is affected.

https://youtu.be/BLwUFLFlOyc?si=BbYnONwsTjrpLrr2
One thinks of Dante when seeing this.

[Skybird]

[Die Welt] Natural disasters inevitably trigger the climate change industry to profit from them. Politicians, activists and the media are now also blaming global warming for the fires in the Los Angeles region. But the claim is untenable.

It is true that studies show that the affected region must expect more droughts as a result of climate change. But as one of the authors of these studies, climatologist Patrick Brown, analyzes, other influences dominate the forest fire events, including poor forest management and the increasing number of people who trigger forest fires.

The current fires are unlikely to have anything to do with global warming: The “moderate drought” in the affected region, according to the weather service, is normal, as is the second meteorological disaster ingredient, strong downslope winds from the northeast.

The so-called Santa Ana winds are fanning the fires and causing them to spread rapidly. In the course of climate change, however, the winds are likely to weaken because the mainland of the USA is heating up faster than the oceans - and the pressure difference causing the winds would therefore decrease.

If strong downdrafts prevail, all that is needed is arson. “In the Southern California region, 100 percent of all fires during Santa Ana winds are the result of human ignition, intentional or accidental,” write forest fire researchers in the scientific journal ‘Science Advances’.

If strong downdrafts prevail, all that is needed is arson. “In the Southern California region, 100 percent of all fires during Santa Ana winds are the result of human ignition, intentional or accidental,” write wildfire researchers in the scientific journal ‘Science Advances’.

California is wildfire country; in fact, the vegetation needs fire to thrive. Although the state has experienced huge fires in recent years, the historical classification takes away their peculiarity: studies show that more than a hundred years ago, fires often burned just as much and far more intensely.

“California's forests are suffering from mismanagement”, wrote an expert commission in 2018, calling for the government to change its strategy. Donald Trump also recently complained about a deliberate lack of firefighting water in California.

In a 2018 study, researchers from the University of Berkeley also complained about wrong policies. “We are not at the mercy of climate change”, summarizes co-author Van Butsic, ‘there are known practices that can be successfully applied’.


https://www.welt.de/debatte/article255077162/Feuersturm-in-Kalifornien-Nein-hier-ist-nicht-der-Klimawandel-schuld.html

[Aktungbby]

I watched some footage of the LA fires, man, this is devastating. :cry: I hope no one here is affected.

https://youtu.be/BLwUFLFlOyc?si=BbYnONwsTjrpLrr2...My brother-in-law a carpender in Altadena had to 'bugout' on 15 minutes notice in his
work van and is now in Palm Springs at my sister-in-law's house. He's pretty sure his carpender shop, from which he hastily grabbed some items, is toast but his apartment has survived. I'm also checking on an old prepschool classmate, an orthopedic surgeon, who lives in Pacfic Palisades on the coast. As of this AM's Wall Street Journal frontpge, practically the whole town of very highend homes is obliterated.

[Ostfriese]

I watched some footage of the LA fires, man, this is devastating. :cry: I hope no one here is affected.

https://youtu.be/BLwUFLFlOyc?si=BbYnONwsTjrpLrr2


That shows pretty well how strong the winds are.

[vienna]

Being here in LA, in particular in Hollywood, I thought I'd share what I've observed and heard over the past few days; the winds were fully expected a number of days before the fires, with forecasters showing maps of the expected wind paths and strengths; in the area of Pacific Palisades, gust of up to 100 MPH were forecasted and, indeed, gust of 98 MPH were recorded on the fire day; Pacific Palisades is (or was) a seaside community tucked away in valleys in the coastal mountainside; there is really only one wide road into the enclave and no "backdoor" to use for escape; in addition, developers laid out the housing in a sort of meandering manner resulting in a large number of culs de sac and narrow streets and roads; when the fire in the Palisades started in the brush surrounding, the winds just tore through the flames, spreading them like flamethrowers over the entire area, bathing houses and businesses with sparks, embers and flame; it was really very fast and the residents didn't have much time to prepare for such an onslaught; the streets were clogged with cars and trucks trying to get out to the main road out of the area; first responders were stymied by the clogged roads and, eventually, ordered the drivers and passengers to grab what they could carry and abandon their vehicles; the firefighters had to resort to using bulldozers to shove a path through the vehicles in order to get their vehicles through to fight the fires; the smoke from the Palisades fire was visible from all the way to past Downtown LA, a distance of some 20 miles...

