California fires

[Boog]

What is up with California? It's like mother nature is trying to destroy the whole state. We've heard the predictions for years earthquakes were going to break the state loose and it would slide off into the ocean but these days it's seems more likely fire is going to burn everything off then the rains might wash the hills down onto the low lands and end up in the ocean. I know the news media does sensationalize disasters but it's really happening. I really, really feel for ya'll out there. You must really love living out there to stay through all of that again and again.

[Sheepdip]

Years and years of land/forest mismanagement and environmental mandates are the root cause. The laws need to be fair and balanced currently they are way lopsided.

In a nutshell: https://nypost.com/2019/10/30/devine...fornia-ablaze/

[Stocker]

^^ Sheepdip speaks the truth. Decades of forest mis-management is the biggest culprit.

[Boog]

It's like which crisis trumps the others? Smog or proper land management I guess. That's a tough call to make.

['63GENIII]

The Pine Bark Beetle has ravaged forests that are too dense to begin with. That density makes it easy for the disease to spread and the supply of water to really become scarce. Its a vicious circle. Find a mountaintop anywhere around Calaveras or Tuolumne Counties and you can see the standing dead fuel almost in waves in the form of huge swaths of brown canopy.

My folks place in Calaveras Co. lost 29 out of 45 Fir or Pine trees to Bark Beetle 2 years ago. Same story up around Twain Harte. A few years back you couldn't get a permit to take down a healthy tree. Now you can't find anyone to clear 'em fast enough to keep up with the beetle.

Im headed up tomorrow to grab a truckload of firewood. If my math is right, we have enough wood for the next 60 years just at my folks place.

[Chevyland]

Originally Posted by Boog

What is up with California? It's like mother nature is trying to destroy the whole state. We've heard the predictions for years earthquakes were going to break the state loose and it would slide off into the ocean but these days it's seems more likely fire is going to burn everything off then the rains might wash the hills down onto the low lands and end up in the ocean. I know the news media does sensationalize disasters but it's really happening. I really, really feel for ya'll out there. You must really love living out there to stay through all of that again and again.

It’s really hard for me to explain.
I’ve lived here (Sonoma )my entire life. And love it
I’ll probably never leave but the last 3 Octobers have been testing that.
2 years ago fires burned many areas of my home town
Last years October fire burned an entire community north of us (Paradise) down
In the last 2 weeks my company is in the middle of finishing up 2 properties that burned down 2 years ago.
And, the Kincaid fire breaks out in northern Sonoma county, again in October
Due to PG&E being responsible for most of these fires, they turned off the power to approximately 1.5 million people in the Area
And evacuated approximately 7 to 8 cities (10’s or probably 100’s of thousands of people) west of the fire for fear it would spread
Like Boog said , the news can sometimes sensationalize things
But all this Is really happening.
I’m sure many people are scratching there heads
Wondering, is it worth staying
More people have come than left California for decades
Time will tell if that trend will continue

My next road trip after Christmas will be to the South
Looking at retirement properties
That are prone to hurricanes

[special-K]

I see that NY Post article as media sensationalism. I guess a news writer in NY should know more about all this than anyone else. Certainly the one to listen to on this, right? I'm not so sure. Might just be a tad bit of politics involved there, ya think? I see people looking to put blame on this thing of nature. Yeah, if this was like this or that wasn't like that the fire wouldn't be so bad. These wildfires in California have always been a serious issue. And the thing that causes the fires is a thing we can't control. Leaving dead wood gives more to burn, but weather conditions are what we are at the mercy of here. They are what determines the intensity, and obviously those conditions have become worse. They, and I mean NOAA, were predicting a bad year like the last few for this year before the season got here. Last year was the worst in history.

[The Rocknrod]

Originally Posted by Chevyland

It’s really hard for me to explain.
I’ve lived here (Sonoma )my entire life. And love it
I’ll probably never leave but the last 3 Octobers have been testing that.
2 years ago fires burned many areas of my home town
Last years October fire burned an entire community north of us (Paradise) down
In the last 2 weeks my company is in the middle of finishing up 2 properties that burned down 2 years ago.
And, the Kincaid fire breaks out in northern Sonoma county, again in October
Due to PG&E being responsible for most of these fires, they turned off the power to approximately 1.5 million people in the Area
And evacuated approximately 7 to 8 cities (10’s or probably 100’s of thousands of people) west of the fire for fear it would spread
Like Boog said , the news can sometimes sensationalize things
But all this Is really happening.
I’m sure many people are scratching there heads
Wondering, is it worth staying
More people have come than left California for decades
Time will tell if that trend will continue

My next road trip after Christmas will be to the South
Looking at retirement properties
That are prone to hurricanes

I put up my 30 acres for sale near Hico, TX. It sold before it got on the MLS. But the agent wanted to put her sign out anyway. When I was taking the trash out to the road a couple drove up in they're honda car and asked if it was still for sale. They were from California and had a binder full of listed properties. They said everyone they know is leaving the state. I guess those that can . . .

[67ChevyRedneck]

My wife grew up in Whittier, CA.

