California burning-again

[weaponsgrade]

Wife's co-worker lost his house in last year's Santa Rosa fire. He setup a shipping container on his property as a temporary living space and is still in it. I feel like the effects of climate change including heat and dryness has accelerated in the last 10 years or so. When I first moved out to the SF Bay area I remember multiple days of rain in the winter months and lots of fog in SF. Both seem to have decreased substantially - especially the rain.

[Dino Suegiù]

Originally Posted by gemship

How exactly do these fires start? Are people crazy enough to flick cigarette ashes for ex.?

Definitely not only cigarettes, etc.

Apparently the Woolsey Fire started from a SoCal Edison generator spark?

All kinds of causes, from natural to mistakes/accidents to outright arson, I think.

[joosttx]

Originally Posted by gemship

How exactly do these fires start? Are people crazy enough to flick cigarette ashes for ex.?

Funny I over the last couple of weeks I seen two people throw their lit butts out of cars. One, I said something to at the next stop light.

PG&E power equipment has been suspected...

https://www.sfchronicle.com/californ...t-13384830.php

This summer we had a fire in Marin which resulted from a squirrel touching the "3rd rail" of a powerline. I point this out simply to show how easy and innocent it seems to start a forest fire.

[mjb266]

Originally Posted by gemship

How exactly do these fires start? Are people crazy enough to flick cigarette ashes for ex.?

A local meterologist has done real compelling writing on this. Seems like the power companies are culpable in some sense, especially after what they learned from previous fires.

http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2018/1...-initiate.html

http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2018/1...ire-start.html

[pdmtong]

Originally Posted by gemship

How exactly do these fires start? Are people crazy enough to flick cigarette ashes for ex.?

The fire in Santa Rosa/Napa last fall was started by a sparking utility transformer. The wind speeds were 75mph+. People went to bed normal time and were woken up to calls to evacuate NOW. Imagine someone wakes you at 2am from a dead sleep and you have to leave your house ASAP.

The fire in Redding in August was caused by a flat tire on a trailer - rim scraped the pavement and sparks ignited the inferno.

The fire source in Paradise is unknown - but there are early reports of utility transformer issues.

Meanwhile in Southern California the Thousand Oaks shooting is then compounded by 250,000 people evacuating same area.

Ignorant people can also do the damage - like the kids playing with fireworks in Oregon a year ago.

[joosttx]

Originally Posted by pdmtong

The fire in Santa Rosa/Napa last fall was started by a sparking utility transformer. The wind speeds were 75mph+. People went to bed normal time and were woken up to calls to evacuate NOW. Imagine someone wakes you at 2am from a dead sleep and you have to leave your house ASAP.

The fire in Redding in August was caused by a flat tire on a trailer - rim scraped the pavement and sparks ignited the inferno.

The fire source in Paradise is unknown - but there are early reports of utility transformer issues.

Meanwhile in Southern California the Thousand Oaks shooting is then compounded by 250,000 people evacuating same area.

Ignorant people can also do the damage - like the kids playing with fireworks in Oregon a year ago.

I saw a Marin Water Works Truck park off of a trail in the dead grass today as I rode up Mt Tam. Could not help to think if the muffler was hot enough Mt Tam would be ablaze.

[false_Aest]

Pacific Coast Highway driving toward Malibu.

Not fun for riding.

[Spdntrxi]

Originally Posted by joosttx

I saw a Marin Water Works Truck park off of a trail in the dead grass today as I rode up Mt Tam. Could not help to think if the muffler was hot enough Mt Tam would be ablaze.

at least the muffler is off the ground a little higher.. more like one of cat converter would do it. Back in my rice rockets days.. many a lower car in dry grass could get it going... or in my case a straight pipe

[zennmotion]

Originally Posted by joosttx

A warning system may not help much with 50mph Fire stroms. But it will help some. IMO not having one is not an option.

I'm old enough to remember the daily testing of my small town's fire siren every day at noon- heard clearly at our house 3 miles away. Its purpose was to summon the all-volunteer firemen (and more than a few firewomen) to call in for instructions. It was simple, it was cheap and it worked well (amplified by the howls of every dog in the county). As a new resident to the Bay Area, perhaps because of my perspective due to my age (50 something) and background (East Coast rural) and life experience living and working extensively in developing countries where simple can still be effective, I sometimes think that there's a localized left coast, knee jerk reaction to reach for a technology innovation fix as the first and only solution to every problem encountered in life. In this case, cell phone apps and the like can't be the only way for an early warning system to work. Likewise, everyone who lives in a fire/earthquake/hurricane/whatever zone needs to keep a good local county map in the car and/or home and learn how to use a basic compass to read it for contingency planning. Power grids and cell towers fail. Roads get blocked unexpectedly.

[Jaybee]

Everyone who has lived in OK knows how the tornado sirens work. Tested every Saturday at noon. They aren’t perfect, but they would help.

[zennmotion]

Originally Posted by Jaybee

Everyone who has lived in OK knows how the tornado sirens work. Tested every Saturday at noon. They aren’t perfect, but they would help.

As would a voluntary neighbor network, where everyone has a contact list of 5-10 neighborhood households to track and call for a check-in during emergencies, and your household contact information is in the hands of 2-3 neighbors. This is how I've seen some communities in conflict areas survive (stories I've heard from residents who survived Beirut under daily shelling for example).

[Drmojo]

These fires often start in semi remote areas
By the time Gale Force wind- imagine HUGE bellows-spreads to
inhabited areas- those threatened have only survival in
their minds. And many cell phone towers and electric towers are also
non functional. No tv, no cell network, no way to alert fast enough- that was the scenario in Napa and Sonoma last year—this year is far worse as firenadoes rushed at 50 mph plus.
Try out running a speeding car that is travelling that fast/and the occupants
of that car are throwing Molotov cocktails into very dry tinder
Hard to “sound the alarm”
Smoky in Cali

[pdmtong]

Originally Posted by Drmojo

those threatened have only survival in
their minds. And many cell phone towers and electric towers are also
non functional. No tv, no cell network, no way to alert fast enough - that was the scenario in Napa and Sonoma last year—this year is far worse as firenadoes rushed at 50 mph plus.

from every account this sums it up. you get a call, a door knock, hear a siren or smell the smoke and you need to load up and leave. and leave NOW. it's without warning and immediate.

Our friends in Agoura Hills had a bit longer to contemplate what to take - but what are you going to take since it has to fit in or on your car. Yes, hard drive, documents, photos. Now what?

[smead]

Originally Posted by false_Aest

Pacific Coast Highway driving toward Malibu.

Not fun for riding.

Poor baby.

"edit" and just to be clear, the bad smoke some of us are smelling is from charred bodies. C'mon folks, enough about how smoky it is and whaa I can't ride, there will be 100+ dead up here in the camp fire when it's all said and done.

[joosttx]

Originally Posted by smead

Yeah.., for those whining about not being able to ride for a day or two.., c'mon ..

Originally Posted by smead

Poor baby.

Trust me when I write everyone who has posted is aware of the severity of these fires in NorCal and SoCal. No one is bitching about not riding. Locals are posting pictures of the fires and how they are affecting them. It is personal, not sensational. These accounts give perspective to the magnitude to these fires.

The kids at children's school are packing backpacks full of basics for families who have lost everything. People (neighbors) are going around our neighborhood and gathering food and blankets for survivors. We have sent money to the Red Cross. So, ask yourself, by calling people whiners and poor babies is the best way YOU can help others in this horrible situation. And if you need to blow of steam go ride a bike instead of trolling people on the internet.....

Do the right thing.