The Palisades fire has leveled the entirety of Pacific Palisades, for all intent and purposes, with precious few structures surviving; the devastation is near total; embers and flames even jumped over the coastal highway and consumed beachside homes and businesses that had been there for decades ...

There have been a few other fires breaking out in the past couple of days in the area; night before last, a fire broke out in the Hollywood Hills in an area known as Runyon Canyon, about a mile and a half from where I live; in ripped through the Canyon and did a lot of damage before the firefighters could get handle on it; it was something to walk out my buildings door and see the sky full of smoke and the red glow just a short distance away...

Another really major fire broke out in an area known as Altadena and has been called the Eaton Fire (fires are generally named after landmarks or major street and roads in the fire area); this fire really exploded in the high winds and is still raging; like Pacific Palisades, the fire has leveled whole sections of residential neighborhoods and, at one point, was threatening critical telecommunications facilities (TV, Radio, cell, etc.) on Mount Wilson, located above the fire area; the Mount Wilson Observatory was also in danger for a long while, but firefighters were able to make a stand and save Mount Wilson; the Eaton fire is particularly bad because Altadena sits in a sort of geographic ,bowl' in the foothills of the mountains; when the wind storms hit, the winds passing through the valleys and passes surrounding Altadena formed a swirling vortex over and around the city, swirling flames and embers in all directions; the situation was exactly what one would describe as an out of control firestorm...

The wind have been settling down in the last 24 hours and there is an awful lot of manpower and equipment on the scenes; fire crews from all over the state, and out of state, are here trying to help the local fire first responders; as is often the case with situations like this, there are those who are stupid or evil enough to just add to the woes of the authorities; a water dropping plane was grounded after some ass decided it was a good idea to enhance his social media by flying a drone into an active fire fighting area and their drone collided with and punched a hole into the plane; the plane had been sent down from Canada to assist in fighting the fires; I hope they catch the ass and throw the book (and bookcases) at him...

Another problem that popped up, particularly in the Eaton fire; looters were spotted and arrested by Sheriffs' Deputies and a request was put out to activate the CA National Guard to provide troops to secure fire areas and interdict any lotters or other criminals; the Guard is now on duty and the local governments have issued curfews for the fire areas from 6PM to 6AM daily to make it more difficult for criminals to roam about and to make it easier for first responders to move from scene to scene as they fight the fires...

I've got to say one thing about the response thus far; I was skeptical of the various local governments (city, county, state, and Federal) and the various Fire and Law Enforcement entities to function smoothly without turf fights or pettiness, but the lot of them have been coordinating with surprising smoothness and efficiency and have been responding quickly to changing conditions; kudos to them all...

Previous wildfires in this area have mainly been in remote rural areas, not rather more urban areas such as the most recent fires; it is really a shock to see neighborhoods similar to those in which one lives being leveled and in such proximity to here...





<O>

[Eichhörnchen]

Yet over here we're worried about having too much water almost everywhere :hmmm:

[Jimbuna]

Seeing a number of reports that the fires were caused by arsonists....any truth in that?

