Californian Wildfires and Population

[hobbsyoyo]

My congressman will certainly vote for it. He is party first, last, and only.

Mine too. It freaking sucks. My last congressman was Ted Liu who is one of the most outspoken liberals in Congress.

 

[Birdjaguar]

But where is the clause denying deductions for Hurricane damage? Oh, Florida is too close to call.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

But where is the clause denying deductions for Hurricane damage? Oh, Florida is too close to call.

And they have cheap flood insurance that is heavily subsidized by the rest of the country.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

Right but that's mostly beyond the mountains or far west in thebdesert. If people want to live in the city's orbit for work then those areas are too far.

You do realize that half the people who live here work in the city, right? My neighbor across the street used to work for your company...where you work.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

You do realize that half the people who live here work in the city, right? My neighbor across the street used to work for your company...where you work.

Oh cool.

BTW I don't work there anymore. I moved further south and work at a satellite design/manufacturing firm in Irvine now. We're at the southern limit of LA's orbit. My wife still makes the commute into the city which is possible thanks to the 405.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

Oh cool.

BTW I don't work there anymore. I moved further south and work at a satellite design/manufacturing firm in Irvine now. We're at the southern limit of LA's orbit. My wife still makes the commute into the city which is possible thanks to the 405.

If you went to work for one of the companies at the Mojave Air and Space Port you could live here and she could commute into the city on the 14.

 

[EgonSpengler]

The New York Times notes that California officials have raised the fire threat level for an entire southern portion of the state to purple/severe, which is the first time they've ever done that. Do the Californians among us have a "go bag" or "bug-out bag" ready? What do you need for wildfires? Spare car keys. A mask. Eye-drops. All of your paperwork; ID, insurance, mortgage. Some cash, maybe a spare credit card if you have an "extra" one that you don't use much. A phone charger and a paper list of phone numbers, in case your phone dies or you lose it (when I was a kid, we all used to memorize our friends' and family's phone numbers, but today..?). A change of clothes and a pair of sneakers. Anyone have experience with that sort of thing? Sometimes you find you want something that you wouldn't have thought of in advance.

I keep a little LED flashlight in my everyday bag. The thing's the size of my index finger and will friggin' blind you if you look straight into it.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

It's been on my to-do list for months. I need to just put a couple-three bags together already for peace of mind.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

The New York Times notes that California officials have raised the fire threat level for an entire southern portion of the state to purple/severe, which is the first time they've ever done that. Do the Californians among us have a "go bag" or "bug-out bag" ready? What do you need for wildfires? Spare car keys. A mask. Eye-drops. All of your paperwork; ID, insurance, mortgage. Some cash, maybe a spare credit card if you have an "extra" one that you don't use much. A phone charger and a paper list of phone numbers, in case your phone dies or you lose it (when I was a kid, we all used to memorize our friends' and family's phone numbers, but today..?). A change of clothes and a pair of sneakers. Anyone have experience with that sort of thing? Sometimes you find you want something that you wouldn't have thought of in advance.

I keep a little LED flashlight in my everyday bag. The thing's the size of my index finger and will friggin' blind you if you look straight into it.

I live in the flats. The nearest flash burn capable slope is three miles away. The nearest vacant lot is six blocks of watered lawns away. The concern the rest of the country is showing is touching, but 99.9%+ of Californians have no risk from wildfires beyond a certain amount of danger from bad air quality during fire season.

I am moderately prepared in the event of an earthquake. I have a gas wrench on my gf's gas meter, one in my truck, and one next to the door from the house to her garage. I've mapped out how to reach the gas meters on every house adjacent to hers and figure I can shut them all down in less than ten minutes. We have enough water to last ten days.

I have a friend with a compound that has its own well and abundant solar panels. I'm on his short list of people who have the know how to divorce his system from the electrical grid and keep his well running. In the event of a zombie apocalypse (ie, any situation that shuts down services for more than ten days) we hole up there.

 

[EgonSpengler]

Yeah, I imagine a big earthquake would affect a larger area than these fires. The wrenches for the gas meters is a good idea. I wouldn't have thought of that. Up here in the northeast, the only natural disaster we need to think about are the big blizzards, but you can see them coming a few days in advance, and you don't need to get out of town unless you want to get to the skiing mountains before the roads close. My equivalent to your wrench for the gas meter is memorizing where the fire hydrants and storm-drains on my street are, so I can shovel them out.

