Wildfire(s) Out West

PJ_Soul said:

rgambs said:

It's a bummer.
Our efforts at preventing forest fires only make them worse and more destructive.
The Ponderosa pine forests of western NA are ecosystems which function properly and best when fires sweep through every 5 to 25 years, preventing a litter build up on the forest floor which prevents fires hot enough to burn through the thick, fire resistant bark.
Add bark beetles and drought and you have a real problem for human inhabitants.

It's getting to the point that soon the interior of the continent will be the only safely habitable region.
I wouldn't move to the coast because of the storms and I wouldn't move out west because there's no water.
Soon the populations that inhabit those regions are going to have to decide to move inland, otherwise they will lose all they have.  Multiple times over in many cases.
It's a bummer.

There aren't any issues on the west coast re storms. I consider the southwest coast (northwest to you) the most habitable region on the continent, and it will be for the longest time. Plenty of water up there, and if you actually stick to the coast, wildfires aren't generally a problem. Obviously Southern California is fucked, but there is a lot more west coast than that. The interior it going to dry up and likely become desert, so that's no good. If anyone asked where it's best to settle for the long term right now, I would definitely recommend the Pacific northwest, BC coast, or Alaska (except for the fact that I don't want swarms of people migrating here, lol). I'm starting to think my best move when I retire is to move even farther north up the coast, like closer to Alaska. It will still be wet and cool up there for a while yet.

Pretty much any place on earth is potentially subject to natural occurrences (I used the term "natural disaster" when talking to a friend many years ago and he argued, convincingly, that there is no such thing as a natural disaster, only natural occurrences that can have disastrous affects on humans. My friend A.B. is partially responsible for me been a skeptic, haha!)  Looked at from a science/nature perspective, they are quite fascinating!

Yes, much of California (more than is already) will become a desert.

The northwest (southwest to you ) is beautiful and I really enjoyed living on the Olympic Peninsula from about '89 to '93 but it does have some serious risk issues, mainly earthquakes and volcanoes and possible radiation from Japan. 

I don't worry much about earthquakes and I've lived in a few places (S.F., other parts of the Bay area, parts of state of Washington) for several years close to some of the biggest earthquake faults around.  They come on quickly and then they're done.  You're either toast or you're not (yes, a bit exaggeratedly understated).  The worst thing about them for me is I get vertigo/dizziness easily and so earthquakes make me want to puke.  But then it's over.  I've also read up on ways to increase your odds of survival-- if under an overpass, crouch down beside your car rather than stay in it, don't stand near tall building with glass, contrary to popular belief, don't stand in a doorway, etc.

The northwest (much of the west coast in fact) is in potential danger of increased radiation from Fukushima's Daiichi and other Japanese nuclear power plants if another large quake hits there. (Some radiation from the 2011 quake has already  been measured.)

Volcanoes on the other hand-- that's a real concern for the greater Seattle area and other places along the Sierra Nevada and Cascade Ranges.  See here:

http://geology.com/usgs/rainier/

PJ_Soul said:

Hahaha, well, yeah, earthquakes could be an issue... but we've gotta stop being scared at some point, and I figure it ought to be when weather isn't a potential semi-regular threat to self or property (hurricanes, flooding, and drought alike). Horrendous earthquakes and volcanic eruptions (both also threats in the northwest, yes, not to mention the Yellowstone Caldera, which will fuck us all, and which I think is a much more imminent threat than authorities are letting on because they want to prevent panic), and residual radiation from Japan are just too rare to worry about IMO. Once you're paranoid about that, it may be time to crawl into a cave and roll over and die anyhow, so it doesn't matter either way!

Exactly!  Sure, it's normal to be concerned about natural occurrences that could affect our lives, especially with some common-sense basic preparedness, but all the worry in the world will not stop a volcano or an earthquake.  Dig the science, marvel at Mother Nature!

The other things like anthropogenic climate change (which is probably driving these super storms), loss of species habitat due to encroaching development, "cetaceacide" (term recently coined by Paul Watson), human caused massive wildfires, etc, those are things I think are worthy of our attention.