[Aktungbby]

Seeing a number of reports that the fires were caused by arsonists....any truth in that?No. Very high winds, currently afflicting even me this AM 400 miles to the north, caused powerline damage, The Altadena fire reportedly started as a common house fire and then exploded out of wind-driven control. The problem in responding wasn't so much a lack of water in hydrants (1000 in Palisades) ; but a lack of power to pump the water. ALSO, my brother-in-law's shop and apartment in Altadena were spared; he's returning. However, a magnificent house on the street where the fire allegedly started in one home, where my other younger brother-in-law got married 20+ years ago to his Venzuelan wife/owner, has been destroyed along with the other street structures. Currently, the Palisade fire(20,000 acres) is 11% controlled and the Altadena/Eaton fire is 15% controlled.(5,000 structures-14,000acres) Some 20 looters have been arrested; and the death toll stands at 11....10,000 homes are gone and 150,000 people are displaced. Fire teams from Canada are on site to assist the L.A. 7500 firefighters. Wind velocities are diminishing; giving fire crews a momentary respite and allowing air-tankers to resume flight.

[Jimbuna]

^ That's helpful thanks but I notice some news sources, NBC news for example still aren't ruling arson as the cause out.

[Skybird]

In fact a docu over here said that the overwhelming majority of wildfires in california in the modern present are being caused by accidental or intentional arson - not lightning, as some say. It's also being mentioned that the forest management is poor, that dead wood was left laying around, which helpd fire to spring over on ground level. There, dead wood not being removed also was the main cause for the speed and scale at which the disaster unfolded. This reminds me of the big wildfires they had in Montana in the late 80s or early 90s that, if I recall correctly what I have red, consumed an extremely big quantity of he state's forest, or do I remember that wrong? This, and the drought conditions and the hydrants not being designed for the capacities in emergencies of this scale, played together. They said that beyond this, California always burns, since always, its due to the Santa Ana winds. In Winter polar or at least very cold winds collect in the plateau area between the Sierra Madre and the Rockies, and then "spill over" and race down the Sierra Madre's coast-faced cliffs, gaining these enornmous speeds there when falling down.

As a European used to houses build of stone and concrete, not wood, I notice that everything that burned so well now was made of wood. And was build in an area where to build human settlements maybe is not the wisest idea.

[vienna]

^ That's helpful thanks but I notice some news sources, NBC news for example still aren't ruling arson as the cause out.


The fire news coverage has been pretty much 24/7 here in LA and, thus far, no definitive proof of arson has been verified by official authorities; a lot of the arson claims have been spread by social media sites and have no veracity at all; addionally, there have been some individuals and entities stoking wild claims, including arson, in order to advance various political agendas, with some of those claims/reports coming from outside Los Angeles and/or California; it is a shame some would seek to make political hay from the personal tragedies afflicting so many affected individualsls and families...

On the subject of possible fire causes, local news has been reporting one of the local power companies, Southern California Edison (SCE), tried to quietly file notifications related to two of the wildfires with CA State regulator regarding their equipment in those areas as being possible auses of those fires; the filings are required by CA State law and were prompted by enquiries by insurance companies to the State Regulators; other than acknowledging the existence of the filings, SCE has not specifically addressed the issue of their equipment being a possible cause...

It should be noted, however, at the very beginning of the fires, there were local reports by residents in at least one of the fire areas of smoke and explosions of some kind emanating from underground electrical vaults; residents who did the reporting were also critical of lax response from the utility companies responsible for the vaults and their equipment, so there may be some substance to claims of power company culpability...

As noted in another post, one of the most devastating fires, the Eaton Fire, was caused by an indoor house fire that spread outdoors and was fanned by the raging winds; none of the various official authorities or official entities has officially noted or claimed any verified arson has occurred; arson is, obviously, still on the table,pending further investigation, but has not at all been reported or confirmed...

On Saturday, a contingent of dozens of trained fire fighters arrived in LA provided by the government of Mexico to assist in the firefighting efforts and are a welcome addition to the firefight; also to be noted is the efforts of a very large number of CA State prisoners who have been trained to fight wildfires and have been on the frontlines of the fires since the start of the effort; they are all volunteers and are receiving the equivalent of less than $1.00 USD per day for their labor...

