So Cal Wild Fires

[rox]

RobertN,
We have similar topography where i live in Provence. that land is nto sjut vacant land in SoCal, somebody owns it. What they do here is they jsut pass a law that says you must cut your brush, period. If you let your property be ooverrun with brush you will be fined. Well it is not enforced as t should be, witness the horrible forest fires we have. but when people live closer togther people over here keep the brush under control. If you let your property become overgrown with brush you neighbor comes over and tells you want a fire hazard you are creating. Nw we do have really bad forest fires but somehow in this area we have very little loss of homes and olive trees. It does happen but the far majorityf the time the firefighters protect and save.

To prevent these fires int he future you pass a brush law and you put $$$ behind enforcement teams. Big fines make people toe the line.

 

[RobertN]

It amazes me how many people have the answers to our problems and yet we still have all of our problems.

Mike hit on it partly though. The newer building codes require materials and building techniques that minimize the effects of fire. Things like no wood shake roofs, enclosed eaves, etc.

There have been improvements. They are slow to happen(especially here in the Peoples Socialist Republik of Kalifornia). And, people keep building in that wildland interface zone.

There are new requirements, like the 100' clearance that CDF/Cal-fire is pushing. But, how does that help, when behind your urban lot is a million acres of scrub...

As a NorCal firefighter, it is scary when I look around the community, and see so many area's where we can not access because people don't maintain thier private roads, keep the brush back etc. Or driveways. Been down drives where we had to make access for medical emergencies. Busted antenaes, lights, brush tearing down the side and top of the engine and medic unit.

This is a big issue, especially since grwoth is happening faster than change in requirements.

 

[RobertN]

RobertN,
We have similar topography where i live in Provence.

Yes, you are in the same classic Mediteranean climate. You are close to the same Latitude as California. Similar area's are on the west coast of Africa, South America, and Australia. And they have similar issues.

To prevent these fires int he future you pass a brush law and you put $$$ behind enforcement teams. Big fines make people toe the line.

That is one of the area's where things get complicated; who pays for it? If you propose new taxes, people get upset.

I do agree 100%.

 

[orezok]

I lived in San Diego for more than 20 years and built a number of the sub divisions that have been burned. Many of these are established housing areas from 1 to 30 years old. They are fully landscaped areas with no "brush" to speak of. Some burned only 4 years ago in the "Cedar" fire that killed 15 people. Dense housing yes, brush no in these areas.

I know the location where it jumped Interstate 15 and that is a 10 lane highway at that location. Fire breaks make no difference when the winds are blowing 50 to 80 miles an hour.

 

[_RaT_]

I lived in San Diego for more than 20 years and built a number of the sub divisions that have been burned. Many of these are established housing areas from 1 to 30 years old. They are fully landscaped areas with no "brush" to speak of. Some burned only 4 years ago in the "Cedar" fire that killed 15 people. Dense housing yes, brush no in these areas.

I know the location where it jumped Interstate 15 and that is a 10 lane highway at that location. Fire breaks make no difference when the winds are blowing 50 to 80 miles an hour.

Excellent point. When the wind blows hard, all bets are off. Living in the path of nature is a gamble. Folks in Florida and other Gulf states know this all to well.

 

[3RRL]

That is so true. With super high winds like that, embers carry for mile.
Several years ago during one of the So Cal fires near (East of) Temecula, I was playing in a golf tournament at Temecula Creek off the 15. The fire was about 20 miles away but the greens had burning embers on them and ashes all over. Some of the embers were like the size of a cigarette or a small cigar and still smoldering. There's no controlling that.

 

[tallyho8]

I just hate it when someone says "why would anyone live in a place like that?"
Everytime a hurricane hits the gulf area, a tornado hits Wichita Falls, a firestorm or earthquake hits California, a blizzard hits Buffalo NY, there is always someone living in a different area who brings up this question.

I believe that all areas of the earth are prone to natural disasters but we all have our specific reasons for living there. I have heard that Kentucky was the safest state to live in to be safe from natural disasters but what would it be like with all 250,000,000 Americans living there?

 

[LMTC]

I just hate it when someone says "why would anyone live in a place like that?"
Everytime a hurricane hits the gulf area, a tornado hits Wichita Falls, a firestorm or earthquake hits California, a blizzard hits Buffalo NY, there is always someone living in a different area who brings up this question.

I believe that all areas of the earth are prone to natural disasters but we all have our specific reasons for living there. I have heard that Kentucky was the safest state to live in to be safe from natural disasters but what would it be like with all 250,000,000 Americans living there?

A lot less dense than any city. Considering only land area in KY (and hey, there are a LOT of houseboats that can fit on Lake Cumberland and elsewhere), it would result in 9.85 people per acre.

Of course, the New Madrid fault runs through western KY.

 

[MossRoad]

A lot less dense than any city. Considering only land area in KY (and hey, there are a LOT of houseboats that can fit on Lake Cumberland and elsewhere), it would result in 9.85 people per acre.

Of course, the New Madrid fault runs through western KY.

That brings up a good point... even a mid sized town like mine (South Bend, IN) has more people than 10 per acre and it isn't that crowded.... although my acre only has 4 people on it, the average city acre here has what appears to be 6 houses on it. Assume 2 folks per house and that's 12 per acre. Pop a couple/three kids in a few houses and its easily up to 20 per acre. And that's just houses, not appartments. And the town isn't that crowded. Now, parts of it are horribly depressed economically, but parts of it are still very nice and both parts still have the same population density until you get into the newer subdivisions on the outskirts, where the home prices are driven up and the lots are larger....

Which brings up one more point that is not being touched on too much on the news. They keep talking about how orderly the people are in the stadium and comparing it to the super dome chaos after Katrina.... I heard an interesting discussion yesterday on some radio talk show...

1. Katrina wiped out everything; fire services, police, roads, national guard access to those places, places to get food, water, shelter, etc... while the fires in California did wipe out homes, the roads are still intact, the police and fire can access areas as needed, people can still get food and water, etc...

2. The socio economic differences between the people inthe fire zones in California VS the people that live in the neighborhoods in New Orleans most affected by Katrina. The two areas are just not the same. Affluent people in large homes in exotic location VS the old, inner city neighborhoods in New Orleans.

Two completely different groups of people with completely different financial means in completely different situations (fires VS hurricanes), makes it very hard to compare the two disasters. Katrina was much larger than the fires in California and affected more people and more infrastructure.

 

[LBrown59]

I just hate it when someone says "why would anyone live in a place like that?"
Everytime a hurricane hits the gulf area, a tornado hits Wichita Falls, a firestorm or earthquake hits California, a blizzard hits Buffalo NY, there is always someone living in a different area who brings up this question.

I believe that all areas of the earth are prone to natural disasters but we all have our specific reasons for living there. I have heard that Kentucky was the safest state to live in to be safe from natural disasters but what would it be like with all 250,000,000 Americans living there?

All those others not being there is probably what makes it great.