Firestorm - again - in Southern California

[ConspiRaider]

Happening now in Montecito, ritzy area near Santa Barbara (which is itself rather ritzy). Several dozen homes already destroyed.

It's those winds, those hot and fast Santa Ana winds from the North / Northeast. Currently about 50 miles per hour, higher gusts.

No word yet if there are casualties.

[Seren_]

Is God angry about Prop 8 ?

[PhantomWolf]

Is God angry about Prop 8 ?

If he was I'd imagine it'd be hitting the poor black areas that voted for it, not the rich white areas that probably voted against... of course it might be cause they voted against it.....

[ConspiRaider]

Los Angeles County now under a State of Emergency.

Firestorm currently progressing in Palos Verdes (near Long Beach).

Another firestorm in Sylmar, most of an entire mobile home park destroyed. Fire hoses melted into the cement from heat of fires. Street signs melted. Apparently more than 600 mobile homes - SIX HUNDRED - destroyed.

Fire in Corona, no containment.

Fire near Yorba Linda.

Fire on both sides of Interstate 5 south of Highway 14, I-5 closed down in that area.

[Lisa Simpson]

I can smell smoke here in Orange County. I didn't know about the fire in Palos Verdes, so I guess that's where it's coming from.

[JimBenArm]

Los Angeles County now under a State of Emergency.

Firestorm currently progressing in Palos Verdes (near Long Beach).

Another firestorm in Sylmar, most of an entire mobile home park destroyed. Fire hoses melted into the cement from heat of fires. Street signs melted. Apparently more than 600 mobile homes - SIX HUNDRED - destroyed.
Are you okay? Is this anywhere near you, or are you safe?

[Lisa Simpson]

KTLA is saying there's another fire out in Corona.

[ConspiRaider]

I can smell smoke here in Orange County. I didn't know about the fire in Palos Verdes, so I guess that's where it's coming from.
I guess they're saying fire near Fullerton / Yorba Linda, being fanned by the winds, burning scrub at this time, but moving.

[ConspiRaider]

Are you okay? Is this anywhere near you, or are you safe?
In surrounding areas, Cap'n. I live in a very densely populated area of Los Angeles (west of the city) and quite frankly, not so much to burn. Concrete and stucco up the kazoo.

Had a power failure in the middle of the night, there are sporadic power failures around, causing havoc on the freeways and surface streets. We all live on these ribbons of pavement for too much of our lives.

They just did the live fire chief report on the Sylmar fire, where more than 600 mobile homes are just gone.

[ConspiRaider]

Oak Ridge Mobile Home Park in Sylmar is now, reportedly, considered a crime scene. Could be looking at a deliberately set fire. They just listed the streets where all mobile homes thereon, are gone. More than a dozen devastated streets, as if a blockbuster bomb went off.

Yorba Linda (birthplace of Richard Nixon) now getting the leading edge of a fire, a few homes in flames already.

A dozen homes now in flames in Yorba Linda.

[Lisa Simpson]

I'm about 30 miles to the southwest of the Yorba Linda fire and we can see the smoke plume from our house.

http://i200.photobucket.com/albums/aa25/idiotdogbrain/IMG_0812_2.jpg

[ConspiRaider]

Scary, Lisa. The fire has now jumped the 57 freeway, apparently the 91 freeway as well, heading towards Anaheim Hills.

[Lisa Simpson]

I'm more worried about hcmom, she lives way closer to the fires than I do.

[ConspiRaider]

I'm more worried about hcmom, she lives way closer to the fires than I do.
Yep Lisa, hope she's safe and all other SoCal JREFers. The evacuations seem to be working well so far.

Fires moving deeper into Anaheim Hills, into Anaheim (home of Disneyland) a bit.

It was 92 degrees in downtown Los Angeles today. That, plus the fact that we haven't had any more than 2 or 3 days of decent rain in the last 6 months or so, and things are almost exploding into flame.

Sunset is about 45 minutes away, and that means the winds will INCREASE. As if we need that.

[HawaiiBigSis]

Based on the maps I can find, I'm pretty sure hcmom is okay. But I'm trying to call her to confirm...

[mrbaracuda]

Hrrm, watching some FOX News coverage right now.
What has caused it this time?

Is God angry about Prop 8 ?

LoL! :D

[Damien Evans]

I hope no-one gets hurt.

Which idiot thought importing Eucalypts over there would be a good idea?

[Travis]

I hope no-one gets hurt.

Which idiot thought importing Eucalypts over there would be a good idea?

I don't know who did it but Eucalyptus trees have become a huge invasive nuisance here in California. They love the climate and when they burn.......boy do they burn.

[dudalb]

What has caused it this time?

