California wildfires

[wavinwayne]

To our BITOGers in California, what is your proximity to the wildfires? If close enough, please give us a report. Everything OK from where you are?

I read online that many homes near Sacramento were destroyed by fire over the weekend. Doesn't "The Critic" live in Sacramento? Maybe he can give us a first hand account.

 

[HTSS_TR]

I live about 40-50 miles south of LA, we are okay. Most the fires are north of LA and northern CA.

One of the reason we have so many fires this year is it's so hot for last 5-6 days and the next few days, highs of the day was/is in triple digits in most area but coastal communities and very low humidity. The last time we had any rain was in March/April, everything is so dry that is become the fuel for the fires.

 

[The Critic]

There were a few homes destroyed near Auburn, CA, which is about an hour east of me.

The other fires are in the southern half of the state.

Thanks for asking.

 

[Drew99GT]

I wonder - many other places in the country have just as dry, if not drier landscapes with lots and lots foliage to fuel fires, and they do not on a repeated basis, end up as infernos.

I wonder how many California wildfires are from arson. I suspect many, if not most of them!

 

[wavinwayne]

Originally Posted By: Drew99GT
I wonder - many other places in the country have just as dry, if not drier landscapes with lots and lots foliage to fuel fires, and they do not on a repeated basis, end up as infernos.

I wonder how many California wildfires are from arson. I suspect many, if not most of them!


Doesn't the wind tend to blow non-stop in the coastal areas of CA.? That could be one reason the fires there tend to rage out of control, more so than fires elsewhere. just guessing..

 

[tom slick]

Quite a few of our fires are man-made, either on purpose or not. The Lockheed fire started in a campground, another fire burning right now was started by a car accident. The fires in Santa Barbara in the past year were also man-made.
Calif. has a lot of Chaparral ecosystems that have about a natural 30 burn cycle. In the past we've tried to control that and it builds more fuel which compounds the issue. Add in triple digit weather for about 2 months and the fact that we get zero rain between April and October and we've made some good tender.

It is breezy at the coast but I wouldn't call it non-stop wind. Higher elevations have more wind as does the desert regions.

 

[bdcardinal]

we had our fire earlier in the year. my best friend lost his house. ive been waiting to wash the volvo for a while due to the fires.

 

[mechtech2]

tom slick - You sound informed. What is a 'natural 30 burn cycle'?

 

[BuickGN]

A month ago, my TL had ashes all over it and I'm in Bakersfield. It happened with the SB fires too. I was coming back from the coast a couple weekends ago and took the 166 at night just to see the fires in the distance.

 

[tom slick]

Originally Posted By: mechtech2
tom slick - You sound informed. What is a 'natural 30 burn cycle'?


It's a typo that should read "natural 30 year burn cycle".

Paying attention in Natural History (biology) class pays off when you have a great instructor. We discussed fire and the environment in depth and it's fascinating how it's part of the lifecycle for species' survival. It's very pertinent when they are a "normal" part of life in the west.

 

[ramblar]

how are yall now?

 

[tom slick]

Los Angeles and Yosemite are still burning pretty bad.

Yosemite was a "control burn" that got out of control.
There is now a $100,000 reward for turning in whomever started the fire near LA.