Urban fires don't really get out of control like they do in the big spaces. About a year ago, there was a 10-alarm fire not far from where I am right now, in a close-built, wood-construction neighborhood. It was the type of thing that would have leveled half the city in previous centuries, but modern fire departments are on them in minutes.

Spoiler :

When it comes to a 'zombie apocalypse'-style disaster, a meteor or a 1918-type pandemic, I'm probably just screwed.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

When it comes to a 'zombie apocalypse'-style disaster, a meteor or a 1918-type pandemic, I'm probably just screwed.

Because I live in a desert I have to face the facts that if the power grid shuts down there is no flow of water, and 30 million southern Californians will be dead in ten days without some sort of restoration taking place...so preparing for the zombie apocalypse, be it earthquake or economic impact failure of services, seems prudent.

 

[Zkribbler]

Here's an email from a friend of mine who lives in Ventura:

Hi to all, near and far!

As most of you know, Southern California has many, many large fires burning right now. The largest of these began in the hills just a few miles east of my home. The fire began at St. Thomas Aquinas College, in a canyon north of Santa Paula. It burned west along the hills, spreading into hillside neighborhoods, eventually reaching the Pacific Ocean! We residents were told to prepare to evacuate, so I packed my car and parked it outside of the garage, facing the street. It was a bigger job than I'd expected... the decision-making, prioritizing, etc. Whew! Fortunately, now I can put it all back.

Fire agencies from California, nearby states, and the U.S. government, sent crews and equipment, including many planes and helicopters. The helos were based in a park 2 blocks from my house for 3 days, then moved to Santa Paula Airport as the fire spread east. The friendly folk there made it much easier for them to service the equipment and for the crews to eat and rest.

Some friends lost their homes and another friend's international dog training center was damaged, https://searchdogfoundation.org/ A fire damaged that facility about 15 years ago, and the larger buildings were built to withstand fire. Staff and trainees got themselves and the dogs out very quickly, and all are in hotel rooms. Of course, there will still be recovery work to do.

Though the flames seemed close because of it burned up and over the hills, my neighborhood... downhill and across a freeway... was untouched. We're only dealing with dry, ash-laden air and high winds. I can see blue sky again and some clouds are white. The fire's still burning north and east, through wilderness areas. Many animals, wild and domesticated have lost their lives. Several smaller, but certainly destructive fires are burning in the LA Basin and beyond. In this area, nothing's safe until the winds die down. So this isn't over with yet, but with far-flung friends and relatives asking, I thought I'd send out this blast.

Thanks to the many of you who inquired. We're fine, but are praying for those who have lost so much.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

Here's an email from a friend of mine who lives in Ventura:

A much different perspective than I heard from the breathless reporter on CNN, who felt compelled to use the vivid but inaccurate phrase "burned through the city" to describe the fire's march to the sea.

 

[Zkribbler]

A much different perspective than I heard from the breathless reporter on CNN, who felt compelled to use the vivid but inaccurate phrase "burned through the city" to describe the fire's march to the sea.

She must have been looking at the first map I found of the burn area. It showed everything north of the 126 and east of the 101 burnt.

There's a Clark Gable movie in which he recites one newspaper's motto: "If you want to sell newspapers today, tell a lie. If you want to sell newspapers tomorrow, tell the truth.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

She must have been looking at the first map I found of the burn area. It showed everything north of the 126 and east of the 101 burnt.

There's a Clark Gable movie in which he recites one newspaper's motto: "If you want to sell newspapers today, tell a lie. If you want to sell newspapers tomorrow, tell the truth.

Well, she was actually "on the scene" in Ventura, so likely not looking at a map at all. There's probably a different motto for low life reporters at small time affiliate stations. "If you want national air time today, tell a lie. If you want national air time tomorrow, you are in the wrong business." As much as I find performances like hers annoying, I can't really fault her for the effort.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

 

[Timsup2nothin]

So, what is more intimidating? The plume of smoke, or the San Andreas Fault.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

San Andreas

By a mile

 

[Zkribbler]

If you went to work for one of the companies at the Mojave Air and Space Port you could live here and she could commute into the city on the 14.

On the Metrolink!

Once upon a time, I drove out into the desert to see a meteor shower. I headed back to L.A. at 4 a.m.and ran into a traffic jam of commuters on the freeway. Never again.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

San Andreas

By a mile

Well, at least you have a good picture of it there.