Regarding the idiot ass who flew a drone into one of the firefighting water dropping aircraft, the FBI has stepped in and is actively, and aggressively, investigating and pursuing whoever is responsible for the drone; aside from the various laws and regulations broken, the liability for the damage to the Canadian aircraft will no doubt be hefty; the drone punched a sizable hole into the leading edge of thr plane's port wing...




<O>

[Aktungbby]

Regarding the idiot ass who flew a drone into one of the firefighting water dropping aircraft, the FBI has stepped in and is actively, and aggressively, investigating and pursuing whoever is responsible for the drone; aside from the various laws and regulations broken, the liability for the damage to the Canadian aircraft will no doubt be hefty; the drone punched a sizable hole into the leading edge of thr plane's port wing......:hmmm: my secret sources have informed me that was likely a Chinese 'sleeper agent' wreaking havoc for President-elect Trump's recent attempt to buy Greenland, craved by the gluttonous Xi regime for its minerals; and for his equally obtuse desire to repossess the Panama Canal where China currently maintains an Ismuthic presence in the 2 port cities at each end of the Panama-operated canal. :shucks::oops::x:dead: Additionally, Napa has sent 112 Cal Fire crewmen and 5 firetrucks to help with the LA firesfires.:yeah: Additionally and critically: in any battle it is critical to "increase firepower" as Von Clauscewtz put it in his opus On War. In the battle against raging infernos the ammo is water...Time and terrain are the critical factors...and the Pacific Palisade reservoir was drained for maintenance at the critical moment in time:https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/0ff6208/2147483647/strip/true/crop/5601x3734+0+0/resize/1200x800!/format/webp/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F33%2F84%2Fcc8431fd4c eea9e931401f8428e1%2Fsanta-ynez-reservoir.jpg with the result:https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/01/drone-footage-wildfires-pacific-palisades-96470991.jpg?quality=75&strip=all
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-01-10/as-flames-raged-in-palisades-a-key-reservoir-nearby-was-offline

[vienna]

Well, your ChinCom theory makes just about as much sense as some of the other social media postings running through the Web, including some reports from certain "news" sources... :03:

Aside from making his usual snide snipes in social media, Trump himself has been MIA regarding the fire disaster; the subject came up in this morning's (Jan 12) update press conference, a now at least once daily occurrence where fire,sheriff, and police cheifs as well as county supervisors, mayor's ot affecred cities, and department heads of responsible agencies all gather to publicly report on their individual and collective situations and efforts; following their reports, there was a question and answer session and all the questions were, thankfully, related to the actual critical fire situation until a reporter from a particular news organization demanded to know if the LA County Supervisors present or the Mayor of LA had made an effort to personally contact Trump; the resp0onse from the Supervisors and the Mayor was that, yes, they had tried to contact Trump, but had only been able to get in touch with his represetat8ve and there had been no actual, specific response fr9mvtrump himself...

Regarding the empty reservoir, the LA City Department of Water & Power (LADWP) is responsible for the reservoir in question and was initially called out for it being offline when the fire started most notably by Governor Newsom, who ordered an investigation into the situation; however, it has since been learned the reservoir was offline due to to a previously scheduled required maintenance operation; LADWP specifically scheduled the maintenance for the winter months because weather condtion in winter normally aren't conducive to fire danger; it has also been noted, give the extreme severity, intensity, and speed of the fire, the water in the reservoir would have had little or effect on the progression of fire; also there is the fact that power was lost early in the fire rendering the ability to even pump water out of the reservoir, had it been there, very questionable...

All in all, the whole situation has been a perfect storm of very, very unfortunate c8rcumstances with extremely and unseasonal winds fanning flames in locations where you would least like to see any major blazes at all...




<O>

[vienna]

As an FYI, this is a link to a local news report regarding how seriously the FBI is taking the drone strike:


https://abc7.com/post/california-wildfires-fbi-shares-photos-pieces-drone-damaged-super-scooper-aircraft-flying-palisades-fire/15792412/



<O>

[Ostfriese]

As a European used to houses build of stone and concrete, not wood, I notice that everything that burned so well now was made of wood. And was build in an area where to build human settlements maybe is not the wisest idea.


