Wildfire(s) Out West

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  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,664
    unsung said:




    I am on the UC Davis campus just a few minutes ago and witnessed a passenger in this vehicle toss out a still smoking cigarette butt.

    If you can't get Californians to care about wildfires...
    That's almost funny considering Davis is known as a progressive town in these parts (I'm near Placerville, about 75 minutes up the hill.) 

    But seriously, the typical Californian, in fact the vast majority of Californian's, are very concerned about fire.  Besides, you're in a college town, who knows where that idiot is from.  Looks like they could use a smog check as well.

    My wife's business partner was looking out the window onto Main Street one time and watched a guy stuck in traffic toss his smoke out the window.  She ran out, stomped it out, picked it up and handed it to the guy and said, "Here, I think you lost this."

    There are idiots everywhere.  Not sure why you would suggest an idiot here or there means Californian's don't care about fire.  Really?  Come on man...
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • unsung
    unsung I stopped by on March 7 2024. First time in many years, had to update payment info. Hope all is well. Politicians suck. Bye. Posts: 9,487
    Clearly that is not what I was implying.

    I was going to stop in Placerville to get a pic of the guy hanging from the building but I’m well past it now.  Small world. 
  • oftenreading
    oftenreading Victoria, BC Posts: 12,856
    I saw this article a few days ago in my local paper. Yes, there are idiots everywhere. This guy was unlucky enough to be an idiot in front of the police chief.

    https://www.timescolonist.com/news/local/sorry-butt-driver-s-tossed-cigarette-lands-near-police-chief-1.23424048
    my small self... like a book amongst the many on a shelf
  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,664
    unsung said:
    Clearly that is not what I was implying.

    I was going to stop in Placerville to get a pic of the guy hanging from the building but I’m well past it now.  Small world. 
    "If you can't get Californians to care about wildfires..."  How else should I interpret this?

    The hanged man is my friend, Fred.  Almost every day that I've work, as I past Fred, many a tourist have heard me say to Fred, "Some day you will be free, Hanged Man."   I am ashamed of this town for this public display of cruel punishment.  Placerville is called by many "Hang Town".  My step daughter came up with a much more appropriate and appealing slogan:  "Placerville, The Heart of Gold Country". 

    Here's my buddy, Fred:


    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,664
    edited November 2018
    A devastating fire called the Camp Fire is raging through Paradise and Magalia California (about 2 1/2 hours north of us- we are safe- and 1/2 hour east of Chico).  Both towns may be mostly lost.  We have family in the area we have not heard from yet.  This is a bad one.


    Post edited by brianlux on
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • Lizard
    Lizard So Cal Posts: 12,091
    it IS a terrible one... I really hope your family is ok, Brian.
    take care.
    And now 2 fires in Ventura County.
    So I'll just lie down and wait for the dream
    Where I'm not ugly and you're lookin' at me
  • camsjam
    camsjam Posts: 375
    Yikes!  Hope family and you are safe too. So many bad fires. 
  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,664
    Thanks Lizard, camsjam.  Still no word but old folks loose their cell phones so no news might be good news.  I've spent time in these towns and find it hard to wrap my head around the idea that they might be mostly burned to the ground.  I hope folks are getting out. 
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,664
    The 10 o'clock new people said the whole town of Paradise (population around 27,000) has burned to the ground* and it's moving toward Chico- the University town where I graduation from Calif. State Univ. Chico (population 93,000). 

    *Too early to tell if this is 100% true.  They said the same about Weed, California a few years ago and it was not really the whole town.  But I think Paradise may indeed be gone.
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,664
    Just got word the family on C's side have evacuated.  Thank goodness.  I hope the same for everyone there.
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • Meltdown99
    Meltdown99 None Of Your Business... Posts: 10,739
    brianlux said:
    The 10 o'clock new people said the whole town of Paradise (population around 27,000) has burned to the ground* and it's moving toward Chico- the University town where I graduation from Calif. State Univ. Chico (population 93,000). 

