West Coast under a layer of smoke

[navane]

Originally Posted by AZTheta

Everything burned to the ground, nothing but ashes. Strangely enough, the white picket fence in front of one friend's home didn't burn. Incongruous. Painful to look at the photos.

I'm a professional firefighter and I attend to these wildfires every season. I have to tell you, there is seemingly no rhyme or reason how some things get burnt and some don't. Sure, people who have cleared defensible space around their homes greatly increase their chances of keeping their properties. Some building construction types also fare better than others (eg. stucco siding and tile roofs vs shake shingle roof). Though, beyond those factors, the fire just does what it does.


I hope these photos won't be upsetting to you. Here's an example of what I mean -- I took these pictures at the Carr Fire in Redding, CA in 2018. The fire tore through a neighborhood and burned down a bunch of homes. This home actually made the news and the homeowner gave on-camera interviews; so, I don't think he would mind me sharing the pictures. We were patrolling the burned out neighborhood and looking for any hot spots to put out. This man's house was destroyed, as was his neighbor's; but, look at this red patio awing. And that's a cloth cover, mind you. It wasn't burned! We were amazed and thought, "Where did he buy it?!" Like, whole house is down except the patio cover and cushions?! FYI, that white thing in the background that looks like a telephone booth is their shower stall. The fire took out a tile bathroom; but, not a red awing a few feet away.

[thetalady]

and all the more horrific to know that people are intentionally setting these fires and destroying thousands of acres, wildlife and people's lives. Gavin Newsome wants to blame climate change.

Four Arrested for Starting Wildfires

[NinjaPoodle]

Originally Posted by navane

I'm a professional firefighter and I attend to these wildfires every season. I have to tell you, there is seemingly no rhyme or reason how some things get burnt and some don't. Sure, people who have cleared defensible space around their homes greatly increase their chances of keeping their properties. Some building construction types also fare better than others (eg. stucco siding and tile roofs vs shake shingle roof). Though, beyond those factors, the fire just does what it does.


I hope these photos won't be upsetting to you. Here's an example of what I mean -- I took these pictures at the Carr Fire in Redding, CA in 2018. The fire tore through a neighborhood and burned down a bunch of homes. This home actually made the news and the homeowner gave on-camera interviews; so, I don't think he would mind me sharing the pictures. We were patrolling the burned out neighborhood and looking for any hot spots to put out. This man's house was destroyed, as was his neighbor's; but, look at this red patio awing. And that's a cloth cover, mind you. It wasn't burned! We were amazed and thought, "Where did he buy it?!" Like, whole house is down except the patio cover and cushions?! FYI, that white thing in the background that looks like a telephone booth is their shower stall. The fire took out a tile bathroom; but, not a red awing a few feet away.

Thank you for sharing the images, thank you for your service and please stay safe.

[AnchorAlum]

Originally Posted by thetalady

and all the more horrific to know that people are intentionally setting these fires and destroying thousands of acres, wildlife and people's lives. Gavin Newsome wants to blame climate change.

Four Arrested for Starting Wildfires

Thank you for your post. FTR it is horrific and I hope those arrested will receive heavy prison sentences.
If I could wave a magic wand, I'd send Cali some of the excess rainfall we're getting every day here in Florida.

[Kevin]

Navane, maybe you can help some of us (me) sort through the bullshit in the media. Are these fires caused by poor forest management, warmer climate, or what? What's the story there?

Are these things normal or is this worse than normal?

[Iota_JWH]

Originally Posted by Kevin

Navane, maybe you can help some of us (me) sort through the bullshit in the media. Are these fires caused by poor forest management, warmer climate, or what? What's the story there?

Are these things normal or is this worse than normal?

I have lived in SF area for most of the last 30 years. The fires start from a variety of sources, most of the ones from August were started by lightning, one was from some yahoo using explosives for a gender reveal party. Many get started by carelessness. The big issue is how FAST they spread. They spread with alarming speed due to how dry all the trees are. CA has two seasons, the rainy season is usually from Nov thru March. Some years that gets extended into early June. Many years the rain stops in January. So by October things are pretty dry. Also, the winds shift to come from the east, so the humidity drops and the winds fan the flames.

Yes, things have gotten worse. the records show warmer temps, and less rain. THIS IS CLIMATE CHANGE. Forest Management has zip to do with it. I would suggest looking at some SCIENTIFIC sources, like SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN.

[navane]

Originally Posted by Kevin

Navane, maybe you can help some of us (me) sort through the bullshit in the media. Are these fires caused by poor forest management, warmer climate, or what? What's the story there?

Are these things normal or is this worse than normal?

Hi Kevin,

The fires can be "caused" by many things (arson, lightening, car accident, etc). The question is, what seems to be making them so huge and difficult to control?

The answer is all of the above.

-- The climate appears to be getting warmer. Sure.

-- Forest management is an issue. We're not logging like we used to due to environmental restrictions. We're not doing prescribed (preventative) burns like we used to due to environmental restrictions. We're not managing the forest like we used to due to environmental restrictions. Forest management absolutely would be beneficial.

-- Another issue are weather patterns. In recent years here out west, I've noticed that we've been hit with massive rains in the winter and spring. People rejoice thinking that we're going to have lush, green forest for the summer. What happens instead is allllllll of that water causes big vegetation growth, which promptly dries out and catches fire.

-- Other factors contribute, such as bark beetles. Bark beetles infest trees and kill them. For example, I went to the Cedar Fire in Kern County, CA in 2016. The whole area was rife with bark beetles. Many trees were brown and dead, which didn't help matters.

-- Wildland Urban Interface. In California, we've run out of space for people to live in town and so the cities keep sprawling outward into more rural areas. These neighborhoods interface with wildland areas and that poses a fire risk for homes and businesses. In a way, the loss of structures makes some fires seem worse.

It's not just one thing - it's a number of things combined.

[TLLK]

Originally Posted by navane

Hi Kevin,

The fires can be "caused" by many things (arson, lightening, car accident, etc). The question is, what seems to be making them so huge and difficult to control?

The answer is all of the above.

-- The climate appears to be getting warmer. Sure.

-- Forest management is an issue. We're not logging like we used to due to environmental restrictions. We're not doing prescribed (preventative) burns like we used to due to environmental restrictions. We're not managing the forest like we used to due to environmental restrictions. Forest management absolutely would be beneficial.

-- Another issue are weather patterns. In recent years here out west, I've noticed that we've been hit with massive rains in the winter and spring. People rejoice thinking that we're going to have lush, green forest for the summer. What happens instead is allllllll of that water causes big vegetation growth, which promptly dries out and catches fire.

-- Other factors contribute, such as bark beetles. Bark beetles infest trees and kill them. For example, I went to the Cedar Fire in Kern County, CA in 2016. The whole area was rife with bark beetles. Many trees were brown and dead, which didn't help matters.

-- Wildland Urban Interface. In California, we've run out of space for people to live in town and so the cities keep sprawling outward into more rural areas. These neighborhoods interface with wildland areas and that poses a fire risk for homes and businesses. In a way, the loss of structures makes some fires seem worse.

It's not just one thing - it's a number of things combined.

navane-Thank you for sharing your perspective based upon your years of experience in regards to the issue of the ongoing CA wildfires.