California Wildfires running thread

[Slacker]

No way the fire didn't scorch the bus.

It went there after the fire.

 

[Songbird]

I figured but the image leaves much to the imagination.

 

[qtlaw]

This isn’t the first time we’ve had this scenario. In 2017, Sonoma County and Santa Rosa specifically was nearly wiped off the map by the Tubbs fire. Very similar. Fire starts in hilly area then winds quickly push it to urban areas and it was a disaster.

A year later we had the Butte County fire that basically did wipe paradise off the map. That one is still head and shoulders worse than the LA fires but it was poor farming area and not multi million dollar homes.

Yep those fires just obliterated entire towns.

 

[MileHigh]

Extreme wind scenario today and Wednesday for SoCal. New fire in Ventura County.

 

[LanceyHoward]

The Pacific Palisades fire occurred within the city limits of Los Angeles so the first responder is Los Angles City Fire. I have read that about 10,000 structures have been lost. The fire chief of Los Angeles City Fire is a gay woman. I know this because I have read criticisms of DEI hiring and how it leads to ruination in times of crisis such as this.

I watched 60 Minutes and they interviewed the Fire Chief of Los Angeles County, a light skinned male named Anthony Marrone, about the Eaton fire, This fire destroyed 7,000-8,000 structures and occurred in unincorporated Los Angeles County. I have heard no criticism of the hiring practices of Les Angeles County so I guess the fact that a couple of thousand less structures were lost in the Eaton fire is the result of hiring a white male.

 

[Inky_Wretch]

Group of hikers had to run from the Palisades fire on Jan. 7.

Backpacker Magazine on Instagram: "“It was full fight or flight,” said @kaicranmorewas. “You can’t fight a fire, so it was just pure flight.” On January 7, @kaicranmorewas was on a dayhike near Pacific Palisades with a group of his friends when one of them smelled smoke. Minutes later, they were fleeing as a wildfire spread through the canyon around them. Thankfully the group made it to safety. Learn how you can support recovery efforts from the Los Angeles wildfires at the link in bio."

 

[LanceyHoward]

Group of hikers had to run from the Palisades fire on Jan. 7.

Backpacker Magazine on Instagram: "“It was full fight or flight,” said @kaicranmorewas. “You can’t fight a fire, so it was just pure flight.” On January 7, @kaicranmorewas was on a dayhike near Pacific Palisades with a group of his friends when one of them smelled smoke. Minutes later, they were fleeing as a wildfire spread through the canyon around them. Thankfully the group made it to safety. Learn how you can support recovery efforts from the Los Angeles wildfires at the link in bio."

The Mann Gulch fire killed 13 Forest Service firefighters in 1949. That was for many years the worst loss of life of firefighters in Forest Service history. A book about the fire, Young Men and a Fire, is am absolute masterpiece. It was written by Norman MacLean, who also wrote A River Runs Through it.

 

[2muchcoffeeman]

The Pacific Palisades fire occurred within the city limits of Los Angeles so the first responder is Los Angles City Fire. I have read that about 10,000 structures have been lost. The fire chief of Los Angeles City Fire is a gay woman. I know this because I have read criticisms of DEI hiring and how it leads to ruination in times of crisis such as this.

I watched 60 Minutes and they interviewed the Fire Chief of Los Angeles County, a light skinned male named Anthony Marrone, about the Eaton fire, This fire destroyed 7,000-8,000 structures and occurred in unincorporated Los Angeles County. I have heard no criticism of the hiring practices of Les Angeles County so I guess the fact that a couple of thousand less structures were lost in the Eaton fire is the result of hiring a white male.

What if the real problem is the lack of staffing in general?

‘Beyond the brink’: data shows LA Fire Department among the most understaffed in America — CNN

 

[TigerVols]

I wouldn’t be surprised if we discover one of the main reasons LAFD is chronically understaffed is because its rank and file wants to keep it that way. Overtime pay for firefighters is astronomical.

 

[DanielSimpsonDay]

What if the real problem is the lack of staffing in general?

‘Beyond the brink’: data shows LA Fire Department among the most understaffed in America — CNN

Given the circumstances of these fires (location, weather, severity), how many more bodies within the current infratsucture would be required to handle them in a satisfactory manner?

 

[BTExpress]

Well, I'm sure that message will be received right away.

 

[LanceyHoward]

What if the real problem is the lack of staffing in general?

‘Beyond the brink’: data shows LA Fire Department among the most understaffed in America — CNN

It might be, But I think the extra staff would have had to extinguish the fire very early in the process. Once the embers start flying in the wind any department is going to be overwhelmed.

Los Angeles Country suffered from a wet winter followed by essentially no rain until now. The Santa Anna winds came up and started transporting the embers over the firefighters heads. /

Los Angeles County had a wet winter last year, followed by a drought since May. The Santa Anna winds came along and when the fire started blew the embers all over.

I am from Colorado. Along the foothills of the Rockies strong winds can come whipping out of the canyons. In 2021 the front range of Colorado had a very wet spring and then a drought, It did not snow in the Denver area until after Christmas, which is almost unprecedented. Right after Christmas there were two small fires in a canyon and the winds, which were gusting to 100+ miles an hour, started to blow the embers.

