Wildfire(s) Out West

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  • mace1229
    mace1229 Posts: 9,833
    brianlux said:
    The Creek Fire, now at 283,274, is now the 6th largest fire on record in California which puts 5 of the 6 largest fires on record in this state as occurring this year alone.  And still no rain on the horizon.

    Aren't they all still burning?
  • GlowGirl
    GlowGirl New York, NY Posts: 12,124
    edited September 2020
    tish said:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qVPNONdF58

    Sending a rain dance your way. Bee girl style.
    1993 seemed like such a simpler time. But it probably wasn't.

  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,664
    tish said:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qVPNONdF58

    Sending a rain dance your way. Bee girl style.

    We'll take it!  Thanks Tish!

    By the way, that's my favorite Melon song.  I have the 7" single b/w "Tone of Home".
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,664
    mace1229 said:
    brianlux said:
    The Creek Fire, now at 283,274, is now the 6th largest fire on record in California which puts 5 of the 6 largest fires on record in this state as occurring this year alone.  And still no rain on the horizon.

    Aren't they all still burning?

    They are, Mace.  The big Bay Area fires are pretty well contained but none at 100% yet.  They will continue to be a threat at the edges and burn or smoulder in the interiors for weeks unless/until we get rain.  The big August Complex is an insanely huge 846,898 acres and is 43% contained, but is mostly in very sparsely populated areas. 

    I think the biggest concern right now is the Bobcat Fire  just northeast of L.A./ Pasadena in Southern Calif. at 109,271 acres with only 17% containment. 

    The other concern is that with no rain in sight, almost any part of the state is at risk of more fires breaking out.  All it takes is a spark, a lightning strike, or some idiot with an incendiary devices at a gender reveal party and here we go again.
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • rhanishane
    rhanishane NSW Australia Posts: 505
    I don't pray but man I prayed for rain during our bushfires. Is actually the only thing that got ours under control and will be the same for you over there. They only had the man power to protect homes if they could and assets like communication towers etc. The forest fires would burn for weeks until they reached houses or communities and towns then they could try and tackle them and only if they had enough trucks, air craft etc. I think we faired pretty well considering the size and ferocity but 1 billion animals lost is devastating and even driving through burnt out areas it makes me sad when I see that any survivers are then killed on the roadways. It has upset and unbalanced the whole ecosystem in such large areas. Although it's regenerating the animals coming back into those areas could be predominantly predatory.
  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,664
    rhanishane said:
    I don't pray but man I prayed for rain during our bushfires. Is actually the only thing that got ours under control and will be the same for you over there. They only had the man power to protect homes if they could and assets like communication towers etc. The forest fires would burn for weeks until they reached houses or communities and towns then they could try and tackle them and only if they had enough trucks, air craft etc. I think we faired pretty well considering the size and ferocity but 1 billion animals lost is devastating and even driving through burnt out areas it makes me sad when I see that any survivers are then killed on the roadways. It has upset and unbalanced the whole ecosystem in such large areas. Although it's regenerating the animals coming back into those areas could be predominantly predatory.

    I honestly don't pray either, rhanishane, not really.  I mean, pretty much from June through September I don't expect rain and if it happens, it is usually brief and unexpected.  When October rolls around, I kind of grovel at mother natures feet and hope she relents.   When there are clouds in the sky, I marvel at them but can almost always tell if they are going to yield rain.  If they look like they are borderline that way, I'm not sure praying helps, but I do urge them on. 

    I should also not that, contrary to popular belief, I do not yell at clouds.  I sometimes yell at something in the sky.  Maybe God?  Maybe The Universe?I'm not sure.  But in any case, no yelling at clouds for me!
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • rhanishane
    rhanishane NSW Australia Posts: 505
    brianlux said:
    rhanishane said:
    I don't pray but man I prayed for rain during our bushfires. Is actually the only thing that got ours under control and will be the same for you over there. They only had the man power to protect homes if they could and assets like communication towers etc. The forest fires would burn for weeks until they reached houses or communities and towns then they could try and tackle them and only if they had enough trucks, air craft etc. I think we faired pretty well considering the size and ferocity but 1 billion animals lost is devastating and even driving through burnt out areas it makes me sad when I see that any survivers are then killed on the roadways. It has upset and unbalanced the whole ecosystem in such large areas. Although it's regenerating the animals coming back into those areas could be predominantly predatory.

