Wildfire(s) Out West

brianlux said:

Meltdown99 said:

Good luck Brian raking the forest floor out in California...lol

The new California motto:  One Rake at a Time. 

Of course, there is no easy answer to the problem of catastrophic fires here in the west.  Reducing global warming is a big factor and we are moving too slowly on that.  Continued control burning will help.  The other smart thing to do would be to NOT rebuild places like Paradise, California but it looks like people from there want to do that anyway.  That just seems incredibly foolish to me.  With the steep canyons surrounding that area, it will continue to be a high hazard area for fire.  In 2008 a 22,800 acre fires swept through the area.  It will just happen over and over again... and people want to rebuild there? 

Humans.  Not very bright animals. 

Meltdown99 said:

brianlux said:

Meltdown99 said:

Good luck Brian raking the forest floor out in California...lol

The new California motto:  One Rake at a Time. 

Of course, there is no easy answer to the problem of catastrophic fires here in the west.  Reducing global warming is a big factor and we are moving too slowly on that.  Continued control burning will help.  The other smart thing to do would be to NOT rebuild places like Paradise, California but it looks like people from there want to do that anyway.  That just seems incredibly foolish to me.  With the steep canyons surrounding that area, it will continue to be a high hazard area for fire.  In 2008 a 22,800 acre fires swept through the area.  It will just happen over and over again... and people want to rebuild there? 

Humans.  Not very bright animals. 

It would hurt if fewer people moving to California.  Because people need/use vast amounts of resources.

PJ_Soul said:

brianlux said:

PJ_Soul said:

brianlux said:

PJ_Soul said:

brianlux said:

Meltdown99 said:

I thought there is many missing as well.  

PJ_Soul said:

Meltdown99 said:

I thought there is many missing as well.  

Yeah, like 200 or something like that, last I heard.

There will be more deaths discovered, but not all of the couple hundred that are missing.  Some of the house in that area are vacation properties.  In same cases, people where on vacation or away on business.  One woman I talked to today has a sister who was in another state camping in back country and didn't know about the fire until yesterday. 

And now, to make matters worse, the norovirus has broken out in one of the Chico wildfire shelters. 

https://www.abc10.com/article/news/local/paradise/camp-fire-outbreak-of-norovirus-discovered-at-chico-wildfire-shelter/103-614726633

Yeah sure, there are always some people who show up later when communication systems break down. But they are also working hard sifting through the ashes looking for human remains. It's horrible for anyone who doesn't know where a loved one is. I don't know if I could take it.

Yes, it's dreadful.  I don't personally know any of the missing folks from up there, but a few people close to me are going through the anxiety of not knowing where one particular couple are and that worry is causing a lot of stress. A lot of people in the foothill communities are stressed out and even more, of course, going though the worst hell of their lives. 

Despite the bad air and a persistent cough I and others around here have developed, I'm grateful to still have a home.  But we are also very dry here in El Dorado County.  We live in an area with more dead trees and dead shrubbery  than the county and many land/home owners can keep up with as far as removal.  Until we finally get some rain, ever day involves a fair amount of vigilance for fire.  It's nerve wracking.

So I'm sorry if this is crass or whatever, but have you considered how long you're willing to put up with these fires around you? What if it just keeps on happening like it has been indefinitely, and you just live consistently with that kind of air? Are you just going to try and suck it up and live with it? Or are you thinking about moving?

Not taken as crass at all.  I think about moving a lot.  

I grew up on the west coast about 1/2 hour from the ocean.  My mother grew up in Jenner-By-The-Sea on the Sonoma coast.  it's in my blood.  To live anywhere else (I've tried) would be futile.  The problem is that (for me anyway), living on the west coast means one of two things:  being very rich and living in an area that is fairly clean and healthy, or being middle to low income and living in a place that is not so healthy.  Unless I win the lottery (or get killed by lightning- same odds) I guess I'll just have to-- *cough*cough*hack*hack* -- deal with it. 

Edit:  And the irony is, where I live now is getting closer and closer to being 4 hours or more from here as traffic gets worse.  People still flock to California.  Why the hell?  Dunno!

Couldn't you move to Oregon or Washington? There are plenty of smaller towns all up the coast where it's not insanely expensive, no? Especially if you're talking an hour inland or something...

hedonist said:

The So. Cal. burn areas are supposed to be hit with rain in the next day or so...hope these folks can avoid the anticipated mud and rock slides; fuck knows they've gone through (and lost) enough already.

PJ_Soul said:

Thoughts_Arrive said:

Fires raging in Queensland Australia.
Time to rake.

Too late, y'all should have raked last week.