This developed into what in Colorado is referred to as the Marshall fire. Marshall is a small town south of Boulder. The area around Marshall is only partially developed. But about 1,000 structures were destroyed and the fire damn near got to the City of Boulder. Once the wind starts blowing Mother Nature takes over.

 

[TigerVols]

Speaking of staffing…

L.A. fire officials could have put engines in the Palisades before the fire broke out. They didn't

BTW, the LAT is putting out Pulitzer level product every day, and this one is a leading example.

 

[MileHigh]

It might be, But I think the extra staff would have had to extinguish the fire very early in the process. Once the embers start flying in the wind any department is going to be overwhelmed.

Los Angeles Country suffered from a wet winter followed by essentially no rain until now. The Santa Anna winds came up and started transporting the embers over the firefighters heads. /

Los Angeles County had a wet winter last year, followed by a drought since May. The Santa Anna winds came along and when the fire started blew the embers all over.

I am from Colorado. Along the foothills of the Rockies strong winds can come whipping out of the canyons. In 2021 the front range of Colorado had a very wet spring and then a drought, It did not snow in the Denver area until after Christmas, which is almost unprecedented. Right after Christmas there were two small fires in a canyon and the winds, which were gusting to 100+ miles an hour, started to blow the embers.

This developed into what in Colorado is referred to as the Marshall fire. Marshall is a small town south of Boulder. The area around Marshall is only partially developed. But about 1,000 structures were destroyed and the fire damn near got to the City of Boulder. Once the wind starts blowing Mother Nature takes over.

I was here for Marshall. In fact, five days earlier, I was in Boulder for Christmas and a bunch of us went through where the fire would later start and went for a hike in nearby Eldorado Canyon State Park because the weather was so warm.

My sister and her family live right where you come into Boulder, off Table Mesa, four miles north of where the fire started. Once it started, it was like SoCal, winds coming out of the canyons at over 100 mph and with everything so dry, there was no stopping it. My sister and her family were ready to go, but it stayed a mile to the east of them.

It went to the northeast, jumped Highway 36 and through Superior and Lafayette and singed a part of Broomfield. 36 hours later, we got our first snow of the season and put an end to the fire.

 

[kickoff-time]

My cousin lost his house in the Marshall Fire, and yes, it moved incredibly fast. So fast that they were still in the house when flames were right outside their door and were lucky to get out with what they could. I helped with what I could since I live in another state. They decided to rebuild, but many neighbors did not. One guy lost his job the day before and then his house.

 

[Big Circus]

Without looking, I'm going to guess that the vast majority of LA City Fire's calls for service are medical calls, not fire, and they likely spend most of their budget on manpower to respond to those calls. I will also co-sign @LanceyHoward's hypothesis that no amount of money would have helped them prevent or contain these fires.

 

[SixToe]

Let's say LAFD has double what it has now -- staffing, money, equipment, all the things. Even triple what they have now. They have three times as many helicopters, aircraft, hoses, trucks, people, gear, everything.

Mother Nature would've laughed. She is undefeated.

Whether LAFD has what it has now, or has three or five or 10 times the amount, a fire blowing on 80-100 mph winds through fuel-filled canyons that are hard to access is going to burn the **** out of a lot of stuff. And while all of the three or five or 10x LAFD attention is focused on putting out that Pallisades fire because it's big and threatening, what about the Eaton fire that pops up 40 miles away (or whatever) and now they have to divert? Or the fire that starts up north?

Mother Nature is going to do her thing. Floods, tornadoes, fires, hurricanes, whatever.

If Asheville and that area in North Carolina and over in east Tennessee had double or triple the protections for flooding and river surge, it wouldn't have mattered when that storm hit last September. You'd literally have to channelize the scenic, beautiful river like the Army Corps of Engineers does with canals and concrete and ugly ****, and even then Mother Nature still wins.

LAFD probably needs more of everything - money, gear, trucks, all the stuff. Would that help curtail or manage a bit? Yes, to a degree. But out there, in that mix of urban and wild rugged land, they're going to always have fires, floods, landslides, earthquakes and no amount of money can stop those.

 

[Neutral Corner]

Add that climate change has shifted rain/drought patterns. Early rain means a lot of brush grows, followed by drought which dries that brush to the point where it burns very easily. That's bad enough, but with the wind at 60+, it's a disaster waiting to happen.

We won't even talk about arsonists or idiots who are careless with fire.

 

[I Should Coco]

Honestly those arsonists they’ve caught trying to start fires in SoCal over the past week should be tied up and dragged to their death behind a fire truck. Humanity at its worst.

 

[Shropshire Slasher]

Add that climate change has shifted rain/drought patterns. Early rain means a lot of brush grows, followed by drought which dries that brush to the point where it burns very easily. That's bad enough, but with the wind at 60+, it's a disaster waiting to happen.

We won't even talk about arsonists or idiots who are careless with fire.

Texas has been very fortunate the last decade with this weather pattern. Spring and even early summer can be really wet and cause brush and grass growth which then dries out quickly in the hell of July and August.

Spring is the biggest season for these fires because it gets warmer and the wind really whips out of the south. The Panhandle had a massive brush fire last year that covered over a million acres. There are exceptions, of course: The Bastrop fire in 2011 (which happened in September in a really bad drought year) took more than 1,000 homes and the entire town of Ringgold was lost in a fire that started on New Year's Day 2006.