Against the fires that rage in California stone walls would not really make much of a difference. Everything inside the houses would still burn to cinders, and it doesn't really matter if the bare stone walls remain or not, as they will be damaged beyond repair by the heat.



And even European houses are rarely built without wood, on the contrary, they contain more than enough wood (you won't need to look further than right under your roof).

[vienna]

Just saw this; a frame of reference on the fire...



Maps and images reveal scale of LA wildfire devastation -

https://www.yahoo.com/news/los-angeles-wildfires-maps-180658307.html



<O>

[Platapus]

Normally, Jan is the rainy season but not this year. :(

[ET2SN]

You folks in Cali take care. I mean it, we aren't getting younger. :huh:

Worst case, the first one who makes it to central Iowa can claim the love seat. :yeah:
Its a small apartment, but this is a submarine-centered forum and it won't be any worse than crew's berthing. :sunny:

Out here, the good news is no fires. The bad news is artic temperatures and high winds, just like normal. :doh:

[Aktungbby]

... my secret sources have informed me that was likely a Chinese 'sleeper agent' wreaking havoc for President-elect Trump's recent attempt to buy Greenland, craved by the gluttonous Xi regime for its minerals; and for his equally obtuse desire to repossess the Panama Canal where China currently maintains an Ismuthic presence in the 2 port cities at each end of the Panama-operated canal. the frontpage headlines of today's WSJ reads: " L.A. officials race to Fight Rumors, Conspiracy 'Theories"...I gotta go now; there's men in coats and ties at my door!!??:timeout: https://images.wsj.net/im-31093949?width=1280&size=1.57 https://www.wsj.com/us-news/climate-environment/l-a-wildfire-death-count-rises-as-city-braces-for-return-of-stronger-winds-6a508e1b?mod=latest_headlines https://www.wsj.com/real-estate/los-angeles-fire-housing-shortage-a1424502?mod=hp_lead_pos7 ...but seriously, there's nothing new here we learned this 8years ago in the
SantaRosa fire when the wild fire rules changed and destroyed an entire urban subdivision(4 deaths) in downtown Santa Rosa.... https://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showpost.php?p=2520538&postcount=50

[vienna]

The local authorities, as well as state and federal, are indeed having to deal with all sorts of wild and misleading mis/disinformation related to the fires, a burden added to their more crucial and critical tasks; some of it is the usual tinfoil hat crackpot stuff, but there has been an unusual amount of directed, intentional unnecessary 'noise' added by those seeking to advance particular views or agendas; one that really bothered me is comments made by a man who ran for LA mayor in the last city elections and who lost; very soon after the Palisades Fire, he griped about how he felt the current City administration had botched the fire response, offering no proof to back up his claims; he was roundly swatted down by responses from all quarters of the city and has been curiously silent since; the guy is a local billionaire who has made his fortune in commercial real estate and who owns a wide range of properties including several very large retail shopping centers; he became silent after several of those responding to his comments pointed out that one of the properties spared by the fire while others burned to the ground was a shopping center, owned by his company, firefighters successfully defended; I want to point out I actually voted for the guy in the last mayoral election, but, now, I'm pretty sure I'll be a bit more circumspect...

The local area is bracing for a new round of dreaded Sant Ana Winds, the main cause of the spread of last week's wildfires; I could try to describe the winds, but this Wikipedia link is better:

Santa Ana Winds -

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Ana_winds


I was just watching a local news report about the upcoming wind event, and a fire spokesman was asked about the wind's effect on firefighting efforts; he said, "at 10 MPH winds, we're firefighters, at 30 MPH wind, we're spectators"; in addition, at wind speeds at or above 40 MPH, aerial support is unavailable due to dangerous flight conditions; the terrain makes flying at very low altitudes way to risky, given abrupt crosswinds, down/updrafts, etc.; you have admire and respect the pilots and crews of the aircraft dropping retardant/water on the flames so close to the ground, particularly those flying the bigger planes; and don't be deceived by the aerial photos of the fire areas; the terrain is lot stepper than the photos show and that, along with the winds, the heat of the fires, and the creation of microclimates within the firestorms make drops into the areas extremely dangerous...

