New Wildfires in California

Eight years after California voters approved a $7.5 billion water bond to construct water storage facilities, including 2.7 billion earmarked specifically for new water storage. Not one project has reached completion. Meanwhile, untold millions of gallons of fresh snow melt and rain continue to flow wastefully into the Pacific ocean every single day to “save” a three inch, non-native bait fish called the Delta Smelt.


delta smelt.jpg
 

Governments virtually everywhere move at a glacial pace. Even so, none of the projects high on the wish list of this bill are planned for Los Angeles. They're primarily about expanding dams and improving stormwater capture, the latter's big project being in the Sacramento Valley, hundreds of miles north of LA.

I'm not a government or public services apologist by any means, but these fires are a natural disaster. It's not the fire department's fault that 80-100 mph winds push fires through hills and canyons. They're fire fighters, not miracle workers.

The FD can't prevent residents from the mostly ineffective (but emotionally understandable) strategy of hosing down their properties when they see flames. Unfortunately that action further reduces water availability to FDs.

The Delta Smelt controversy, which I'm not well-versed about, is a northern California agrucultural and urban water issue, and has little to do with firefighting water in So Cal. It's roughly akin to someone in Charlotte, NC, saying if only more water were available in Pittsburgh, PA, then Charlotte wouldn't be dealing with drought conditions.
 
Can't get homeowner insurance coverage in CA with many big insurers and now that many get homeowner insurance via the state system...am wondering how this will effect insurance. Lots of people may not even HAVE insurance, and if that is the case, they won't be able to rebuild. What a nightmare. More ppl will likely leave CA.
 
CooCooforCoCoPuffs said:
Can't get homeowner insurance coverage in CA with many big insurers and now that many get homeowner insurance via the state system...am wondering how this will effect insurance. Lots of people may not even HAVE insurance, and if that is the case, they won't be able to rebuild. What a nightmare. More ppl will likely leave CA.
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My homeowner's insurance went up 2.5% this year. I've had zero problems getting home or auto insurance nor have my premiums skyrocketed. Same with others I know. Homes in wilderness areas, flood zones, tornado alleys and hurricane danger zones are seeing much higher premiums and difficulty obtaining insurance nationwide.

Insurance companies reassessing risks and premiums is not limited to CA.

Arizona has a population of 7.5 million, California has 39.4 million, some 120,000 less than in 2020. Trust me, we're not crying over a net loss of 120,000 people over 4 years. Truth is, a 3/10 of 1% loss in population isn't even noticeable. (In any case, CA population actually increased by 232,000 people last year.)

California’s population is no longer in decline
 
StarSong said:
Governments virtually everywhere move at a glacial pace. Even so, none of the projects high on the wish list of this bill are planned for Los Angeles. They're primarily about expanding dams and improving stormwater capture, the latter's big project being in the Sacramento Valley, hundreds of miles north of LA.

I'm not a government or public services apologist by any means, but these fires are a natural disaster. It's not the fire department's fault that 80-100 mph winds push fires through hills and canyons. They're fire fighters, not miracle workers.

The FD can't prevent residents from the mostly ineffective (but emotionally understandable) strategy of hosing down their properties when they see flames. Unfortunately that action further reduces water availability to FDs.

The Delta Smelt controversy, which I'm not well-versed about, is a northern California agrucultural and urban water issue, and has little to do with firefighting water in So Cal. It's roughly akin to someone in Charlotte, NC, saying if only more water were available in Pittsburgh, PA, then Charlotte wouldn't be dealing with drought conditions.
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The Delta Smelt issue has had a notable impact on Los Angeles, primarily through its influence on water supply and management. Here's how:
Water Diversion: Los Angeles relies on water from the California State Water Project, which includes water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta where the Delta Smelt resides. Regulations aimed at protecting the Delta Smelt have sometimes led to restrictions on water diversions from the Delta, affecting the amount of water that can be transported south to Los Angeles. This can lead to reduced water availability, particularly during dry years.

The controversy surrounding the Delta Smelt has prompted changes in water management practices. For instance, there have been instances where water flow to Southern California was REDUCED or STOPPED due to smelt protection measures, impacting water storage and allocation for cities like Los Angeles, particularly during times of drought or when smelt populations are detected near water diversion pumps

Therefore, the Delta Smelt issue has indirectly affected Los Angeles by influencing water supply dynamics, sparking political and public discourse, and necessitating adjustments in water management strategies to balance ecological health with human needs.
 