    I honestly don't pray either, rhanishane, not really.  I mean, pretty much from June through September I don't expect rain and if it happens, it is usually brief and unexpected.  When October rolls around, I kind of grovel at mother natures feet and hope she relents.   When there are clouds in the sky, I marvel at them but can almost always tell if they are going to yield rain.  If they look like they are borderline that way, I'm not sure praying helps, but I do urge them on. 

    I should also not that, contrary to popular belief, I do not yell at clouds.  I sometimes yell at something in the sky.  Maybe God?  Maybe The Universe?I'm not sure.  But in any case, no yelling at clouds for me!
    Sometimes we just have to bow down to mother nature. Can't say we haven't affected the planet and in turn it's cycles and patterns. I don't want to get into the climate debate but weather patterns will be become more frequent and severe. I have certainly been paying more attention
  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,664
    rhanishane said:
    brianlux said:
    rhanishane said:
    I don't pray but man I prayed for rain during our bushfires. Is actually the only thing that got ours under control and will be the same for you over there. They only had the man power to protect homes if they could and assets like communication towers etc. The forest fires would burn for weeks until they reached houses or communities and towns then they could try and tackle them and only if they had enough trucks, air craft etc. I think we faired pretty well considering the size and ferocity but 1 billion animals lost is devastating and even driving through burnt out areas it makes me sad when I see that any survivers are then killed on the roadways. It has upset and unbalanced the whole ecosystem in such large areas. Although it's regenerating the animals coming back into those areas could be predominantly predatory.

    I honestly don't pray either, rhanishane, not really.  I mean, pretty much from June through September I don't expect rain and if it happens, it is usually brief and unexpected.  When October rolls around, I kind of grovel at mother natures feet and hope she relents.   When there are clouds in the sky, I marvel at them but can almost always tell if they are going to yield rain.  If they look like they are borderline that way, I'm not sure praying helps, but I do urge them on. 

    I should also not that, contrary to popular belief, I do not yell at clouds.  I sometimes yell at something in the sky.  Maybe God?  Maybe The Universe?I'm not sure.  But in any case, no yelling at clouds for me!
    Sometimes we just have to bow down to mother nature. Can't say we haven't affected the planet and in turn it's cycles and patterns. I don't want to get into the climate debate but weather patterns will be become more frequent and severe. I have certainly been paying more attention

    I as well, Rhanishane.  No need for climate debate here.  I don't think anyone here is unaware of what's happening.  I only hope we can slow down our impact somehow.
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,664
    The August Complex wildfire has broken the 1 million acre mark and is still just 54% contained. And of course, others continue to burn throughout the state. Beside all of the loss of life, human and wild, and of property, I can't help but wonder what the long-term health affects of this will be on the millions of us living here in the west. Not good, I'm sure.
    https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2020/8/16/august-complex-includes-doe-fire/

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

  • Zod
    Zod Posts: 10,907
    brianlux said:
    rhanishane said:
    brianlux said:
    rhanishane said:
    I don't pray but man I prayed for rain during our bushfires. Is actually the only thing that got ours under control and will be the same for you over there. They only had the man power to protect homes if they could and assets like communication towers etc. The forest fires would burn for weeks until they reached houses or communities and towns then they could try and tackle them and only if they had enough trucks, air craft etc. I think we faired pretty well considering the size and ferocity but 1 billion animals lost is devastating and even driving through burnt out areas it makes me sad when I see that any survivers are then killed on the roadways. It has upset and unbalanced the whole ecosystem in such large areas. Although it's regenerating the animals coming back into those areas could be predominantly predatory.

    I honestly don't pray either, rhanishane, not really.  I mean, pretty much from June through September I don't expect rain and if it happens, it is usually brief and unexpected.  When October rolls around, I kind of grovel at mother natures feet and hope she relents.   When there are clouds in the sky, I marvel at them but can almost always tell if they are going to yield rain.  If they look like they are borderline that way, I'm not sure praying helps, but I do urge them on. 