One thing noted about the daily updates from authorities has been the continued presence and availability of the actual responsible leaders of the various entities involved in the response to the fires; rather than having a spokesperson or PIO come out to make statements or answer questions, the actual heads of the entities have continously been there to make reports and to answer media questions personally; the mayor's of the affected areas, the fire and police chiefs, the LA County Sheriff, and the heads of responsible agencies have all made themselves available to report and respond to the media; I don't recall another incident where the response by the responsible has been so thorough...




<O>

[Raf1394]

If this would happen in a more ''poor'' area. We would see a Los Angeles 1992 riot again...

[Aktungbby]

If this would happen in a more ''poor'' area. We would see a Los Angeles 1992 riot again......I still well-remember the incendiary quote: "Burn Baby Burn" from the '60's Watts Riots protests against the LA police discriminatory practises.....

[vienna]

If this would happen in a more ''poor'' area. We would see a Los Angeles 1992 riot again...

Altadena, site of the Eaton Firestorm, has a long history in local African-American culture; due to severe discriminatory practices in the Los Angeles area, including redlining and prohibitive deed covenants forbidding resale of properties from white sellers to non-white buyers, the area of Altadena was one of the very few areas where African-Americans could own property, so a large portion of the area is African-American today...

BTW, Altadena is not a city, but is an unincorporated area under the administrative perview of the County of Los Angeles; the residents of Altadena have resisted several attempts to eiter incorporate as a city or be annexed into existing adjacent incorporated cities...




<O>

[Aktungbby]

^Yup! still up watching up-to-date situation reports. Daughter came by to check and remove pictures and an Eyvind Earle print of my wife's particular favor these last 35 years.. We had been to see an exhibition of his work this weekend in SF. I just checked; the firechief's official car is still out front across the street. I assisted a few neighbors who did leave with their pets. Then reassured some very elderly neighbors (90's) and their kids that the chief, who has been on duty since Saturday, was staying which reduced their considerable anxiety. My boat captain is still up, like me, watching TV two doors down and my immediate other stalwart is tuned to his police scanner receiver. The wife has finally 'hit the hay' as I pointed out she'll be worthless without some sleep. Two cars are in the drive outside, loaded with pet food, documents, and clothes in case the power fails again so we don't waste time overriding the electric door. Currently there is little wind and the heavy smoke of two days is dissipating; the moon is clear. Not like this AM when the sun came up blood-red with visibility at 2-3 hundred yards. Fortunately I have an old land-line ATT house phone which works so I can call out. The Verizon cellphone/Wi-Fi situation is very bad otherwise. I'm lucky to still have internet and appreciate the concern.:Kaleun_Thumbs_Up:

Still in Uber bugout mode with three cars loaded with weird short-notice 'essentials'... Deeds, a sewing machine, wedding photos etc. Daughter had to go take original documents from her small museum as entire town of Calistoga to the north is is evacuated. 5000 people on the road to somewhere! I'm monitoring local channels for any sudden down turn in calm winds or movement of active fires just two miles to the west. This one is as bad as the Cobb Mtn/Middletown disaster of 2015-twenty miles north; Currently: over twenty dead and thousands of homes destroyed. As for the smoke: The worst hour was measured at Napa College on Tuesday at 8 a.m., breaking all records in the area. The air quality index of 486 for small particulate matter is so high it’s off the chart, Worst level =201-300 https://ww2.kqed.org/science/2017/10/11/bay-area-air-quality-worst-on-record-check-out-your-city/ (https://ww2.kqed.org/science/2017/10/11/bay-area-air-quality-worst-on-record-check-out-your-city/) An official 'spare the air' day is in effect through the weekend...jeeze! no barbequing! Correct 'particulate' breathing masks are in short supply at hardware stores. We do have a 19,000 gallon 747 Global supertanker helping for the firstime- really something impressive; video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3AWMGQ5ot0

10-12-2017, 03:59 AM ?????

you really are staying up all night ... get some sleep man.