California beautiful wine country is burning.   They're calling this cluster of fires "unprecedented".  I can pretty much vouch for that going back to when my maternal grandparents move to that area in the late 1800's.  It's bad.  A paradise crippled.  It's heartbreaking. 

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/2-big-wildfires-prompt-evacuations-in-Napa-County-12262945.php

"A swarm of fires supercharged by powerful winds ripped through Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino counties Monday, killing at least 10 people, injuring dozens of others, destroying more than 1,500 homes and businesses, and turning prominent wineries to ash.

Starting in the middle of the night, the fires hopscotched across neighborhoods, raced across fields and jumped freeways. Wind gusts up to 70 mph pushed walls of flames nearly 100 feet high, throwing embers ahead like hot fingers into strip malls and subdivisions. Many people who fled the surge had enough time to grab car keys, perhaps a pet, but not much more.

And some didn’t get out. Sonoma County sheriff’s officials said seven people had died in that county. Two people died in a blaze in Napa, state fire officials said. A 10th person was killed in Mendocino County.

Facing one of the most damaging series of blazes in modern California history — fires that left thousands of evacuees in scores of emergency shelters and parts of the wine industry potentially crippled — Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency for Napa and Sonoma counties as well as fire-struck Yuba County."

I think we all knew to expect a tough fire season after all of the rain we had last winter. Still, it's hard to see this happening. It sounds like Stag's Leap and several prominent wineries were hit hard. And so much loss of life already -- terrible.

I still can't believe a teenager started the Eagle Creek fire. I made two trips to that area last year, those trails go through some of the most beautiful land I've ever seen, just unbelievably lush. The idea that someone would be so careless and thoughtless is hard to comprehend.

Despite being classified as a wild-land fire, this one has hit a lot more including many homes, a whole neighborhood, a Hilton Hotel, famous vineyards/wineries, a high school and several businesses.

Before:


After:

brianlux said:

Annafalk said:

This is so horrible. Could there be done more prevention work, I don’t know. Climate changes says to be one of the reasons.

Undoubtedly. 

Another factor is 100 years of suppressing natural small fires the keep down underbrush thus reducing the "fire ladder" (a problem all over the west).

I once read that when the US was first settled, a fire would burn from OK all the way to Canada every couple of years.  Unfathomable... 

PJPOWER said:

brianlux said:

Annafalk said:

This is so horrible. Could there be done more prevention work, I don’t know. Climate changes says to be one of the reasons.

Undoubtedly. 

Another factor is 100 years of suppressing natural small fires the keep down underbrush thus reducing the "fire ladder" (a problem all over the west).

I once read that when the US was first settled, a fire would burn from OK all the way to Canada every couple of years.  Unfathomable... 

Wow!  I don't know much about mid-west grass land fires.  I know some native tribes used fire to heard buffalo.  Here in the west back before aggressive wild-land fire suppression started to occur, natural lightning-strike fires would regularly clear away low lying brush and thin out weaker trees and saplings.  Fire was a good and natural p[art of the ecological cycles.  In fact, redwoods and mazanita need fire to propagate.  Humans have yet again created a dire situation with our foolish intervention in Mother Natures wise design.

Lizard said:

This is incredibly horrible....i cannot believe the devastation in Nor Cal going on.  And the one burning here in So California is incredibly destructive as well but thankfully no lives lost.

Yeah, I heard things are bad in places down your way.  Be safe!

The fire we viewed yesterday in it's early stages is the Table Fire.  A CalFire dude I know said our resources and manpower are spread so thin right now that only a fraction of the force that would be sent to fight it could be gathered.  El Dorado National Forest is huge and tinder dry so I'm a bit nervous about this one (but not for my own safety). 

Our neighborhood is semi rural and quite dry so we keep a close watch.  I will be SO GLAD when the rains come. 

I woke up early to really bad smoke in the air.  Left a window open a little- bad idea.  It looks like dense fog out but it's all smoke.  Gonna be a rough day.

Stay safe man