    I should also not that, contrary to popular belief, I do not yell at clouds.  I sometimes yell at something in the sky.  Maybe God?  Maybe The Universe?I'm not sure.  But in any case, no yelling at clouds for me!
    Sometimes we just have to bow down to mother nature. Can't say we haven't affected the planet and in turn it's cycles and patterns. I don't want to get into the climate debate but weather patterns will be become more frequent and severe. I have certainly been paying more attention

    I as well, Rhanishane.  No need for climate debate here.  I don't think anyone here is unaware of what's happening.  I only hope we can slow down our impact somehow.
    The part that scared me the most is that during the height of the lockdowns, the media was bragging about how much the lockdowns had reduced global emissions.  20%.   I saw that as bad.   I'm thinking if everyone slowed down, stopped doing stuff, etc..and it only reduced emissions by 20%? ugh.
  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,664
    Zod said:
    brianlux said:
    rhanishane said:
    brianlux said:
    rhanishane said:
    I don't pray but man I prayed for rain during our bushfires. Is actually the only thing that got ours under control and will be the same for you over there. They only had the man power to protect homes if they could and assets like communication towers etc. The forest fires would burn for weeks until they reached houses or communities and towns then they could try and tackle them and only if they had enough trucks, air craft etc. I think we faired pretty well considering the size and ferocity but 1 billion animals lost is devastating and even driving through burnt out areas it makes me sad when I see that any survivers are then killed on the roadways. It has upset and unbalanced the whole ecosystem in such large areas. Although it's regenerating the animals coming back into those areas could be predominantly predatory.

    I honestly don't pray either, rhanishane, not really.  I mean, pretty much from June through September I don't expect rain and if it happens, it is usually brief and unexpected.  When October rolls around, I kind of grovel at mother natures feet and hope she relents.   When there are clouds in the sky, I marvel at them but can almost always tell if they are going to yield rain.  If they look like they are borderline that way, I'm not sure praying helps, but I do urge them on. 

    I should also not that, contrary to popular belief, I do not yell at clouds.  I sometimes yell at something in the sky.  Maybe God?  Maybe The Universe?I'm not sure.  But in any case, no yelling at clouds for me!
    Sometimes we just have to bow down to mother nature. Can't say we haven't affected the planet and in turn it's cycles and patterns. I don't want to get into the climate debate but weather patterns will be become more frequent and severe. I have certainly been paying more attention

    I as well, Rhanishane.  No need for climate debate here.  I don't think anyone here is unaware of what's happening.  I only hope we can slow down our impact somehow.
    The part that scared me the most is that during the height of the lockdowns, the media was bragging about how much the lockdowns had reduced global emissions.  20%.   I saw that as bad.   I'm thinking if everyone slowed down, stopped doing stuff, etc..and it only reduced emissions by 20%? ugh.
    Good point, Zod.   I did hear that a lot of places experienced noticeably cleaner air and water and our air quality here in late March and much of April, but it didn't last long and it probably wasn't improved everywhere. 

    Sadly, I'm sure the fires here in the west are more than making up what was gained in those weeks.  And when we look at how bad the fires are here in California and, in some ways even more shocking how bad they have been in Oregon, both are unprecedented and I have heard of no other reason for them than climate change. 

    I was talking about this with a close relative this evening.  She's a retired historian for the Forest Service and she has no other explanation for these catastrophic fires other than climate change.

    Ironically, we have a president who doesn't understand what's going on with climate, and these days with all the focus on him and his shenanigans, much of the red flag mother nature is frantically waving at us is being overlooked. 

    It seems likely that in the not too distant future, climate and environmental issues will be far more predominant in people concerns than just about anything else (besides surviving themselves) unless the political concerns of today change fast.  Really, the concern for climate and environment should already be way more widespread.  We're ignoring an avalanche that starting to build momentum.  At a certain point, it becomes to late to outrun an avalanche. 