The alure is there. My favorite spot was huntington beach. The car scene, the beaches, all of the parks. There's just SO MUCH to do. We've been back to SoCal 3 times and still haven't done half of what we wanted to do. As long as you're near the coast the weather is fantastic (it gets pretty hot pretty quick inland).

Her parents said when she was growing up they were always traveling somewhere on the weekends. There's so many places to camp and do outdoors stuff.

We've talked about it a few times, and we could probably afford to do it, but we would probably end up house poor. In SC we're upper middle class. House is almost paid off, building a big shop. To live in one of the areas we would want to we would probably never get ahead, house and garage would be small, taxes high, gas $, and I wouldn't have the free cash to do all the crap I love to do now.

I hope something can get figured out, they're getting out of hand how many times/locations it's happening and how large these fires are getting.

[FleetsidePaul]

I live in a high fire zone and when I hear siren's I cringe. We had a big fire a couple years back that took out about 200 homes and killed two people.

The fire department has rules to clear dry brush, but they don't enforce them. I've called twice in the past two years on the hillside next to my house. Whoever owns it wont clear the property and it's full of dry brush. One spark and it'll go.

The fire dept. said that they would fine the owner if it wasn't cleared by June 1st. That was two years ago.
I don't care if they fine the guy. That won't help me if my house burns down. If I had a tractor I'd go plow it myself.
They post signs telling everyone to clear their property by June 1st. I saw one in a lot full of dry brush. Ironic. They don't even clean up the lot telling everyone else to do it.
I guess it's the price to pay to live in a beautiful place.

[Ol Blue K20]

My cabin is in Tahoe national forest. I'm required to have mine cleared also.

[Killer Bee]

[mrtoni]

rake the forest

[Ol Blue K20]

Originally Posted by mrtoni

rake the forest

How'd you know that the town was named Forest City. ..

[yuccales]

Even though our fires are a serious deal, I thought these are clever and made me laugh a bit.

[Ol Blue K20]

Originally Posted by yuccales

Even though our fires are a serious deal, I thought these are clever and made me laugh a bit.

oh those are really clever! Sometimes humor can help relieve the nerves. Thank for the up tick I needed.

[Stocker]

Almost too true to be funny....!

[richards72chevy]

I was born and raised in California.My dad was burning old brush and wood one day when a neighbor driving down the county road we lived on pulled up and said he got a hefty fine for doing the same thing.I was told you can't burn firewood in a fireplace now because they are worried about pollution!I remember seeing old trucks with guns in the gun racks.Then the gun laws and everyone going on about the danger of them.Now look at California!Not trying to sound political but when you take away a citizens few basic rights look how quick it turns to crap.

[special-K]

Well, no politics involved here.

It's a smart thing to not burn brush in fire prone conditions. We may feel we have the right to burn our own house down, but we don't have the right to burn others. If people would govern themselves with consideration toward those around us we wouldn't need most laws and regulations we are held to.

Here in Maryland forest fires are rare due to getting rain more often. But we have big Smokie the Bear signs up that post the conditions from safe to moderate to danger. We are 'asked' to abide by those notices. But we still have fools who don't take the conditions into consideration and start burn piles even on a windy day. It's for people like that restrictive laws are put in place.

[GOPAPA]

Californians are moving here to Idaho in the droves ..They say that Boise is the fastest growing city in the united states.. I wittness many many farm lands where they have taken up the top soil and built homes . Since I moved here in Nov of 2012,,around me within a 10 mile range there are over 2000 new homes where they used to raise Alfafa and Beats and Corn ..

Our summer irrigation rates have doubled along with higher taxes ,, and the wife and I came here to get away from a state that was and is worse than here by far ,, it's still better here than there and thats how a lot of mover ins are thinking too.

Yesterday I went to the same supermarket that I have been going to around 1 pm and it was jam packed with people .. where just last year at the same time of the day I had lots of room in the aisles..

[Sheepdip]

Kalifornia"s New State Bird

[GerhardH]

Originally Posted by Chevyland

It’s really hard for me to explain.
I’ve lived here (Sonoma )my entire life. And love it
I’ll probably never leave but the last 3 Octobers have been testing that.
2 years ago fires burned many areas of my home town
Last years October fire burned an entire community north of us (Paradise) down
In the last 2 weeks my company is in the middle of finishing up 2 properties that burned down 2 years ago.
And, the Kincaid fire breaks out in northern Sonoma county, again in October
Due to PG&E being responsible for most of these fires, they turned off the power to approximately 1.5 million people in the Area
And evacuated approximately 7 to 8 cities (10’s or probably 100’s of thousands of people) west of the fire for fear it would spread
Like Boog said , the news can sometimes sensationalize things
But all this Is really happening.
I’m sure many people are scratching there heads
Wondering, is it worth staying
More people have come than left California for decades
Time will tell if that trend will continue

My next road trip after Christmas will be to the South
Looking at retirement properties
That are prone to hurricanes

Chevyland I cross the fingers and think on you and the people in Sonoma.