    *Too early to tell if this is 100% true.  They said the same about Weed, California a few years ago and it was not really the whole town.  But I think Paradise may indeed be gone.
    According to accuweather that town is gone...
    Give Peas A Chance…
  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,664
    Paradise is a complete loss.    No data on the death toll yet.  It's hard to imagine this town where we know people, where we've visited numerous times, the whole town burned- homes, schools, businesses, city hall, all gone.  

    The fire increased from 20,000 acres last night to 70,000 this morning with only 5% containment.

    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • RunIntoTheRain
    RunIntoTheRain Texas Posts: 1,032
    My mother lives in Thousand Oaks. She evacuated last night. Left her cell phone at home accidently. I spent some anxious hours wondering about her safety, but she finally called a couple of hours ago from the cell phone of the neighbors she evacuated with. They were in Woodland Hills sitting in the car in a parking lot. Safe. Cannot of course go home yet. It’s pure chaos in the area. All of Malibu now evacuating too. 


  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,664
    RunIntoTheRain said:
    My mother lives in Thousand Oaks. She evacuated last night. Left her cell phone at home accidently. I spent some anxious hours wondering about her safety, but she finally called a couple of hours ago from the cell phone of the neighbors she evacuated with. They were in Woodland Hills sitting in the car in a parking lot. Safe. Cannot of course go home yet. It’s pure chaos in the area. All of Malibu now evacuating too. 


    I'm glad your mother got out safely.  We had the same worries with my step-daughters grandparents until we finally heard from them.

    Three major fires now wrecking havoc in California, Camp Fire, Hill Fire and Woolsey Fire:


    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • Meltdown99
    Meltdown99 None Of Your Business... Posts: 10,739
    I was just on another forum and guy from the bay area said its smokey there as well?  Does that seem right?
    Give Peas A Chance…
  • Meltdown99
    Meltdown99 None Of Your Business... Posts: 10,739
    The last time I was in California, I was very disappointed.  I have been to California 5 or 6 times, all about the same time of year, it just seems like the traffic and congestion gets worse with each visit...and of course, it was smokey.
    Give Peas A Chance…
  • Bentleyspop
    Bentleyspop Craft Beer Brewery, Colorado Posts: 11,452
    Meltdown99 said:
    I was just on another forum and guy from the bay area said its smokey there as well?  Does that seem right?
    Yes
    The wind carry the  smoke a long way
  • Bentleyspop
    Bentleyspop Craft Beer Brewery, Colorado Posts: 11,452

  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,664
    Meltdown99 said:
    I was just on another forum and guy from the bay area said its smokey there as well?  Does that seem right?
    Absolutely!  Check out the San Francisco before and after Camp Fire smoke photos on this page:


    We are 2 1/2 hours south of the fire and from our house today, I've been able to smell the smoke off and on and the sky to the west is very hazy.  From one of the roads leading up to our neighborhood this morning I could see this massive, ominous cloud of smoke out over the Sacramento Valley area.  A friend in Sonoma County is reporting very bad air there.  Much of the west coast from Southern California up through British Columbia is (and will continue to in coming years) experiencing unhealthy air quality due to wildfires. 

    There are probably going to be some widespread ramifications of all this fire and destruction.  California is the 5th largest economy in the world and these massive widespread fires have a huge cost in terms of loss of human life, loss of wildlife, loss of structures and infrastructure. 

    I was born in California and I love much about this state, but it has been loved to death.  Climate change, over-population, loss of habitat, depletion of  aquifers, over-building, 100 years of fire suppression allowing fuels to build up massively, air pollution, increased violence.  California is becoming an archetype for the many problems besetting our planet. 

    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • oftenreading
    oftenreading Victoria, BC Posts: 12,856
    I am flying out to San Francisco tonight to visit family. I have no idea how this is going to go. Up until today I was really excited; now I’m just tense about it. We dealt with smoke for weeks this summer and my lungs don’t want to go back to that.  What's happening across the state is terribly sad and frightening. 
    my small self... like a book amongst the many on a shelf
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