    In this state, it's an avalanche made of embers.
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • mickeyrat
    mickeyrat Posts: 44,543
     Alarmed by Scope of Wildfires, Officials Turn to Native Americans for Help https://nyti.ms/2SAVLwK

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  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,664
    mickeyrat said:
     Alarmed by Scope of Wildfires, Officials Turn to Native Americans for Help https://nyti.ms/2SAVLwK


    I have mixed feeling about this article.  I totally agree that 100, 200, 500 etc, years ago, Native Americans did burning to keep vegetation down, create healthier forests, and flush out game, and that doing so kept the forests healthy.  No doubt about that.  But if you brought an indigenous person from a few hundred years ago and showed them the lady who is burning piles of leaves in her yrad, I'm guessing they would laugh.  That is not prescribed burning.  That is burning piles of leaves. 

    A better idea for dealing with leaves raked up in a yard is to use them in a compost bin.  Dried matter such as leaves provide high amounts of carbon and is essential for good compost.  Also, burning leaves creates a lot of smoke.  In today's world, when every other household burns leaves (like they do here) we're left breathing smokey air for days. Prescribed burning is a whole other story and involves reducing the fire ladder in larger areas than someone's back yard.

    (I'm writing here from a western American perspective.  What I say may not pertain to the east coast.  I honestly don't know.)
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • mickeyrat
    mickeyrat Posts: 44,543
    Pa does controlled burns regularly.....
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    Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
    you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
    memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
    another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,664
    mickeyrat said:
    Pa does controlled burns regularly.....

    We've been doing as much as old bones are able to.  We weed whack in late spring.  During cooler months, we trim bushes and trees so nothing is close to the ground.  Once the piles of branches are dried, we wait for damp months and build small burn piles which we feed a little bit at a time into to keep the smoke down.  Very effective and clean but, dang!, a lot of work for old bones!
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • rhanishane
    rhanishane NSW Australia Posts: 505
    hows it going over there in the west coast US? 
    NSW Australia looking hot again 🔥🙄
    43 degrees Celsius today and windy. Smells like bushfire smoke here yet again.. finally the southerly wind has hit with a few lightning storms so it's sparked a few new fires and cooled it down, my brain feels cooked!
  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,664
    rhanishane said:
    hows it going over there in the west coast US? 
    NSW Australia looking hot again 🔥🙄
    43 degrees Celsius today and windy. Smells like bushfire smoke here yet again.. finally the southerly wind has hit with a few lightning storms so it's sparked a few new fires and cooled it down, my brain feels cooked!

    I'm so sorry to hear things are heating up out your way again.  I hope your fire season is not as bad as last year. 

    We are pretty much out of fire season here in the U.S. west but my concerns now are for drought.  We finally got some decent rain a few weeks ago but it didn't last long and the outlook for the next 10 days is looking very dry and the Sierra snow pack is lower than average right now.   But it is early in the season so I'm going to try not to worry too much.  Besides which, worry never helped anything!
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,664
    edited August 2021
    The latest on the wildfires out west is not good news.   Last season was unbelievable bad.  This year is looking worse so I don't know what that makes it. 
    One the big concerns beside the fires themselves is air quality.  Here's a screen grab a friend took that gives you an idea of just how bad.  Green is relatively clean air (there is no such thing as true clean air anymore).  Yellow is still not too bad.  Orange is moving into the unhealthy zone.  Red is definitely bad air and purple is extremely bad air and dark purple is massively bad air..  As you can see, the swath of purple air is huge- over 200 miles long, many miles wide.
    IMG

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

  • Zod
    Zod Posts: 10,907
    We're doing fairly well for air quality here on Vancouver Island.  The winds seem more favourable this year (blowing the smoke inland, instead of south to north, or east to west).   We had a little smoke the past few days, but nothing like last year.   Smokes gone again, so I'm feeling lucky.

    Downside is because we're one of the few places without much smoke, it's been a tourist hotbed to come over here :(
  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,664
    Zod said:
    We're doing fairly well for air quality here on Vancouver Island.  The winds seem more favourable this year (blowing the smoke inland, instead of south to north, or east to west).   We had a little smoke the past few days, but nothing like last year.   Smokes gone again, so I'm feeling lucky.

    Downside is because we're one of the few places without much smoke, it's been a tourist hotbed to come over here :(

    I can believe it. I used to live across the water in the Sequim/ Port Angeles area.  Victoria is such a marvelous place to visit.  And it's the home of Murchies Tea- the best!
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

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