Praying that you don't feel the heat ... good grieve hurricanes, fires, Trump, Rocket Man don't we have enough to worry about?

Aktungbby is like rust: he never sleeps... :D






<O>

Hey, he is not that corrosive!

:haha:





<O>

Being here in LA, in particular in Hollywood, I thought I'd share what I've observed and heard over the past few days; the winds were fully expected a number of days before the fires, with forecasters showing maps of the expected wind paths and strengths; in the area of Pacific Palisades, gust of up to 100 MPH were forecasted and, indeed, gust of 98 MPH were recorded on the fire day; Pacific Palisades is (or was) a seaside community tucked away in valleys in the coastal mountainside; there is really only one wide road into the enclave and no "backdoor" to use for escape; in addition, developers laid out the housing in a sort of meandering manner resulting in a large number of culs de sac and narrow streets and roads; when the fire in the Palisades started in the brush surrounding, the winds just tore through the flames, spreading them like flamethrowers over the entire area, bathing houses and businesses with sparks, embers and flame; it was really very fast and the residents didn't have much time to prepare for such an onslaught; the streets were clogged with cars and trucks trying to get out to the main road out of the area; first responders were stymied by the clogged roads and, eventually, ordered the drivers and passengers to grab what they could carry and abandon their vehicles; the firefighters had to resort to using bulldozers to shove a path through the vehicles in order to get their vehicles through to fight the fires; the smoke from the Palisades fire was visible from all the way to past Downtown LA, a distance of some 20 miles...

The Palisades fire has leveled the entirety of Pacific Palisades, for all intent and purposes, with precious few structures surviving; the devastation is near total; embers and flames even jumped over the coastal highway and consumed beachside homes and businesses that had been there for decades ...

There have been a few other fires breaking out in the past couple of days in the area; night before last, a fire broke out in the Hollywood Hills in an area known as Runyon Canyon, about a mile and a half from where I live; in ripped through the Canyon and did a lot of damage before the firefighters could get handle on it; it was something to walk out my buildings door and see the sky full of smoke and the red glow just a short distance away...

Another really major fire broke out in an area known as Altadena and has been called the Eaton Fire (fires are generally named after landmarks or major street and roads in the fire area); this fire really exploded in the high winds and is still raging; like Pacific Palisades, the fire has leveled whole sections of residential neighborhoods and, at one point, was threatening critical telecommunications facilities (TV, Radio, cell, etc.) on Mount Wilson, located above the fire area; the Mount Wilson Observatory was also in danger for a long while, but firefighters were able to make a stand and save Mount Wilson; the Eaton fire is particularly bad because Altadena sits in a sort of geographic ,bowl' in the foothills of the mountains; when the wind storms hit, the winds passing through the valleys and passes surrounding Altadena formed a swirling vortex over and around the city, swirling flames and embers in all directions; the situation was exactly what one would describe as an out of control firestorm...

The wind have been settling down in the last 24 hours and there is an awful lot of manpower and equipment on the scenes; fire crews from all over the state, and out of state, are here trying to help the local fire first responders; as is often the case with situations like this, there are those who are stupid or evil enough to just add to the woes of the authorities; a water dropping plane was grounded after some ass decided it was a good idea to enhance his social media by flying a drone into an active fire fighting area and their drone collided with and punched a hole into the plane; the plane had been sent down from Canada to assist in fighting the fires; I hope they catch the ass and throw the book (and bookcases) at him...

Another problem that popped up, particularly in the Eaton fire; looters were spotted and arrested by Sheriffs' Deputies and a request was put out to activate the CA National Guard to provide troops to secure fire areas and interdict any lotters or other criminals; the Guard is now on duty and the local governments have issued curfews for the fire areas from 6PM to 6AM daily to make it more difficult for criminals to roam about and to make it easier for first responders to move from scene to scene as they fight the fires...

