Wildfire Watch/ Drought Watch

PJ_Soul said:

brianlux said:

Not to diminish the importance of honey bees to our current means of existence, but I think it is worth noting that honey bees are not native to north America and that indigenous people got along just fine without them.

I never thought that this problem was limited to honey bees. I think it's various species of bees that are also disappearing. There are bees that are native to north America. We do need them so that they can pollinate. I never even considered honey bees specifically. Honey bees specifically aren't even capable of pollinating many plants that bees native to north America can pollinate.

Your post made me curious, PJ_Soul. I didn't know wild bees are disappearing as well so I looked on line and found this:

http://science.time.com/2013/08/09/the-trouble-with-beekeeping-in-the-anthropocene/

Part of the article linked here says this:

The reality is that honeybees are very useful to human beings, and species that are very useful to us—think domesticated animals and pets—tend to do OK in the increasingly human-dominated world we call the Anthropocene. But other wild species aren’t so lucky—and that includes the thousands of species of wild bees and other non-domesticated pollinators. Bumblebees have experienced recent and rapid population loss in the U.S., punctuated by a mass pesticide poisoning in Oregon this past June that led to the deaths of some 50,000 bumblebees. A 2006 report by the National Academies of Science concluded that the populations of many other wild pollinators—especially wild bees—was trending “demonstrably downward.” The threats are much the same ones faced by managed honeybees: pesticides, lack of wild forage, parasites and disease. The difference is that there are thousands of human beings who make it their business to care for and prop up the populations of honeybees. No one is doing the same thing for wild bees.

Not good! :-(

It's starting to feel like Apocalypse California around here. A large portion of one my favorite little towns in Northern California, Weed -yes, that aptly named little hippie town up near the CA, OR border- has burned. Details here:

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/western-wildfires/california-wildfire-ravages-small-town-weed-n204631

Meanwhile, our local fire, the King Fire, has jumped to 11,570 acres with only 5% containment. I spoke briefly with a fire crew member just coming on duty this afternoon and he described this fire as "crazy", and "abnormal" and "wildly out of control". Not good news here in the Sierra foothills.

Last-12-Exit said:

I've seen that there is some major flooding out west. Even in cali. Is that helping any?

No, not yet. I've got relatives in Mesa, AZ that are fighting flooding. Tuscon got ten inches in one day= more than they usually see in a year. Here in our area we're still bone dry. There is a slight chance of some rain tomorrow (which of course would help big-time) but there's an equal chance of thunder and lightening, which could mean more fire by lighting-strikes.

Got some pictures from my honey and step daughter who are in the The Aleutian Islands chain (something they've been saving for and dreaming of for many years). It looks so beautiful there- a little rain, then clearing, a little fog, then sun. I'm kinda keeping the news here low-key. No use spoiling a good time.

I think I just shit bricks. The latest update says the King fire has jumped from 12,500 acres this morning to 27,930 this evening and still only 5% containment. This monster is out of control. People still talk about the devastation of the 1992 Cleveland fire up here and this beast is making that one look like a camp fire. We're not in any danger at our place but, shit, this thing is wild and raging. We know several people who have had to evacuate. The intense heat from the fire is creating what are called pyrocumulous clouds- massive billowing motherfuckers of clouds that tower high into the atmosphere over the fire and smoke, towering, ominous piles of white, fuming clouds over dense grey smoke.

Amazingly, even though 1600 (some sources are saying over 2,000) homes are in danger, there have been no structures lost yet. That's lot of people displaces and many of these properties hold livestock, horses and other animals and some have had to be left due to rapid evacuation. Also, major sources of county infrastructure (water and power) are threatened. And of course the devastation to wildlife and trees is huge. Crazy shit going down in these parts.

hedonist said:

Wow. If true, what a sick fuck.

latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-arson-arrest-king-fire-northern-california-20140918-story.html

Definitely! It blows my mind some of the sick things some people do.
The other thing that drives me up the wall is people spreading rumors. There was a rumor going on around town today in Placerville that the fire was started by- get a load of this shit- Green Peace!! Unfuckingbelievable that people would believe this in the first place or that they would hear this and go around saying it like it was true before looking into it. I really hate it when people spread malicious gossip like this.