SnowRidge
Elite Member
I just watched the NBC news coverage of the wild fires in Southern California. It is really bad out there. I know we have some members out there. Here's hoping they and their families are OK.
So Cal Wild Fires
- Thread starter SnowRidge
- Start date
- Views: 4823
rox
Veteran Member
I also am watching with intrest and empathy for all thos living near the fires. Remember 2 years ago when Portugal had horrific horrific fires? And now this year Greece experienced orrible fires. of course in the south fo France we also have them, I was evacuaed twice and our farm was the very last property on the eastern border of a 2 day fire, so I particularly watch with interest.
IMHO the only way to fight these fires is with airpower. When we had the big fire by us the Canadairs were grounded as a Canadair went down and the pilot and a crew member were killed. You have to hit the fires hard right away with air power. In California they ahve the Santa Anna winds, we ahve the Mistral. You know you have a wind issue if your winds are actually named. When I lived in Wisconsin we didn't name the wind
IMHO the only way to fight these fires is with airpower. When we had the big fire by us the Canadairs were grounded as a Canadair went down and the pilot and a crew member were killed. You have to hit the fires hard right away with air power. In California they ahve the Santa Anna winds, we ahve the Mistral. You know you have a wind issue if your winds are actually named. When I lived in Wisconsin we didn't name the wind
jdbower
Platinum Member
My in-laws as well as my sister's in-laws are in the San Diego area so I've been watching, but so far they're OK. Here's a Google Maps mashup of the fires maintained by the LA Times.
ultrarunner
Epic Contributor
- Joined
- Apr 6, 2004
- Messages
- 23,661
- Tractor
- Cat D3, Deere 110 TLB, Kubota BX23 and L3800 and RTV900 with restored 1948 Deere M, 1949 Farmall Cub, 1953 Ford Jubliee and 1957 Ford 740 Row Crop, Craftsman Mower, Deere 350C Dozer 50 assorted vehicles from 1905 to 2006
Once it reached FireStorm proportions... all bets are off. Eventually the fire will burn itself out or Mother Nature steps in and stops the wind and maybe some rain.
The Oakland FireStorm is something that I never want to go through again..
It is ironic that Fire Prevention takes a back seat to other rules and regs. A colleague was telling me his socal in-laws would disc around their place each year in late spring solely as a preventative measure. Seven years ago they received a cease and desist notice claiming the discing was endangering the habitat of a field mouse.
The Oakland FireStorm is something that I never want to go through again..
It is ironic that Fire Prevention takes a back seat to other rules and regs. A colleague was telling me his socal in-laws would disc around their place each year in late spring solely as a preventative measure. Seven years ago they received a cease and desist notice claiming the discing was endangering the habitat of a field mouse.
MtnViewRanch
Elite Member, Advertiser
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2005
- Messages
- 10,624
- Tractor
- Mahindra 7520, Mahindra 3215HST, Case 580 extendahoe, Case 310 dozer, Parsons trencher, Cat D6,
ultrarunner said:
I have disked 100s if not 1000s of field mice and when I get told to stop, that will be the day that the government buys themselves another piece of property. I agree, peoples priorities seem to be out of line.
rox
Veteran Member
Ultrarunner, Yeah once you have been through one you surely never want to ever go through it again. i knwo i am set for the rest of my life in that area.
What they do around southern france is they send the firetrucks and crews out all around the country side. For July and August you will drive down a country road and there will be a firetruck with the firemen sitting on a picnic table. then once a fire starts in this hills the trucks are already dispursed and can reach the fires quicker. the focus is on getting to the fires quickly before they get out of control. Sadly 99% of our fires are deliberatly set. It's a real problem here, it is not people thowing cigarettes out the car window. teh fires start in the middle of a non populated hillside. They know when that happens that it was deliberatly set. I hate it when there is fire at night because the airpower does not work at night. The medeterian sea is only a 5 minute plane ride from our place. I am really surprise we have not had that many fires this year, and if you are caught they throw you in the slammer and literally throw away the keys over here. We also ahve fire lookout stations there is one two hillsides away from us. I d like havng that maned firestation directly in site of my farm. I do feel real bad for all the california residents. Thankfully it is outside of the olvie growing area, at least i believe it is. rop farms loose one crop but crops grown on trees those farmers have to wait a lot of years for new trees to be planted and produce. For olvies it is 8 years. We jsut vistited a hug olive farm probably 10 times the size of ours and they will first get a crop next year from a fire they had in 2000. A house if you loose it doesn't take you 8 years to re-build. When you loose your house most of the time it doesn't mean that you loose your job and revenue as well. A fire to a farmer growing crops on trees is really devastating. Over here the fireman do everything possible to save olvie trees. they really work hard and treat an olive grove as something more valuabe to save than a house, really. An olive tree is jsut hitting it's prime at about 15 to 20 years. it will start producing at 8 years, but even then it is still a young tree. fires scare the crap out of me.
