california fires have started

[Daveroo]

i dont have alot of info at this time,other than whats on wildfiretoday.com ,seems that around 4pm pst a new one broke in Kern County near Lake isabella .as on 8:30pm the fire was at 2500 acres with 50-60 stuctures burned..several mosr up and down the coast...temps here in norcal will be from 100F to 105F and above (heard from my bug guy that it will be 113 wednsday .news only says 105 though.)

i personally wish we had not gotten all the rain that we got.all it did was to promote new fuel growth..and its clean..not covered in dust..

[Allen]

Really dosen't seem to matter. Rain or no rain. We burn each summmer....

[rhumbaflappy]

USDA says 66,000,000 dead trees in southern Sierra Nevada...

http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?contentid=2016/06/0150.xml&contentidonly=true

Dick

[AussieMan]

I hear what you are saying about the rain Dave.

Here in good ol' OZ we would rather see the rain in the late spring or summer. A wet winter here creates massive fuel loads which makes for a very firey summer.

[Daveroo]

USDA says 66,000,000 dead trees in southern Sierra Nevada...

http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome?contentid=2016/06/0150.xml&contentidonly=true

Dick
i recently was told those dead trees are actually less danger than living trees,to simplify the explanation,it takes less heat to the fuels.........no wait..read the explanations on this page. i sound like an idiot on here...or atleast was made to feel like one.



http://wildfiretoday.com/2016/06/02/do-californias-beetle-killed-trees-constitute-an-emergency/#comments

humbled me

but i will say ive never seen a dead tree explode the way a live one will,,,yes i know they dont explode like a bomb...but sure sounds like it,and trust me..when you know a quickly moving fire is bearing down on you,does sound like a freight train at times,quiet at others..but either way when a 150+ foot tree ignites...it can make ya jump like a frog if youve never heard it.....but seeing it at night is rather awesome...lol..i know thats bad but..what the heck..

[Daveroo]

as of 6pm PDT ,the fire is at 30,000 acres,it made a 6 mile run to the south in 12 hours,but the fire started around 4pm on the 23rd,in 28 hours,its burned those 30,000 acres and killed two civilians.the news folks below the grapevine keep talking as if the sherpa fire,the border fire and the "_______ complex" fires are the worlds worst...i get tired of that,some aussie fires make all of these put together seem small....

[wombat666]

Dave,
Is there no requirement for people to clear up their property of underbrush and dead-fall or any other potential fuel?
And is there no Government Authority to do the same??
Most of our population who live in fire prone areas know what is needed and (mostly) get on with it.
:dizzy:

[SPman]

Dave - you guys also have a higher population density than Aus. and I believe the SW is currently experiencing a heat wave - early in summer!
Pre fire season, we have to provide boundary fire access tracks around the property boundary, clear back vegetation from the house, where possible, we also mow down the paddocks and generally, just be very aware. Also, for us, make sure the fire pumps are A1, the pool is full (as if it wouldn't be) and an emergency plan is in place - early flee or fight - with all our animals - it's normally stay & fight - although a fire like the 2009 fire in Victoria would almost be a death sentence.

[Daveroo]

it was the 2009 fires i was thinking of im sure.couldnt remember for sure.

and they do require a "safety buffer",which i think is only 150 feet in rural areas.im sure ill get slammed for this by some..maybe not,but the Sierra Club,who are a powerfull enviromental group,im all for enviromentalist laws ect,i love this state and the mountains i live in,but i dont like the sierra club,they just go to far.theyve also lost some of thier "power" after a fire near south lake tahoe that distroyed many homes,the home owners were not allowed to clean up the forrest duff,so there was up to 8 inchs of duff or more in some places,which helped to fuel the fire,along with winds,the fire just roared through this nieghborhood burning homes.even a bear had severe burns,and the sort of sweet part of that,they found the bear sitting on its butt,and was holding its front paws in the air,alternantly ,in what alot of people,including myself,believe was this bear asking for help,every time a fire engine passed,it would hold up a paw,someone finally got brave and stopped,saw the damage to its paws sorta close (through the closed window im guessin) and called for animal control,it walked into the large crate thing they use for dangerous animals all on its own,and wasnt violent or threatening to its care takers at all...this from what i read in one of the local papers.it was proven that if the home owners and property managers were allowed to clean up around homes,the fire wouldnt have had the fuels to be so out of control,,,in the defence of the sierra club though,the thought was to help save the waters in lake tahoe,it used to be qrsytal clear,but had been becoming dirty,and they found that all the cleaning around homes was allowing surface dirts to be washing into the lake.

bottom line,there are local and state laws to clean up,and have a safety buffer.there is no state group to clean up or clear land that i know of,but that said,there are many local jail work release or in custody inmate crews who will clear county and state owned properties,and like in my town,they will send a crew out to clean up a privately owned property after several posted warnings.but that doesnt happen often.and when people move from places like Los Angeles or San Francisco,they want the wild and natural feel,and will refuse to clean up,in those areas,cal fire wont protect a home where the home owner hasnt "followed the rules" and cleared/cleaned..they just move to the next home/homes that have been cleared.

im prattling again.....yes there are laws,theyre not followed for the most part,and are not enforced for the most part.they wait until their homes are destroyed,then bitch about the unprofessionalism of the local and state fire fighters.