California Fires

[Merle Coggins]

Are any of our California members effected by the wild fires out there? I suppose if they are, they won't have access to a computer to let us know.

For those in the wake of these blazes, I wish you all Godspeed.

Merle

[Guest rockabillybassman]

One of the boards I frequent, the Hamb, has quite a few members who've had to leave houses and cars behind. A terrible thing.

[littleman]

Sitting here in San Diego county, between the wild fire and the ocean. Have had a house full of family and friends that have had to evac east of us, and hopeing that we will remain a safe spot from this fire. We have been alerted that this fire may continue west to the ocean so be ready to leave if told so. Numbers have reached 250,000 of evacs so far.

Problems that have made this so bad is the very high winds that have not been letting up, and seem to get stronger at night, which is opposite than the norm for a Santa Ana. 0 percent humidity. Wind and smoke keeping all fire fighting aircraft grounded.

Winds are to keep up through Wed.

And this too shall past.

AL

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[Mr. Belvedere]

Yep, we lost power three times last night and once this morning, trees and limbs down all over here in Banning. I had my Belvedere parked under one of those little portable garages from harbor freight. The wind made short work of the canopy on it I had to hurry and tear it down all around the car between wind gusts, before the loose ends with there metal eyelets started beating up on my car. I couldn't move the car because I was still in the middle of a brake job. No fires around here thank god, our prayers for those of you who do!

[David Maxwell]

...and while the closest fire is 30 miles away in Santa Ynez, the smoke from several fires has filled the air in all directions. The school I teach at required all students to remain indoors today.

Had no idea the San Diego fire was so bad until a friend called and told me they had been evacuated. Winds were calm here today for the first time since Friday. Hope they were calm in the fire areas as well. It's the Santa Ana winds that make it so hard to fight these fires.

[1just4don]

...trying to fight a fire with 65 mph winds whipping it along. It would run faster than you can.

saw a pic on TV of this guy in a pickup,,,back was full of cats and dogs,,,leading an old NAG,,,and I do mean OLD, down the road with a lead rope tied to the back corner of the pickup. Going PRETTY slow cause this old girl could barely walk!!

[47heaven]

There are no fires near where I am, but the smoke is now settling into the valley and ash is coming down from the Lake Arrowhead fire. The wind blew all the smoke and ash out here this morning and now the winds have subsided, leaving the smoke to just sort of not move and settle. This kind of reminds me of the 2003 fires out here, but the smoke isn't as bad as the smoke was during that time.

[Normspeed]

Like Darin, no fires real close. The past 2 days I've been doing field work in the San Fernando Valley. Glendale and Burbank yesterday, Calabasas and San Fernando today. Today it was spooky, mid afternoon the sky was brown, sun was red, and high winds at the same time. The Malibu fire and the Magic fire that started near magic Mountain were both dumping smoke into the valley.

[billwillard]

I know I don't know what Iam talking about but it seems to me before the fire season some controled burning could be done here and there. That would stop the fire when it got to them or at least make it a lot easer to fight. Rather spend the money preventing then fighting. My simple way of thinking.

Bill

[builtfercomfort]

Controlled burning is often too chancy in SoCal. No safe time of year, since sundown often produces gusty winds. As I understand it they have had just two inches of rain this year. The 'controlled' burns easily get out of hand.

The brush plants there are evolved to burn every 10 or so years (or less) and the Chumash Indians used to burn the nearby hills each year. But a lot of the areas now burning have not burned in 40+ years. Add to that the 60 MPH winds and you get literal firestorms.

Just have to hope for less wind and pray for rain at this point. I've been in Santa Barbara when there is a fire on the hill above and it's disconcerting to know you might have to grab your emergency bag and run at a moment's notice.

--Tom

[Mr. Belvedere]

Those of you back east cannot imagine how unbelievably dry it is here. Complete absence of moisture in the atmosphere. Humidity of barely 4% here in town. Your skin gets dry and itchy, your sinuses get so dried out that you can get a nosebleed just blowing your nose. Everything you touch in the house shocks you because of all the static electricity. I was really saddened to see a little private community up in the mountains my brother and I like to fish on, has been decimated by the fires. Our local mountains have been ravaged by drought, bark beetles, and fires. Pretty soon there will be nothing left to look at or enjoy up there, sad because my kids will never see it the forest the way I saw it growing up. Fewer and fewer places of natural beauty close by left to enjoy.

[TodFitch]

Echo Tom's comment: I lived in Newhall (near Magic Mountain) for 13 years and then in Calabasas for 7 years. Seen a number of big fires including one in 1993 or so that started about 1/4 mile from the house in Calabasas. In addition I have volunteered with the Forest Service for over 20 years in an winter emergency response group and for much of that time our contact was with the fire fighting people with the FS so I have had plenty of conversations about fire with them.

The problems with controlled or "prescription" burns in the LA area are several: One there are too many houses close to the brush zones. If an intentional burn "got away" from them there would be legal and political hell to pay. Two, there are almost no windows of opportunity where the fuel moisture and winds are okay for a controlled burn. Three, if you get the fuel moisture, winds and distance from housing okay, you need permission from the air quality management district.

Given the drought, even if there were no issues with nearby houses and the AQMD people, the fuel moisture won't be high enough to safely start a controlled burn. At least not in the last few years.