A number of different causes:

A: Most of California is pretty rainless between May and December. It's a "Meditterean" climate. This makes the vegatation nice and dry come the fall. This, btw, is not Global warming related. California has always has this kind of rainless summer climate.
B. The Santa Ana Winds.
C.That more and more people are building houses in areas where it is not a good idea to build houses because they are guarenteed to burn.
D. The last couple of years have been really,really,dry..drier then usual. THis makes the
usually dry conditions in the fall even worse then usual.
Maybe Global Warming. The jury is still out on whether climate change is having an impact on this, or whether is is just a normal, non global warming related, dry cycle.

[dudalb]

I hope no-one gets hurt.

Which idiot thought importing Eucalypts over there would be a good idea?

Back in the late 1800's, people thought they would make great windbreaks because they grow so fast. It seems like a good idea of the time, and people did not relise that Eucalyptus trees, when it comes to reproducing, are the Rabbits of the tree world: There is no such thing as one.

[Cuddles]

C.That more and more people are building houses in areas where it is not a good idea to build houses because they are guarenteed to burn.

It's interesting that in the UK people build where it's far too wet and end up getting flooded, while in the US they build where it's far too dry and end up catching fire. You'd think that after thousands of years of facing these problems people might have learned their lesson by now.

[ConspiRaider]

It's interesting that in the UK people build where it's far too wet and end up getting flooded, while in the US they build where it's far too dry and end up catching fire. You'd think that after thousands of years of facing these problems people might have learned their lesson by now.
It befuddles, Cuddles.

Of course we do that here too, YankLandia. We (New Orleans) build where it floods. We (Kansas) build where tornadoes love to hang out. We (New England) build where we know it'll be freezing cold for maybe half the year, requiring the burning of stuff like mercury-containing coal to keep ourselves nice and toasty. We (Seattle) build where it rains so often that it can be mood-altering, depression-enhancing. We (Las Vegas) build where it's roasting hot in summer, requiring huge amounts of power to cool the air and make it livable.

Once we humans (and perhaps we used to be more nomadic by nature) fell in absolute LOVE with owning patches of the Earth's crust for OUR VERY OWN, we were screwed. So much of the meaning of life is tied to property - the land, the dwelling(s), the voluminous stuff crammed into the dwelling(s). Sometimes that is a very risky investment into what life is all about.

Maybe what we need are TRULY mobile homes - not like the 480 that burned in the last several days. Little saucer-shaped homes that can get airborne in a few shakes of a lamb's tail, and light down somewhere else.

[dudalb]

Hey , there are few spots on earth that are not subject to natural disasters of one kind or another.

[Travis]

Not having defensible space is kinda unforgivable though. Granted in the recent fires it wouldn't have made much difference with those winds but a lot of other fires here in California are much more worse than they need be because people fail to see that dry brush right up next to homes is not a good idea. Here in Tuolumne County we made a hundred feet of defensible space around your home a law.

[phildonnia]

I'm curious whether wood-shake roofing will be implicated. It was banned in CA after a big fire in Oakland, but existing installations were grandfathered in.

I don't know who did it but Eucalyptus trees have become a huge invasive nuisance here in California. They love the climate and when they burn.......boy do they burn.

I heard it was an "ill advised lumber scheme" that introduced the blue gum. Although, if you happen to need a hundred-foot tree -- by tomorrow -- there's not really much choice.

[PhantomWolf]

I'd have to say that whoever brought in the Eucalyptus tree had never been in Australia during February....

[Travis]

I'd have to say that whoever brought in the Eucalyptus tree had never been in Australia during February....

I wonder if they're related to the geniuses that planted Kudzu all over the Southern States.

[gumboot]

Yay, let's move into this really hot space and then plant these trees that regenerate periodically by exploding into flames. :rolleyes:

[Travis]

Yay, let's move into this really hot space and then plant these trees that regenerate periodically by exploding into flames. :rolleyes:

Well, to be fair Eucalyptus trees are only part of the problem. We also have manzanita (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manzanita) around. That stuff burns so hot you can melt a cast iron wood stove if you burned it inside it. What's worse is that manzanita tends to take over burned out areas as it can grow favorably in the ashy terrain. This makes future fires even more dangerous.

[Damien Evans]

Back in the late 1800's, people thought they would make great windbreaks because they grow so fast. It seems like a good idea of the time, and people did not relise that Eucalyptus trees, when it comes to reproducing, are the Rabbits of the tree world: There is no such thing as one.

Ah, a bit like us with cane toads. Import them for one thing, they do something entirely different.

[Damien Evans]

I don't know who did it but Eucalyptus trees have become a huge invasive nuisance here in California. They love the climate and when they burn.......boy do they burn.

Tell me about it.

We had a massive series of bushfires in East Gippsland (roughly the eastern quarter of Victoria) two summers ago. Until earlier this year, water restrictions in the major towns in the area were still in force because there was no non charcoal contaminated water anywhere. The fires had a combined front of over 200 km.

[gumboot]

Ah, a bit like us with cane toads. Import them for one thing, they do something entirely different.


We watched a documentary about Cane Toads at film school... best doc(mock?)umentary ever.