What they do around southern france is they send the firetrucks and crews out all around the country side. For July and August you will drive down a country road and there will be a firetruck with the firemen sitting on a picnic table. then once a fire starts in this hills the trucks are already dispursed and can reach the fires quicker. the focus is on getting to the fires quickly before they get out of control. Sadly 99% of our fires are deliberatly set. It's a real problem here, it is not people thowing cigarettes out the car window. teh fires start in the middle of a non populated hillside. They know when that happens that it was deliberatly set. I hate it when there is fire at night because the airpower does not work at night. The medeterian sea is only a 5 minute plane ride from our place. I am really surprise we have not had that many fires this year, and if you are caught they throw you in the slammer and literally throw away the keys over here. We also ahve fire lookout stations there is one two hillsides away from us. I d like havng that maned firestation directly in site of my farm. I do feel real bad for all the california residents. Thankfully it is outside of the olvie growing area, at least i believe it is. rop farms loose one crop but crops grown on trees those farmers have to wait a lot of years for new trees to be planted and produce. For olvies it is 8 years. We jsut vistited a hug olive farm probably 10 times the size of ours and they will first get a crop next year from a fire they had in 2000. A house if you loose it doesn't take you 8 years to re-build. When you loose your house most of the time it doesn't mean that you loose your job and revenue as well. A fire to a farmer growing crops on trees is really devastating. Over here the fireman do everything possible to save olvie trees. they really work hard and treat an olive grove as something more valuabe to save than a house, really. An olive tree is jsut hitting it's prime at about 15 to 20 years. it will start producing at 8 years, but even then it is still a young tree. fires scare the crap out of me.
_RaT_
Super Member
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2000
- Messages
- 5,813
- Location
- Peoples Republic of Northern CA.
- Tractor
- Kioti 3510-SE HST
The really bright side to events like this is to see the massive effort by so many entities. Oregon, Washington, Idaho, etc are pitching in sending available fire crews to help. It does my heart good to see such commradery. I know we (Califronia) send crews all over the US. During the Katrina, 9/11, California sent so much of its professional workforce from dog search and rescue for 9/11 victims to our utility companies sending huge crews to New Orleans and Florida to help deal with these catastrophies. Thats the good I see from such terrible events.
rox
Veteran Member
RaT, you are right everybody has to pull together in times of crises. and these fires are a crises. When greece had their bad fires this year, France, italy Germany and some scandaniavian countries sent Canadair firefighting airplanes to help. You have to help you neighbor, you never knwo when you yourself will need help.
the_sandman_454
Silver Member
Maybe a big fire like this is going to be enough to help kick the radical environmentalist idiots in the backside and get them to quit preventing proper reasonable forest management procedures. I bet those field mice are really happy now that they've all been incinerated. I'll be the drainage will be great now that a fire is hot enough to fuse some of the soil into glass.
Something is going to happen eventually big enough to make the government realize the environmentalist wackos have to be balanced out with common sense and fire prevention / forest management procedures. This sort of super wildfire is good for nobody and no creature.
From forest management issues like this to the water management idiocy plaguing Georgia thanks to a stupid non-native mussel, I have a feeling it won't be long until local communities tell the environmental groups, the courts, and everyone to stuff it. I can't blame people like that. I'd be in perfect support of so-called vigilantes going out to these areas and tending to them as they would be if the idiots hadn't been stirring up trouble by blocking such activities.
Something is going to happen eventually big enough to make the government realize the environmentalist wackos have to be balanced out with common sense and fire prevention / forest management procedures. This sort of super wildfire is good for nobody and no creature.
From forest management issues like this to the water management idiocy plaguing Georgia thanks to a stupid non-native mussel, I have a feeling it won't be long until local communities tell the environmental groups, the courts, and everyone to stuff it. I can't blame people like that. I'd be in perfect support of so-called vigilantes going out to these areas and tending to them as they would be if the idiots hadn't been stirring up trouble by blocking such activities.
MtnViewRanch
Elite Member, Advertiser
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2005
- Messages
- 10,624
- Tractor
- Mahindra 7520, Mahindra 3215HST, Case 580 extendahoe, Case 310 dozer, Parsons trencher, Cat D6,
Unfortunately for everybody, it seems like one of the best attributes that most people used to have and seem to have lost is COMMON SENSE.
Hopefully someday it will return.
Hopefully someday it will return.