The Angeles National regularly has forest fires. Consider having more prescribed burns
If humans do not remove brush Mother Nature will.
Insurance companies should only insure homes with "defaceable landscaping.
Removing all vegetation has two benefits... lessons risk of fires and decreases us of water for landscaping.
 
Every time these predictable wildland fires occur burning homes, people suffer enormously with loss.

Despite an enormous amount of information on how people in wildland fire zones can better protect their homes, significant numbers gamble that it won't happen to them, so don't spend a cent on improving their situations. And when they do, it is often because they are legally forced to or their insurance providers threaten to cancel if they don't. Sad reflection of human nature of so many that would rather stick their heads down in a hole in the sand. That is a prime reason insurance companies are pulling out of California just like those in the Southeast are pulling out of insurance in hurricane prone regions. They gave people a chance and were ignored. And the rest of us ought not be responsible for paying for their losses.

Building industries regularly push back from having to use fireproof and resistant materials because it adds cost thus corporate bean counters see that as a reduction of sales.

https://www.npr.org/2020/11/25/9366...-states-dont-require-fire-resistant-materials
snippet:

..."We're pushing further and further into the mountains but we're not doing anything to protect the buildings," Sartain testified at the board's hearing. Other voices joined in support. But the home construction industry pushed back.

"I think it's unnecessary," board chair and home builder Janet Lewis responded. "I think it's time to allow Oregonians the freedom to choose where they want to live and the personal responsibility to construct their homes to work with that choice." The cost of using wildfire-resistant materials became a central sticking point. The Oregon Home Builders Association testified that the new codes would add five percent to a home's price, potentially tens of thousands of dollars...
 
StarSong said:
We are under evacuation warning. Hoping we don't have to evacuate.
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Another devastating fire, I hope you don't have to evacuate and can stay safe and keep your home. This is so frightening, my heart goes out to all affected, very sad just to watch it on the news. Can't imagine having to live through it. Thinking of you and your family StarSong, hoping for the best.
 
@StarSong, I'm glad you are OK—at least, I'm assuming you are given that you are posting. I got a late start today and had to skim the posts. I hope @Grampa Don and any other forum members in the area are all right.

Does anyone know how the fire started? All I can find out is that it began with a brush fire. But what started the brush fire? When we lived in Nevada we had to deal with wildfires, although nothing on this horrific scale. One started by a person who threw a lit cigarette out of a car window on an overpass. Just curious.
 
StarSong said:
Most of Los Angeles isn't a city like NY. There's a lot of urban/wilderness interface.

Los Angeles is a huge city (469 square miles of land - so water areas excluded). Los Angeles County is 4058 square miles of land. There are at least 4 serious fires in Los Angeles right now. Our son & DIL are under evacuation warning from a different fire.
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I thought 469 sq miles was a lot when I saw this..until I realised that London is 607 square miles with 8.,5 million people..
 
2ooo acres are like 3 sq. miles of fire. Not much on the scheme of stuff.
There isn't any rain in the next couple of weeks forecasted.

Officials are going to have to pee a lot there.

I was there in the early 70's, toxic stuff coming up from the ocean, early mornings.
Yellow and white homes turning brown with pollution, would never go back.

Maybe a lot lower property taxes should be the concluded concern.
Feel bad with those who have nowhere else to go.
 
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hollydolly said:
I thought 469 sq miles was a lot when I saw this..until I realised that London is 607 square miles with 8.,5 million people..
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Like London, Los Angeles has a "city proper" area. It's 469sq mi. Over 3 million live there.

Including it's many, many suburbs and municipalities, Los Angeles is actually close to 5 thousand sq mi, and the population is over 13 million.
 
Can I just say how angry it makes me to see people in news article comments politicize disasters to the point of almost gloating to see “blue” or “red” areas impacted???? It happens every single time a stereotyped area is impacted and both “teams” play the nasty game. Makes me wish I could reach through the screen and literally knock sense into people with zero class and decency.
 
Lilac said:
Some people are still wanting to ride out the fire & said they will leave if they have to at the last minute.
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Australian experience suggests that this is very dangerous, by the time they decide to leave it may be too late.
From what I can tell these fires are catastrophic and have taken five lives so far. 🙁
I hope that the fires are brought under control and extinguished ASAP.
KIA KAHA, stay strong.
 

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