I've got to say one thing about the response thus far; I was skeptical of the various local governments (city, county, state, and Federal) and the various Fire and Law Enforcement entities to function smoothly without turf fights or pettiness, but the lot of them have been coordinating with surprising smoothness and efficiency and have been responding quickly to changing conditions; kudos to them all...

Previous wildfires in this area have mainly been in remote rural areas, not rather more urban areas such as the most recent fires; it is really a shock to see neighborhoods similar to those in which one lives being leveled and in such proximity to here...





<O>/\:hmmm:...so there I was; up two nights in a row 8 years ago, faithfully eyewitness reporting on the frontlines of the Napa inferno in 'bugout cars loaded mode' to :subsim:ers worldwide in this great thread:arrgh!: and Vienna mocking me!!?:o gets the "outstanding member' nomination for essentially reiterating the L.A. Times news reports! :timeout: :shucks: :O: :arrgh!: Well...Congrats anyway to fellow septuagenarian Vienna! We could both stand a little rustoleum!:Kaleun_Salute:

[vienna]

Well, hey, I'll have you know one of the wildfires last Tuesday was right here in the Hollywood Hills, about a mile and a half away, and, with the winds the way they were, a mile and a half away ain't a long leap for those fires; we saw the red glow and the billows of smoke very clearly from here and it could have been a lot worse than it was in Hollywood if not for LAFD Engine Co. #27 and the other fine firefighters who aggressively attacked the flames and contained the spread of the flames and embers; the embers were the real most serious threat in all the fires in LA County; in Pacific Palisades, and in Eaton/Altadena, the fire, in normal conditions would have burned op the slopes, away from the homes, of the mountains, pushed by onshore winds blowing North and East; instead, the winds were screaming out of the East and North, blowing the embers of the fires towards the homes below, a real rain of fire onto the homes and businesses below, and, as soon as the first homes went up in flames, the winds then proceeded to blow those embers onto other structures further down the range; there really was no way firefighters could have stopped the fury of the fires given the extreme conditions; I still think back to the words of that firefighter who described the situation as "At 10 MPH, we're firefighters; at 30 MPH, we're spectators"; one can only imagine what the firefighters we're facing and thinking in the midst of a firestorm being driven by 60-95 MPH winds...

Regarding nominations, I don't seek them out and I am often puzzled and a bit embarrassed about them; they are nice, but I do know one thing: you are a highly respected and valued member of SubSim and no amount of nomination, or lack, makes you any less so; I, for one, enjoy the give and take we have and and hold you you in high esteem... :salute:


BTW, I am very much off the LA Times since it changed ownership and has become a shadow of its former self: almost all of the news regarding the fire I have gleaned is from live news coverage by the local LA news TV stations and the local news radio station...





<O>

[Aktungbby]

https://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showpost.php?p=2585036&postcount=8209 Regarding nominations, I don't seek them out and I am often puzzled and a bit embarrassed about them; they are nice, but I do know one thing: you are a highly respected and valued member of SubSim and no amount of nomination, or lack, makes you any less so; I, for one, enjoy the give and take we have and and hold you you in high esteem... Indeed, your 2018 humor award was noteworthy "give and take"!:D

[ET2SN]

Just so you know, "Rust never sleeps" was borrowed by Neil Young from Gerald Vincent Casale . :Kaleun_Salute:

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81Dv20EUuaL._AC_SX679_.jpg

[Aktungbby]

...as of this AM all 3 major SoCal fires: Eaton, Palisades and Hughes are 90% 85% and 80% contained respectively. However, winds in excess of 40mph together with heavy rains are threatening slides in the burned-out areas....Amazingly, my Napa sushi-restaurant lady of 30+ years Malibu coast childhood home(next-door to Steve McQueen's home!) also survived the fire!:yeah: